Critics of the Bring Chicago Home ballot referendum said Chicago's business community was "breathing a sigh of relief" Wednesday " a day after the referendum apparently failed at the polls. While votes were still being counted late Wednesday, it appears the effort to raise the transfer tax on million-dollar homes to fight homelessness was defeated. The latest update shows 54% of Chicago voters cast their ballots against the proposal. The Bring Chicago Home referendum was a marquee initiative of Mayor Brandon Johnson and his progressive allies on the City Council in an effort to raise more money to fight homelessness. The measure asked voters to authorize the City Council to increase the real estate transfer tax on the sales of properties for $1 million or more in Chicago.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman recently ruled that an illegal immigrant previously charged for carrying a semi-automatic firearm could legally carry guns under the Second Amendment. Illegal immigrants have previously been prevented from carrying guns and ammunition under 18 U.S.C. 922. The outlet reported that prosecutors charged Heriberto Carbajal-Flores, an illegal immigrant, in 2020 for carrying a semi-automatic pistol in Chicago despite "knowing he was an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States." The illegal immigrant's lawyers previously attempted to have the case against Carbajal-Flores dismissed on two separate occasions before their third motion to dismiss the case was accepted by Coleman on March 8. Coleman dismissed the case based on the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which expanded gun rights and directed lower courts to follow historical context with regard to gun control laws. read more
Toronto Police are being heavily criticized online for what many consider a shoulder-shrugging approach to the rash of car thefts that continue to plague the Greater Toronto Area. At an Etobicoke safety meeting last month, Cst. Marco Ricciardi advised residents to leave their key fobs in a faraday pouch in a convenient place for thieves as a way to lessen the risk of violent confrontations. "To prevent the possibility of being attacked in your home, leave your fobs at the front door because they are breaking into your home to steal your car; they don't want anything else. "A lot of them that they're arresting have guns on them and they are not toy guns," he ominously added. "They are real guns. They're loaded." That advice sparked an angry reaction on X, formerly known as Twitter. read more
Deadspin, the irreverent sports and news site best known for its commentary and analysis, laid off all of its staff on Monday ... read more
Governor Ron DeSantis celebrated Florida's private sector job growth rate, which increased by 0.4 percent (+37,900 jobs) in January 2024. This is double the national rate of 0.2 percent over the same period. Florida's economic data continues to indicate economic stability and confidence among Florida's workforce as the state's labor force grew by 2.2 percent (+243,000) over the year in January 2024, which is faster than the national over-the-year rate of 0.8 percent, including 16,000 net new workforce participants in January 2024. "Florida has started off the year strong by growing jobs at twice the national average," said Governor Ron DeSantis. "Florida continuously outperforms the national economy with fiscal stewardship, growth friendly policies, limited government spending, and one of the lowest tax burdens per capita in the nation." read more
#1 WOW Someone on FB had that exact same experience, word for word. He just changed from school to yesterday. What are the odds?