Do you know how great it is to go to dinner and people talk about their children, and they talk about their future, and they do so with excitement and enthusiasm?” he asked. “We lost that in Chicago in the last 10 years. Dinner in Chicago would be about crime, about cronyism, about failed policies in the state. It is so refreshing to be in a city where people talk about tomorrow.“
Ken Griffin WAS Illinois’ wealthiest individual. Then, in 2022, Ken Griffin pulled up stakes in Chicago after nearly 30 years and moved back to Miami, the state where he grew up. He reminded the world why he made the move this week during an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier at the American Business Forum on Wednesday. The entire interview can be viewed at this LINK.
“If I look at Miami and why it is so successful — the focus on education, the focus on public safety — these are safe streets; we live in a safe city. The focus on community — this is a city that has great pride in what we’ve accomplished together and what we will accomplish ahead,” he said.
“I’m grateful for the leadership of the state of Florida. This is a great place to call home, and I really hope that when Mamdani thinks about leadership, he thinks about the right role models. And there’s a lot to copy from our great state of Florida.”
Florida works for business and families. They continue to attract people to the state and are considering eliminating property taxes. Illinois is still losing population and touts a small change in property tax income caps for a senior freeze as major property tax reform. The contrast between the two states is considerable in so many ways.
But, Griffin cites Chicago crime as one of the primary reasons for leaving, and CWB Chicago noted this about Chicago v. Miami crime:
How different is Miami’s crime rate from Chicago’s?
Miami Police Department data shows 24 murders through October 31 of this year. Adjusted for population—Miami’s 487,000 versus Chicago’s 2.75 million—Chicago would have about 136 murders this year if it enjoyed Miami’s per capita homicide rate. Instead, Chicago Police Department data shows that there have been 360.
The cities also diverge sharply on other violent crimes. Miami police recorded 320 robberies through October, while Chicago logged 5,050 cases, about 3,200 more than it would have at Miami’s rate.
The contrast between law and order in Miami v. Chicago is even more pronounced when it comes to cooperation with ICE. Florida Governor DeSantis has fully embraced ICE operations, while Illinois Governor Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and all the other elected Democrats continue to impede such.
Pritzker policies invite more chaos over immigration enforcement operations, and Illinois continued to make national news on this topic this week.
The biggest story is the issue of the illegal alien woman who ignored an ICE traffic stop and fled into a daycare to evade arrest.
Allegations about the story included that the woman was here legally, that she had not committed any crime, that she was arrested in front of children, and that the arrest was illegal.
Fortunately, Homeland Security is improving at quickly disseminating information about ICE arrests. In this case, DHS made the following statement:
FALSE CLAIM: DHS law enforcement targeted a school or daycare center in Chicago.
THE FACTS: ICE targeted an illegal alien, Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, from Colombia, and attempted to pull her vehicle over as it was being driven by another individual, and Galeano was in the passenger seat. The driver ignored law enforcement emergency lights and sirens, and both of the illegal aliens fled the vehicle, attempting to barricade themselves inside the daycare center.
FALSE CLAIM: ICE made an arrest inside a daycare center in Chicago.
THE FACTS: The male passenger barricaded himself inside the daycare center—recklessly endangering the children inside. However, Galeano could not enter through the second set of locked doors.
FALSE CLAIM: ICE arrested the illegal alien in front of children.
THE FACTS: ICE did NOT arrest her in front of children.
FALSE CLAIM: ICE is not going after the ‘worst of the worst.’
THE FACTS: President Trump and Secretary Noem are restoring the rule of law in the U.S. and directing ICE to target criminal illegal aliens. More than 70% of all ICE arrests are of aliens with pending charges and convictions in the U.S.
FALSE CLAIM: Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano was in the country legally with employment authorization.
THE FACTS: Work authorization does NOT confer any legal status to be in the U.S. The illegal alien’s work authorization was approved by the Biden administration, which exploited this loophole to help facilitate the invasion of our country.
Additionally, Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano is accused of child trafficking by paying cartels to smuggle in her two teenage children.
The false narrative about who Galeano is and what her status is by Democrats likely fueled additional protests in Chicago, including an incident where ICE agents were allegedly shot at and the ridiculous street sit-in by 14 suburban moms in front of the Broadview ICE facility.
The women were promptly removed by sheriff deputies.
As confrontational politics moves from organized debates to social media posts to now physically impeding law enforcement, voters will have to decide which side they are on. At the heart of the matter is whether or not the United States has the right to enforce immigration laws.
Can you simply cross the border and take up residency for a month, a year, or a decade and then consider yourself to be a lawful resident with all the privileges and support afforded to American citizens?
That’s not what the law says. What other laws should we pass on?
Victor Davis Hanson asks “Does the Democrats’ Chaos Strategy Work?” In the piece, he points out that it does – which is why it will continue. He notes:
The chaos strategy causes so much turmoil, noise, and negative media coverage that the confused voting public simply cannot sort it all out. The public wishes the upheaval would just go away and often blames those with the most current authority—logically, the incumbent Trump and his administration.
VDH reminds folks that this strategy has been in effect since Trump took office in January and that the strategy targets key electoral groups. The election of City of New York Mayor Mamdani and the other radical Dems in VA and NJ is a reminder that voters are unfocused and look for short-term results.
The photo above is from a commercial about the , which promises jobs, financial support for education, and innovation.
Naperville is considering building a data center on the old Lucent property at the corner of Warrenville Road and Naperville Road.
This project pits homeowners against wealthy corporations that have already started an influence operation to win over elected officials. They are doing this via a robust media plan designed to influence the opinions of those on the Naperville Planning and Zoning Board and City Council, as well as others in the business community and on editorial boards.
The project brings together a number of important issues and, interestingly, the hypocrisy of Leftist ideologies.
The project was originally to include two massive data centers that would have 48 diesel generators for back-up power generation. Data centers require 99.9999% reliable power. This is why Elon Musk powers his new data center in Memphis with 36 natural gas combined cycle generators.
The project on the table now is asking for only phase one approval of one data center backed up by 24 diesel generators.
The dichotomy is that Pritzker, who has demanded that Illinois rid itself of fossil fuel generation, has incentivized data center construction, which can only be powered by reliable on-site power that comes from fossil fuel.
The Democrats know data centers are a huge suck on power and water. So, on one hand they invite and subsidize big energy users that require power they don’t like and then continue with plans that make our power more unstable. Here’s a perfect example from the Senate Democrats leader on energy policy.
Crain’s Chicago Business reported in April of this year:
State Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Public Utilities, has filed legislation that aims to gather data on the industry to determine the impact on energy and water usage and prevent them from putting too much strain on Illinois’ power grids.
“As data centers continue to multiply, they are putting an incredible strain on the grid,” he said. “And this legislation is trying to ensure that residents are not bearing the rise of this energy cost caused by the booming of this industry.”
Under Stadelman’s Senate Bill 2181, companies that operate data centers in Illinois would need to report their annual water and energy consumption to the Illinois Power Agency beginning next spring under threat of $10,000 fines for non-compliance. The IPA would then synthesize the data into annual reports to answer the question of whether residential ratepayers in Illinois are, in effect, subsidizing data centers, along with the environmental impacts of the industry.
Stadelman’s SB 2181 went nowhere. Instead, Stadelman was the chief sponsor of SB25, which passed 10 days ago and will cost ratepayers and taxpayers $8 billion to pay for more unreliable wind, solar, and battery storage.
The proposed Naperville Data Center is expected to use 36MW of power, which represents about 10% of Naperville’s current peak usage. After going through a huge discussion this summer on whether or not Naperville should extend its IMEA contract, the decision to back a data center using 24 diesel generators as back-up is curious.
Via the IMEA, Naperville buys most power from the coal plant Prairie State Energy Campus. Environmentalists in Naperville want to end that power agreement, so will they speak up against this subsidized data center?
Homeowners packed the Naperville Planning and Zoning Board meeting on November 5th and the Chicago Tribune noted in their report that:
But residents — especially those who will live in the nearby Naper Commons, Fairmeadow, and Danada Woods subdivisions — have been pushing back against the plan. A petition circulating online in opposition to the project had more than 3,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.
Attempting to stem opposition, Karis proposed at the commission’s last meeting that it would sign a stewardship pledge in which the company would commit to oversight and accountability, renewable power sourcing, responsible operations, local investment, and environmentally conscious design and operations.
What stands out in the statement above is that Karis promises renewable power sourcing. They can’t promise that without lying.
If that was the promise, how come their backup generation is a solar farm?
More to come on this topic. Just realize the Democrats are lying about everything.