Free Trade, Fair Trade, and the Question of the Year

Free Trade, Fair Trade, and the Question of the Year by John F. Di Leo June 22, 2018 A.D.   International trade has always been in the news.  Business reporters talk about a trade deficit, politicians wail about jobs being […]

The Magna Carta and the Path to Freedom

The Magna Carta and the Path to Freedom by John F. Di Leo June 15, 2018 A.D.   On June 15, 1215 A.D., King John of England affixed his seal to the Magna Carta, and the world was changed. While […]

Mayor Rahm and the “Right” to Pre-Kindergarten

Mayor Rahm and the “Right” to Pre-Kindergarten by John F. Di Leo June 1, 2018 A.D. On May 31, Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a plan to bring free universal all-day pre-kindergarten to all the people of Chicago. The local […]

Nourished by the Blood of Patriots

Nourished by the Blood of Patriots by John F. Di Leo May 28, 2018 A.D. Reflections on American Heroes, for this Memorial Day… John Laurens John Laurens was raised in privilege – for his time – in South Carolina. As the […]

From Foreign Vendors to Local Banks: Tariffs and Regulations in the Crosshairs

From Foreign Vendors to Local Banks: Tariffs and Regulations in the Crosshairs by John F. Di Leo May 25, 2018 A.D. After three months of saber-rattling on the trade front – including the implementation of high duties on imported steel […]

What Do Taxes Do For Us?

What Do Taxes Do For Us? by John F. Di Leo May 16, 2018 A.D. As you may have heard, Illinois has a pension problem. Now, that’s not Illinois’ only problem, of course. Illinois also has a crime problem, an education problem, […]

Local Shade and International Trade

Local Shade and International Trade by John F. Di Leo May 9, 2018 A.D. As the weather warms in May, and neighbors start taking constitutionals around the neighborhood again, we enjoy the fragrance of the flowering trees – apple, cherry, […]

From Law School to Prison Ship: The Honorable Life of Elias Boudinot

From Law School to Prison Ship: The Honorable Life of Elias Boudinot by John F. Di Leo May, 2, 2018 A.D.   Reflections on one of America’s first presidents on the anniversary of his birth… When Elias Boudinot IV signed […]

Made in the USA? Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover!

Made in the USA? Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover! by John F. Di Leo Friday, April 27, 2018 A.D. Much of the business news in 2018 has concerned the Trump administration’s impositions of new tariffs on imported goods.  […]

A Farewell to Carson’s, and the Assignment of Blame

A Farewell to Carson’s, and the Assignment of Blame by John F. Di Leo Friday, April 20, 2018 For over a century, Chicagoans grew up with a signature memory: special days downtown, shopping at Marshall Field’s and Carson’s, the great […]