Fletcher Farrar

It has been heartbreaking to watch so many once-proud and honorable elected officials say they will challenge election results. They do this, staining their reputations, to remain in favor with supporters of someone who lost an election but says he won. It shouldn’t be this hard to say what everybody knows: The emperor has no […]

Here’s gratitude for Illinois Times making it through another year, and for all who helped IT do so – our readers, our writers, our newsmakers, our staff and drivers, our subscribers and donors, our advertisers and friends. Some weeks we marvel, not at how few ads we have, compared to before, but how many, compared […]

Gov. JB Pritzker is right that had his fair-tax constitutional amendment passed, allowing a progressive income tax, the budget deficit Illinois now faces wouldn’t be as dire. The incomes of Illinois’ wealthiest one percent have ballooned from an annual average of $411,177 in 1979 to over $1.45 million by 2017, while they still pay the […]

Every December day’s mail and email arrives with more fundraising appeals from arts groups, church groups, public radio and TV, helping organizations and nonprofits of every kind. Here’s an idea for dealing with all those requests: Give to as many as you can. Even a small donation provides encouragement, a welcome gift at the close […]

Some things to think about while we wait in worldwide lines for immunizations: Reducing those “underlying health conditions” that make everything worse. Changing medical care to health care. Drinking more water. Following Michael Pollan’s diet – “Eat good food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Health is the best vaccine. –Fletcher Farrar, editor and CEO

We are used to being put on the spot by being asked to name one thing for which we are thankful. Now David Brooks suggests other questions to ask around the Thanksgiving Zoom screen. “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” If that goes well, try, “What crossroads are you at, and which direction […]

On a grey day in November I learned Jim Herron, Ltd. is moving out of downtown to The Gables out west. The first time I wear something new my daughter says, “Let me guess. . . Jim Herron’s?,” knowing I never shop anywhere else. The sign in the window at Wyndham City Centre says the […]

Newcomer JB Pritzker made a good start toward replacing Illinois’ flat tax with a fair tax. Now that his effort to pass a constitutional amendment has failed, it’s good that he’s vowed not to give up. “You deserved a fairer tax system and you still do,” he told Illinoisans. After spending millions of his own […]

In Sangamon County, and across the country, most woke Wednesday to the realization that about half the people voted opposite the way they themselves did. First thoughts were along the lines of, “What could they have been thinking?” Then came second thoughts that we hope they are satisfied, win or lose, that the process was […]

This is the kind of health care Americans want. Ten docs per patient. Upbeat prognosis regardless. Steroids, needed or not. No discussion of obesity, diet, exercise, lifestyle. Prompt discharge, timed for the evening news. Fully staffed clinic waiting at home. No bills, no insurance. Walter Reed for all. – Fletcher Farrar, editor and CEO

It looks like decency will win over crassness in the election next month, but it is too soon to tell. Things may have to get worse before they get better. Many will despair unless they focus on the long term, and local first. Regardless of the outcome of the national election, there will be neighborhoods […]