Trump would be thrilled at the opportunity to send the military in to violently quell a succession secession.

As a former citizen of Illinois, I have some context for you. Yes he is a billionaire and I had to hold my nose when I voted for him over Rauner in 2018 because I thought the way you currently do. However, his performance as Governor of Illinois since then has been nothing short of amazing. The Illinois economy was in the shit at the time thanks to 20 years of horrible, sometimes criminal, management. The state was in junk bond status thanks to billions of dollars in unpaid debt. The previous Governor, Quinn, averaged one credit rating downgrade per 181 days in office. Rauner, the last Governor, actually managed to do worse averaging a downgrade every 101 days in office.

Pritzker came in a managed to turn it all around. In 2024, Illinois ranked near the top for economic development including number one in the Midwest for workforce development, and Fifth in the nation for cost of living. The bond status is vastly improved. As of November 2023, Pritzker’s policies had earned the state 9 credit upgrades over the prior two years. Economically, Pritzker has been a big win for Illinois, and not just for the wealthy.

Socially, he has also been progressive.

Pritzker, a billionaire once known to many voters as the Democratic rich guy running against the Republican rich guy in a dysfunctional state, has pursued a robust activism defined by the kind of Democratic social policies that marked the nineteen-thirties and sixties. That means more funds for schools, child care, health care, college tuition, and roads.

Pritzker has pushed progressive policies since being elected including using $10 million dollars of state funds to purchase and cancel $1 billion is medical debt for Illinoisans. He has pushed to increase minimum wage in the state to $15/hour, universal preschool, legalized weed and established a regulatory system for adult use. He pushed for and signed HB4664, the Healthcare Protection Act, which among other things, bans per-approval by insurance for crisis mental health care and protects health care providers and their patients who receive abortions, reproductive, or gender affirming care in Illinois from attacks neighboring states.

Frankly, if he chooses to run for President I would be giddy. I would love to see him do for this nation what he’s already done for Illinois.

Why has no one bitch slapped this idiot and pointed out that there has been no declaration of war and the law in question cannot be legally invoked? Honestly, how does this clown keep getting away with this shit?

I wish sites like this would verify their information better. Yes Trump ignored the judge’s orders and spouted insane legal claims, but the article leads off with a false claim that the poor guys got sent to a slave-labor camp. According to CNN, the prison is a different kind of nightmare.

In a recent visit, CNN’s David Culver and his team described cells “built to hold 80 or so inmates” where men are held for 23.5 hours a day and “the only furniture is tiered metal bunks, with no sheets, pillows or mattresses … an open toilet, a cement basin and plastic bucket for washing and a large jug for drinking water.”

…

The CNN team that visited in late 2024 described the deprivation as “deliberate,” noting the men were allowed out of their crowded cells for just 30 minutes a day, that “there is no privacy here, no trace of comfort” and the lights are on 24/7.

“They do not work. They are not allowed books or a deck of cards or letters from home. Plates of food are stacked outside the cells at mealtimes and pulled through the bars. No meat is ever served. The 30-minute daily respite is merely to leave the cell for the central hallway for group exercise or Bible readings,” wrote CNN’s David Culver and his team.

Inmates are not allowed visits from family or friends and some of them must face the possibility that they will never be released.

The prison is an absolute hell, not even considering that some or all of the men sent there by Trump could be innocent of any crime. But calling it slave labor is false and just gives the other side a point of attack to discredit the whole article. We don’t need to lie about any of this stuff to make it seem worse. The truth is all we need.