Fletcher Farrar

Ruth Bader Ginsburg did her part as a justice fighter, working in hostile territory as long as she possibly could, though we wish she could have held out just a little longer. A way for those on her side to honor her is to stay in the fight, in hostile territory, as long as they […]

Racism seems intractable but it’s not. The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus is leading the fight against systemic racism by organizing an agenda of systemic reforms. Criminal justice, education, economic opportunity and health care are all getting a close look during legislative hearings. Overly harsh sentencing laws were the subject this week, with experts showing it […]

A friend took serious exception to what I wrote in this space last week. “Do you even think much about what you write?” she asked me. I see your point, I said. I’ll try to think more. “At least it’s short,” she said, “so maybe not many read it.” Maybe some people read it because […]

Kenosha is a little smaller than Springfield, but not much, so it’s easy to imagine us in Kenosha’s place. Maybe Springfield police are trained better, so they wouldn’t overreact with a gun to somebody carrying a knife, but another police shooting could happen here. There is a strong and thoughtful Black Lives Matter movement in […]

Did anybody wince with me when Joe Biden, asked what he would do if scientists advised him to shut down the economy over coronavirus concerns, quickly replied, “I would shut it down”? Might he at least have prefaced, “I hope it doesn’t come to that,” to offer some assurance that he won’t act rashly? It […]

There are no windy speeches at the Democrat convention. The speakers take their masks off just long enough to say wearing masks shows empathy for one another, and, as Michelle said, “We know what’s going on in our country is just not right.” Democrats are sensing this is their year, the wind is at their […]

I drove around the fairgrounds, thinking they must be lonely without the hustle. The cannas and marigolds are everywhere ready; the renovated Coliseum wants to show off. That’s where I showed cattle as a high school kid while, I learned later, my future wife was selling lemon shakeups at the Exposition Building next door. There’s […]

Our Summerguide edition this year, like every year, is all about things to do, but this year there is no extensive calendar of events, theater, concerts and sports. Instead readers are guided to keep summer simple, and joyful. In her article, “Salvaging summer,” p. 15, IT writer and mom Lana Shovlin says she reads in […]

It is wise of District 186, and other area school districts, to offer parents the option of sending their children back to real classrooms with in-person teachers. If a few families try it and it works, that will help convince others to try it later. Families lacking home child care options may be the first […]

This week brings realization that the pandemic will last longer and the recession will go deeper than most of us had hoped or imagined a month ago. It is like having both hands tied while working on anti-racism, engaging in a national election campaign and keeping businesses open and people employed. Illinois, unaccustomed to being […]

Last week’s cover story, “Reinventing police” by Bruce Rushton, included many ideas and hopes for the future, along with plenty of reasons for building something new and different where the old police department used to be. There is an opportunity now for reinventing almost everything. Even this summer, schools are being reinvented as the role […]

Rahm Emanuel has many of us wondering what big good could come out of all this disease, economic disruption and racial unrest. The former Chicago mayor and President Obama’s chief of staff may not have been the first to say it, but he says it often enough that many attribute the quote to him: “Never […]