Dan from Madison is a grandfather.
UPDATE: I’m afraid I was too much of a wiseguy here. Please click on the link before commenting.
Announcements
Tax Day Help
If you need an Illinois Personal Identification Number (IL-PIN) to e-file, the web system is down. Some of the regional offices are answering the phone when I called around this morning.
Good luck.
Upcoming Events at The Men’s Leadership Forum of Chicago
There are two good events scheduled for the The Men’s Leadership Forum of Chicago:
Brian J. Gail, will speak about his novel Fatherless, on March 18, 2010.
Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago will be speaking about his new book, The Difference God Makes: A Catholic Vision of Faith, Communion, and Culture, on May 6, 2010.
Both events will be at 7:30 a.m. at the University Club of Chicago.
Register here if you are interested.
I will be at both of these events.
TEDx Chicago
The wonderfulness that is TED is now coming to Chicago on February 10th. The theme for this kickoff local event is “Creative Convergence”. If you’re a member of the Museum of Science and Industry, you can get discounted tickets.
correction: Originally said it was the 15th, my error entirely.
Fundraising Bleg for Illinois 2nd Amendment Case
I post below the contents of a message that the Illinois State Rifle Association is sending to people on its email distribution list.
ALERT – Supreme Court Case on Chicago Handgun Ban
Yesterday the City of Chicago filed their brief in response in the US Supreme Court case brought by the Illinois State Rifle Association. The case, McDonald v Chicago, seeks to overturn Chicago’s handgun ban and punitive registration process.
This is the most important case in U.S. history concerning the Second Amendment and it is the ISRA’s case. Can state and local governments take away your Second Amendment Rights? Or is the Right to Keep and Bear Arms so fundamental that it is protected by being incorporated against the states through the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution? Without going into a bunch of legal language, Chicago’s brief is their attempt make sure that the handgun ban lives on.
These are the next steps in this case:
1. Our reply to what Chicago just submitted is due January 29.
2. Oral Arguments in the case have been scheduled for March 2.
3. The court is expected to deliver a decision near the end of June.
The outcome of this case is expected to affect the status of the Second Amendment across the nation. If we win, it does not mean that the fight is over, it means that next phase of the fight has begun.
The City of Chicago is using tax dollars pay for the defense in this case, in order to keep preventing its residents being able to have effective self-defense at home. Of course, no tax payer monies are being used to defend your Second Amendment rights! The legal effort behind the McDonald case is paid for privately.
The ISRA needs your support and your contributions to keep this case, and the inevitable follow-up cases, moving forward.
Now is the time. If you are an ISRA member, we need your continued support. Please make a donation on-line here, or over the phone at 815-635-3198. If you would like to mail or fax a donation, we have a printable form here [pdf].
Now is the time. If you’re not an ISRA member, join NOW and ride with us into history. You’ll be able to say “I was an ISRA member when WE overthrew the Chicago handgun ban and forever changed the gun control debate!” You can join on-line, or over the phone at 815-635-3198. You can download a printable application form here [pdf].
Post this alert to all internet blogs and bulletin boards to which you belong. Also, pass this alert on to your gun owning friends and fellow sporting club members. Ask them to forward this alert to their friend far and wide. Although the suit targets the local ordinance in Chicago, the implications of incorporation of the 2nd Amendment are national in scope.
(Note that I edited some of the links in the message to make them easier to use, but the content is unchanged.)