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BRENDEN MOORE

Lee Enterprises' Illinois state government reporter Brenden Moore talks with Illinois redistricting expert Frank Calabrese about the state's new maps.

Plugging in newly available 2020 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Illinois lawmakers approved an amended state legislative redistricting map last week.

It passed over the strenuous objections of Republicans and good government groups, who decried the process employed by majority Democrats.

Republicans and groups like theMexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund have sued to have it thrown out and may even have a good case.

But, if the maps do stand up in court, as Democrat-drawn maps have the past couple redistricting cycles, their impact will be felt for the next decade.

Illinois State Rep. Lisa Hernandez, D-Cicero, holds her hand over her heart as she is thanked by Illinois State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, after passage of the Illinois legislative maps proposal on the floor of the Illinois House of Representatives at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021.

To get a better idea of what this map means for representation in Springfield, I spoke with Frank Calabrese, a political consultant who has become the unofficial mapmaker and go-to Illinois redistricting expert this cycle.

Below is a transcription of our conversation, edited lightly for length and clarity:

LEE ENTERPRISES: Give the 40,000-foot view of these new legislative maps. What were the key takeaways and what does it mean for the next decade of legislative elections?

FRANK CALABRESE: The big picture view is this really solidifies Springfield under Democratic control. It's a very aggressive map. Also, it's made to create chaos within the Republican caucus. So, you see all these Republicans having to run against other Republicans.

There's 45 House Republicans. And of that 45, there are seven pairings, so there's 14 members that are affected by this ... So, just imagine that a third of your caucus is going to have to make a decision whether or not they're going to run against another member. That creates a lot of internal chaos.

It's a great map for the Democrats. They're going to be in power with the supermajority for the next 10 years. It would take an extreme realignment nationally to change that.

LEE: Is this map merely about maintaining Democratic majorities or are there opportunities for the party to expand their majorities? If so, whats a realistic number?

CALABRESE: Toward the end of the decade, I think the Democrats will realistically pick up 80 seats (in the House), so a net gain of seven. But that's kind of long term. I think initially, they'll pick up four in the next election. In the Senate, I have them losing seats.

In the House, there's two open seats right now that are Democratic: it's that Bloomington-Normal seat that goes to Bartonville and near Peoria. That's probably a Democratic pickup.

And then you have a seat in the northwest suburbs ... which is parts of Palatine and Arlington Heights. That's pretty Democratic now. Ten or 20 years ago, that used to be very Republican, but a lot of well-educated areas have really swung Democratic because of Trump.

The Republican Party, they're still embracing Trump. And what that means is that Republicans are going to do well in the rural areas and they're going to do bad in suburban areas.

The revised Illinois state legislative districts, as drawn by redistricting expert Frank Calabrese. Lawmakers approved adjustments in late August. The map will be in effect for the next 10 years.

And then you have (Republican Rep. Mark Batinicks) district, which is like Plainfield. It has gotten significantly more Democratic. He could win in the midterm it's probably going to be a Republican midterm. So that's one of those seats where he could win in 2022, but he'll probably lose in 2024 and in the future with these trends becoming worse and the suburbs getting more and more Democratic. And the same thing with Keith Wheeler. He could win I would call it a toss up in his district.

It's really unlikely that Mark Batinick and Keith Wheeler are going to be there for 10 years. They could be there for two years, but much longer than that, I think it's going to be tough.

The other pickup (opportunity is state Rep. Jackie Haas' Kankakee-based district). Her district was a rural white district that had some labor influence, which kind of made it a swing district. Now her district's a quarter Black. They put a lot of the Black population of Kankakee in her district. And so Haas' district, it's a tossup. It was basically 50/50 between Trump and Biden, but it's trending Democratic. She could win in that district in the midterm, but in the future, I think that's a Democratic pickup.

LEE: The maps passed in May, but lawmakers had to go back in August to tweak them. Why was this necessary?

CALABRESE: One of my critiques of the Democrats' map is that they made a map for 2019. And the problem is you're supposed to redistrict for 2020, right? So to no surprise, areas that are shrinking in population, they lost more population. And areas that are growing, especially areas that are growing rapidly, they gained a lot more.

I live in Chicago, and if you build a high-rise and 5,000 people move in, that can happen in a year. So that's what happened the downtown area grew and that wasn't incorporated in the 2019 data. So Lamont Robinson's district was 15% over the mean, (which) is about 108,000 per House district.

What they should have done is they should have made those districts smaller in population anticipating future growth. They should have built the trends into their map.

And now the Republicans have an argument saying that the map that they passed in May is void and they're going to go to court saying that it was a bad map in May, they just can't pass whatever to avoid a (redistricting) commission. They're going to go to court and it adds a degree to uncertainty of whether this map can stand.

Illinois State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, talks with Illinois State Rep. Lisa Hernandez, D-Cicero, after passage of the Illinois legislative maps proposal on the floor of the Illinois House of Representatives at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021.

This concept of being void from the beginning is very strong in Illinois. So if the Republicans can convince a state court that this map had problems from the beginning, then there is a legal doctrine in Illinois to kind of throw the whole thing out from the beginning.

In my opinion, this is not a 100% Democratic map yet because they still have a lot of legal obstacles.

Also, I'm really surprised that the Democrats didn't do anything with Latino districts. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, I think, has a meritorious lawsuit.

And they didn't work with these Latino districts at all. You can actually argue that these Latino districts got worse with the revision. So, that's something that they're going to have to litigate in court. And, if I was the Speaker or the Senate President, I would want to avoid that. So I'm a little puzzled why they didn't try to appease a lot of the concerns from these Latino interest groups.

LEE: Expand upon how some of these various communities of interests did in this map. The phrase that the Democrats have used repeatedly is that the map is "a model for the nation" when it comes to diversity. Does this map, especially given some of the legal challenges from some of these Latino groups, stand up to that billing?

CALABRESE: The Democrats ... spoke about that in May, but I have not really heard that from them recently because I think there's an acknowledgement that this is not about increasing community representation of certain interest groups.

So this map helps Black representation as much as you can, but that's kind of almost a byproduct of helping out Democratic incumbents.

The Arab and Palestinian community, they presented their own version of a map, they attended every legislative hearing that I observed, and they got absolutely nothing. Their community, which is based in the southwest suburbs of Cook County, was divided in the four Democratic House seats. And there's really no way for the Palestinian community to elect one of their own They wanted an influence district and they didn't get it.

The reason is because these districts were made to preserve the incumbents. That's first and foremost protecting and enabling Democratic incumbents, and that comes at the expense of a lot of these other minority groups that were advocating for their own districts.

Also, the Orthodox Jewish community, they were advocating for a district that included their community. By and large, they got some of what they wanted, but their community still split among three districts on the far North Side of Chicago.

So I think it's very hard to market this as a model for the nation. What it is is a very good map for political power, and I'm impressed with some of the districts they put together in terms of maintaining power in Springfield. And, at the end of the day, that's what matters for the people that drew these maps.

LEE: Were there any trends you noticed in the drawing of downstate districts?

CALABRESE: So downstate, there was a lot of aggressive packing of Republican incumbents with each other. And then there were some crafty drawing with Bloomington-Normal to make that a Democratic district.

I think Democrats left some on the table, per se, with how they drew Champaign-Urbana. So state Rep. Carol Ammons' district is like 80% Democratic, something crazy. A Republican wouldn't have a prayer winning that district. So Carol Ammons' district is super Democratic, but then there's a Republican district in Danville with Mike Marron in there which is like a 51% Biden district, which means (Marron) win at the local level.

So, the Democrats could have made Carol Ammons' district less Democratic and given those Democrats to the Danville district. They didn't do that. I thought that was kind of odd.

Another significant change is Rock Island that Senate seat is changing drastically, so it goes all the way down to Macomb. It takes in a lot of college towns. So, I think the Democrats are really crafty to change the Rock Island Senate seat ... I think that's going to be a pretty easy Democratic pickup.

The Democrats tried to make a far southern Illinois district more competitive the 118th. They combined Cairo with Carbondale with Marion. That district voted for Trump twice, but also voted for JB Pritzker, I believe. So it's one of those districts that will be competitive in a Democratic year.

LEE: During the last remap, there were still Democrats like Brandon Phelps and Gary Forby that represented some really rural, conservative areas. Whether through retirement or losing reelection, these members have gone away. How has this political realignment impacted the way Democrats drew the map?

CALABRESE: The most rural Democratic district right now is probably (state Rep. Lance Yednock's district), and they acknowledge that he's in trouble and they redistricted him to include DeKalb. And so now it's a bunch of union guys and a bunch of college kids.

So you're not going to see rural Democrats anytime soon, in my opinion. And I think the Democrats kind of gave up on them. But they did try to make the 118th competitive JB Pritzker did win that district. But again, that district is not Democratic because of a bunch of rural farmers who want to vote Democratic, it's Democratic because there's a significant Black population in Cairo and there's a lot of college kids in Carbondale. It's not the Democratic district of Paul Simon and Glen Poshard. Trump really took that out.

And in the suburbs, Lake County, I remember that being a very Republican County. And now, Republicans are really on the retreat. There's Republican areas in Lake County, but there's no countywide Republican officeholders, I believe. DuPage County has one now. But both Lake County and DuPage County, the county boards are Democratic.

So, yeah, there's this realignment. I think the new map reflects that. I'm of the opinion that Republicans can still make up areas in the suburbs. But when it comes to rural areas, I just think Democrats are are largely extinguished. I don't really see that coming back. I just think the cultural divides' too high.

LEE: So an example of this would be the Springfield-Decatur Senate seat, formerly represented by Andy Manar and now by Doris Turner. The new map cuts out rural Macoupin and Montgomery counties and adds more urban parts of Springfield.

CALABRESE: Right. So Manar's district, I get a lot of grief actually from Democrats when I say Manar's district is a likely Republican pickup.

From my experience, appointed incumbents don't do anything for an incumbent advantage. And that district significantly voted for the Republicans in every significant election. So that's going to be a really tough race for Doris Turner. And they tried to help her out. They gave her every urban precinct that she possibly could get, but it's going to be an uphill, uphill battle.

LEE: So, despite being a challenging map, Republicans have some pickup opportunities.

CALABRESE: I think that the Republicans can pick up a DuPage County seat. I think they can pick up Doris Turner's seat and the Metro East district, which is represented by Rochelle Crowe, that voted for Trump twice. It also voted for Erica Harold. It did vote for JB Pritzker, they have a very strong union influence there.

So I think that district is going to be really dependent upon if Crowe runs for reelection. She's on the shortlist to be U.S. Attorney. So if she does get appointed U.S. attorney, I believe that's a very good opportunity for Republican pickup in the Senate.

Republicans, I think, could pick up seats in the Senate just because Democrats are overextended, I mean it's really crazy. They have 41 seats in the Senate. As a translation, that would be 82 seats in the House, where Democrats have 73.

LEE: Any parting thoughts?

CALABRESE: Overall, I would give the map high marks on maintaining Democratic power in Springfield, which obviously was in my opinion one of their highest priorities.

If I was to draw this map with the goal of solidifying a Democratic supermajority, this is the map I would draw. If I was to draw a map to help every community of interest that wanted help, this is not the map.

The Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly approved 665 bills this legislative session, with the vast majority awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzker's signature.

But, Pritzker has signed 42 bills into law. A handful of those will take effect Jan. 1, 2022, but most went into effect immediately upon signing or will take effect this Thursday.

Here are some notable new laws in effect now or on Thursday that Illinoisans should know.

With pandemic-related delays to U.S. Census redistricting numbers, lawmakers moved back the state's 2022 primary election from March 15 to June 28. The legislation also makes Election Day a state holiday, requiresevery county to have at least one universal voting centerand allow people to be added to a permanent vote-by-mail list. (SB825)

Some pandemic-induced changes to voting for the 2020 general election, such as vote-by-mail and curbside drop-off, will now be permanent features of future elections. (House Bill 1871)

As they are tasked with doing every 10 years, lawmakersapproved new district boundaries for the Illinois House and Senate. The Democrat-drawn maps, which utilized the U.S. Census' American Community Survey instead of waiting for the decennial census numbers that will arrive later this year, have been challenged in court by Republicans and some other groups. (HB2777)

The seven-person Illinois Supreme Court's district boundaries were successfully redrawn for the first time since the 1960s. (SB642)

There was no more controversial bill that passed this year than House Bill 3653, also known as the SAFE-T Act, which passed during the lame duck session this January. The provisions ending cash bail and requiring all police to wear body cameras will not take effect until 2023 and 2025, respectively. But starting Thursday, police will be required to render aid to the injured, intervene when a fellow officer is using excessive force and and be limited in use of force. It also offers stricter guidelines for the decertification of officers and would allow people to file anonymous complaints of police misconduct. (HB3653)

Lenders are now prohibited from charging more than 36% annual percentage rate on consumer loans. The average rate in Illinois was nearly 300% prior to the law's signing. (SB1792)

Tucked into the state's fiscal year 2022 budget is $10 million for a "vaccine lottery." All Illinois residents vaccinated by July 1 will be automatically entered into the contest. It includes$7 million in cash prizes to vaccinated adults, ranging from $100,000 to $1 million, and $3 million in scholarship awards to vaccinated youth. (SB2800)

Created guidelines for distributing more than $1 billion in federal stimulus funds for COVID-related housing relief. Alsocreates automatic sealing of evictions during the pandemic. (SB2877)

Victims in personal injury and wrongful death cases will be allowed to collect interest from defendantsfrom the time a lawsuit is filed. It is meant to incentivize settlement of these cases. It was supported by the trial lawyers and opposed by business groups. (SB72)

All casino applicants in Illinois are now required to enter into a project-labor agreement when seeking a new or renewed license. (SB1360)

Provides that a victim's criminal history or felony status shall not automatically prevent compensation to that victim or the victim's family. Extends the applicant's period for submitting requested information to 45 days from 30 days and provides that a final award shall not exceed $45,000, up from $27,000, for a crime committed on or after August 7, 2022. (HB3295)

Provides that a contract, record, or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability simply because it is in electronic form or an electronic record was used in its formation. Provides that if a law requires a record to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies the law. (SB2176)

Brenden Moore is the Illinois state government reporter for Lee Enterprises.

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What an Illinois redistricting expert thinks of Democrats' new maps - Bloomington Pantagraph

Congressional lawmakers are bracing for potential violence at Saturdays Justice for J6 rally at the U.S. Capitol in defense of Donald Trump supporters who stormed the building on Jan. 6 protestingJoe Bidens certification as president.

Dick Durbin, the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, told reporters he was very concerned about a repeat of Jan. 6-style violence.

Given the violent tendencies of the right-wing extremists who plan to attend, it is obvious that this rally poses a threat to the Capitol, those who work here, and the law enforcement officers charged with protecting our democracy, Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who oversee U.S. Capitol Police, said in a statement.

Capitol Police on Monday arrested a man from California near the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, not far from the Capitol. He had multiple long knives in his vehicle, which had a swastika and other white supremacist symbols painted on it, police said. Last month, authorities arrested a man who claimed to have bomb near the Capitol.

Law enforcement authorities seem to be taking this weeks planned rally much more seriously than the Jan. 6 Trump rally near the White House that precipitated the violence on Capitol Hill, which resulted in the deaths of five people and the injury of more than 140 police officers.

The fence surrounding the Capitol that stood for months after Jan. 6 is set to return before Saturdays event. The rally will be held at the Union Square plaza on the west lawn of the Capitol a good distance from the building itself.

They seemed very, very well prepared, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday after attending a briefing with Capitol Police leaders and other top congressional officials.

The Justice for J6 rally is being organized by Matt Braynard, an ex-campaign employee for Trump. The event is billed as a show of support those arrested in the riot and a demand of justice for Ashli Babbitt, who was shot to death by a police officer as she and other Trump supporters attempted to force her way onto the floor of the House of Representatives, where members of Congress were taking shelter.

Trump and his supporters have attempted to make a martyr out of Babbitt, demanding to know the identity of the officer who shot her.Rep.Madison Cawthorn(R-N.C.) last month falsely referred to Babbitt and those charged with storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 as political hostages and political prisoners. Cawthorn alsopredicted that more bloodshed would follow another stolen presidential election, remarks that were widely criticized for encouraging future violence.

Its unclear whether any Republican lawmakers will attend Saturdays rally. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who along with other Republican lawmakers objected to Bidens electoral victory, told reporters on Monday he didnt believe any members of his conference would be there. The House is currently in recess and isnt scheduled to return until next week.

GOP senators seemed uninterested in discussing the subject when asked about it on Monday.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who famously raised his fist outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 to the gathering Trump mob and led the Senate effort contesting Bidens victory, said he was more focused on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The country is in a major crisis. This president has desperately failed and hes failed in a shameful way, said Hawley, calling for Bidens resignation. Everything else is a distraction.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said she hoped Saturdays rally would be peaceful.

Any time a crowd gathers theres always a potential for something to go awry but I certainly hope they peacefully protest. Thats what were known for, Capito said.

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Democrats Fear Jan. 6 Redo In Follow-Up Right-Wing Rally At U.S. Capitol - HuffPost

Failed Republican candidate Kimberly Klacik has refused to share the remaining funds from the $8 million she raised during her campaigns with other GOP contenders and said such calls were "socialism."

In a video uploaded onto Twitter on Sunday, Klacik, 39, said she would not share any of the money she raised with other Republican candidates who she said "didn't work as hard."

Speaking inside a car, Klacik said in the 28-second clip: "So, those of you that are mad that I made $8 million in my campaign, well I worked really hard and that's how we made that money.

"There are other candidates that didn't make that money because they didn't work as hard. But, I know you want me - for some reason - to redistribute that wealth from my campaign to other candidates that have more of a winnable district."

She continued: "Well, guess what, that's called socialism. I have more news for you, you are not a Republican. Stay out of my mentions."

The video has since been viewed more than 178,900 times as of Monday morning.

Hundreds of commenters shared their opinion about Klacik's statement under the video, with many agreeing with the former Republican candidate.

There were many others, however, who disagreed with Klacik's comments with fellow Republican candidate Beatrice Cardenas hitting out at the businesswoman.

In a reply-tweet, the former Congressional candidate for California's 27th district said: "This candidate-turned-celebrity culture is really taking a twisted turn. Keep your heads down and keep working if you didn't win. The people want serious candidates, not reality stars."

While Klacik won Maryland's 7th Congressional District Republican primary by a landslide, she was convincingly beaten by Democratic incumbent Kweisi Mfume, who secured 71.6 percent of the vote. Klacik came second with 92,825 votes, or 28.0 percent.

According to the non-profit OpenSecrets, which tracks money in U.S. politics, Klacik raised a total of $8,296,845 and spent $7,499,454 on the campaign.

Klacik's campaign has an estimated 803,568 cash on hand to spend in upcoming political contests. Klacik doesn't mention in the video that most of the $8 million has been spent.

Newsweek has contacted Klacik for comment.

Earlier this year, Klacik responded to claims from fellow conservative commentator Candace Owens that she used to work as a stripper and hired a Democratic operative for her election campaign.

The feud started on June 18 after Owens said that President Joe Biden making Juneteenth a federal holiday was the Democrats trying to "repackage segregation."

Klacik responded in a now-deleted tweet: "Believe it or not, many in 'Black America' are very aware the fight is classism rather [than] racism.

"Unfortunately, the loudest mouths with the largest platforms represent the majority. This might come to a shock to you because of your lack of engagement with black people."

It led Owens to release a 44-minute video where she made sensational claims about Klacik.

Klacik has since filed a defamation lawsuit against Owens, where she has sought $20 million in damages.

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Kimberly Klacik Says It Is 'Socialism' to Share Remaining Cash From $8M Campaign With Fellow Republicans - Newsweek

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As Afghanistan is burning withAmerican citizens left behind theenemy lines by Joe Biden, at the mercy of themurderous Taliban Washingtons socialists dont sleep.

Having sunk $2.2trillion of yourmoney into yet another failed nation-building project, the leftists,headed up by Confiscator in Chief Bernie Sanders, are conjuringupadditional schemes of how to leech another $3.5 trillion fromhard-workingAmericans. Sanders is dead set on delivering on hisgoal stated in August 2020,"We must first elect Biden, then keeppushing country further left."As an immigrant to America froma socialist country, I am distressedabout the monumental shift of my adoptedhomeland toward socialism. Iam compelled to warn my fellow Americans whatsocialism is reallyabout.

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL: AMERICAN WORKERS VS. SOCIALIST STATE HOW LONG CAN WE EXPECT THEM TO CARRY THE LOAD?

Let me put in context what the promises of freestuff andequality for all, by elitists like Sanders, really mean.Socialism is an evil system, incompatiblewith freedom anddemocracy. It doesnt work because it is based on unrealistictheoriesthat ignore human nature. It has failed everywhere. And it could alsodestroy America.

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Socialism idealisticallylooks for government to create completeequality in society and to endsufferinga noble-sounding idea. Toachieve this goal, the government promisesto give everyone lifesnecessities, regardless of peoples merit for pay ordesire to work.However, it must find the money for all these necessities.Historically, socialist governments have confiscated wealth andincome to payfor them. Ultimately, the government runs everything.

Lessons I learned as a childare worth repeating to youngerAmericans today. The first problem withsocialism is not only thatsocialists eventually run out of other peoplesmoney, as MargaretThatcher once famously said, it is also that socialistsocieties stopproducing wealth altogether. If individuals cannot keep thewealththey create, they stop creating it. Most people make the rationaldecision: do mediocre work, because the same amount is paidregardless how hardthey work.

Once the state kills entrepreneurship,the society will stopinnovating. Do you know why Americans have a potatopeeler,garlic crusher and apple cutter in their kitchens, for example, whileRussians use a knife for everything? Because there was no financialincentivefor Soviet citizens to create them. The same logic,tragically, applies tocreating blood pressure medicine and cures forcancer.The second problem withsocialism is that, as scarcity of goodsgrows, those in charge of wealthredistribution start taking care oftheir needs first, rationing goods andservices for everyone exceptthemselves. There comes a point when the societysimply doesntproduce enough necessities, forcing ordinary people not part ofthestate apparatus to cheat and steal to survive. Two distinct classes ofpeople form: those who are part of the system (the privileged) andeveryoneelse (the oppressed).

In the Soviet Union, theCommunist Party elites (we called themapparatchiki,because they werepart of the stateapparatus) had everything, and everyone else struggled. Welacked such basics as toothpaste, pantyhose, toilet paper andsanitaryproducts. Party members, who were less than 10% of the Soviet adultpopulation, shopped at differentgrocery stores, were treated at differentmedical facilities, andhad other privileges. Everyone, for example, had "free"medical care, but you only saw a doctor if there was anemergency.Socialism is inhumane, forcingpeople to do unethical things out ofdesperation. My mother was stealing meatfrom the food factorywhere she worked to feed our family. Our family was notparticularly poor by Soviet standards, but there was nothing to buy.There weresimply not enough goods and services for everyone,although they were alltechnically "free."

During the past few years, Ihave increasingly felt like socialism isresurfacing in America.

A third problem withsocialism is the states complete control overindividuals. In fact, beingcalled an "individualist" has a derogatoryconnotation in Russian. Undersocialism, since the state "takes care"of its people by providing everything"for free," it plays thedominant role in all spheres of life. It tells youwhat to do, where tolive, what to wear, what to say and what to think. Itcensorseverything.

There are laws and rules for everything. There is no freepress, literature or cinematography. No religion. No presumption ofinnocence.No rights. No property. Suppression of dissent is routineand brutal.Eventually, people start to self-censor to avoidpersecution. You speak andappear to think "correctly."

Socialism creates a societyof "one-percenters" and "ninety-nine-percenters," except the one-percenters arethe ones who redistributewealth, not the ones who create it. Having lived in acountry whereeverything was "free" but nothing was available, I am terrifiedwhenI hear proposals for a single-payer medical system, "Medicare-for-all," or"free college for all."

During the past few years, Ihave increasingly felt like socialism isresurfacing in America. The rise ofpervasive political correctness,growing intolerance toward religious people,and alienation of andeven attacks on people whose views dont conform to themainstream orthodoxy remind me of my youth in the USSR. I findmyself repeatingthe same admonitions to my children that mymother frequently gave my sisterand me: "Dont believe everythingyou hear on TV, think for yourself, and keepyour and your familysviews private.

Ironically, just like myparents tried to shield me from untruths andbrainwashing by Soviet schools byexplaining at our dinner table thetruth behind Soviet indoctrination, Ivefound myself pulling mychildren from public schools and placing them intoreligious schoolsin order to avoid heavy and biased government-sponsoredindoctrination.

It was painful for me to watch my little ones cominghome andspouting how oppressive America is when I knowfirsthand what oppression reallymeans. I also could not bearwatching my kids coming home sad and confusedbecause they weresimply not old enough to be bombarded with all thesex-relatedgarbage that the school pushed on them under the rubric of "familyeducation." Family education, in my view, truly belongs within thefamily.

Big Tech and the mainstreammedias taking on the roles of thegovernments mouthpieces and agents ofinfluence is frightening.Silencing those who express "incorrect" opinions byde-platformingthem on social media, banning their books, and blacklisting themtoensure they cannot make a livingsimply because they have strayedfrom the"party line"is the method of totalitarian states to suppressdissent andensure total control.

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I sincerely hope more andmore of our citizens wake up andrecognize these markers of a Sovietization ofAmerica so that we canregain the freedom of the America that my mother sent meto at ayoung age. I hope Americans keep the right to express unpopularviewswithout fear of being ostracized by fellow citizens or losingtheir jobs,continue to enjoy presumption of innocence and dueprocess, and be free fromunlawful government surveillance forhaving "incorrect" politics.Socialism inevitably resultsin stagnation and tyranny. If we dontwant our nation to join the ranks offailed and oppressive socialistcountries, we must fight socialism in America withall weve got.

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Rebekah Koffler: Socialism in America a warning to my adopted homeland about the evils of this system - Fox News

A few months ago, the question of the prospects for the return of socialism seemed ludicrous and irrational. Nevertheless, especially in the aftermath of the fierce battle of coronavirus, socialism has reappeared, even if it is in different forms than it was in the 19thand 20thCenturies.

Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic made people hope once again for the return of the role of the state and its government institutions to get out of this crisis. Especially since the private sector and businessmen do not care at all about the values of human development, care, and protection. The values of capitalism are concerned only with competition and material gain, and nothing else. For this reason, many politicians and economists resisted the measures to prevent coronavirus, which would surely cause great losses to the capitalists, who decided to sacrifice the lives of workers and all human values for the sake of material gains only.

Most importantly, the coronavirus epidemic has clearly shown the negative aspects of the capitalist system, especially in the health sector. The failure of the health system in the West to deal with the coronavirus is a natural result after Western countries abandoned their responsibilities in a fundamental matter such as human health, by privatizing it and leaving it as a commodity subject to the forces of the commercial market, with only deficient health insurance systems. This led to insanely high prices for treatment and medicines and to a severe shortage of strategic medical materials that private hospitals do not care about storing, as they may not be used at times without taking into account emergency cases. This is what the coronavirus pandemic has revealed and made the West, with all its economic capabilities, unable to provide the necessary medical care to its citizens.

These reasons led the Western government once again to blatantly intervene in the market, as both the United States and Germany allocated a huge package of aid to support the failing companies. France also announced that the government is ready to propose all means to support major companies, including the nationalization of some of these companies. Italy also announced the possibility of nationalizing Air Italy and establishing a new company run by the Ministry of Economy.

This is not the first time Western countries have intervened in the market. This also happened in 2008, after the mortgage crisis and bankruptcy of financial institutions in the United States nearly destroyed the global financial system. At that time, the ultra-liberal Bush administration had to swallow what is considered the deadly poison, which is state interference in the economy, by injecting a trillion dollars into the hardened arteries of the American economy.

To a large extent, the great similarity between the 2008 crisis and the global economic crisis due to coronavirus today is what puts capitalism in a critical situation, as it has been proven to everyone that this system is incapable of facing crises and is vulnerable to collapse under any circumstances. Therefore, the question about the future of the capitalist system, especially after the end of the Coronavirus crisis, is the most important question for everyone today.

Perhaps this question is what made The Lehman Trilogy by Italian novelist and playwright Stefano Massini one of the most important plays that will be shown on Broadway next September. This is as the play deals with the story of the most famous family and company that changed the economy and even the whole world but collapsed due to the financial crisis in 2008. However, the play does not focus on this turbulent time. Instead, the writer turns the companys history into a lament about the tragedy of American capitalism.

Today, capitalism stands at a crossroads as the concept of the role of the state is beginning to resurface. Certainly, the coronavirus will not end the capitalist system, but it will undoubtedly reshape it. Some companies will disappear, others will join larger companies, and some will be acquired by the state to save capital investments. Thus, this epidemic will strengthen the role of the state and enhance nationalism, as all governments will certainly adopt new measures to get out of this crisis and avoid future crises.

Dr. Marwa El-Shinawy: Assistant Professor at International American University for Specialized Studies (IAUS)

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Opinion| Socialism defeats capitalism in the time of coronavirus - Daily News Egypt