People’s Poetry
lakepoem #7 what this summer I am denied is what I love best about being here naked in the still dawn the chill water welcoming my gliding breaststroke through the shade of the wooded hill behind me till far out I come into the sunlight on the water the rays first on my hands a…
Letters to the Editor
We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address, and daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length, and clarity. Send letters to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. THE MOST ASININE STORY EVER! There have been many types of stories in Illinois Times over…
Surveillance society
The 18th-century English philosopher Jeremy Bentham once designed a prison he called the Panopticon. The Panopticon was shaped as a cylinder, with cells radiating from a central guard tower. The guard tower was always to be dark, so that the inmates never knew whether they were being observed. Because prisoners could never see the guards,…
Opportunity of “flim-flam”?
Cathy and Alphonso McKamey, both retired, consider themselves the new kids on the block. Although the couple has lived on East Pine for just 10 years, they say they’re as invested in the community as their neighbors who’ve lived there for five decades. They admit that, rife with drug activity, the area could use cleaning…
Bush’s backfire
Giving credit where credit is due, I’ll concede that Bush’s gang of neoconservative nutballs was right in saying that his approach to Iraq would be held up as a model of success in the Mideast. Unfortunately, it’s become a model of success for Islamic extremists. Start with Iraq itself. Before Bush’s invasion, the country was…
There must be a God…
Every day for four years I got down on my knees and thanked God for sending me George Ryan. I knew that no matter how slow the news day was, I could always count on the former governor’s various scandals and antics to provide enough interesting fodder to fill up white space. Reporter: “Gov. Ryan,…
Nothing fair about it
It has come to my attention that certain citizens of Springfield don’t like the Illinois State Fair. Ooh! Ouch! What sacrilege! Such blasphemy! Who could ever show any disrespect for the grand and venerable institution of “the fair”? I’ve learned that families plan vacations around fair time just to avoid the blessed mess. On the…
Red, black and green
On Monday, the National Foreign Trade Council, whose list of members reads like the Fortune 500, filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Chicago challenging an Illinois law that mandates the divestment of most state assets in the African nation of Sudan. Several police and firefighter pension funds from around the state are also…
