Fletcher Farrar

 Mayor Jim Langfelder and some members of the city council who oppose the welcoming cities resolution are overthinking the issue. (See commentary, “Mayor trumpets anti-hate measure,” by Bruce Rushton, p. 11.) They, like most lawmakers, know to be wary of fine print and hidden agendas, particularly if they aren’t the ones who hid them. If […]

 “The problem with quotes on the internet is that it is hard to verify their authenticity.” – Abraham Lincoln (source: the internet). –Fletcher Farrar, editor and CEO

 It’s fun for a reporter to catch a candidate early in her political career, while she’s still feeling her way, wanting to say the right thing and not offend, while still conveying that she has substance. This week’s cover story by veteran journalist Scott Reeder is one of the first in-depth profiles of Erika Harold, […]

While many politicians were saying it’s too soon to talk about gun control, our Sen. Richard Durbin said it’s lawmakers’ job to answer tough questions. “Congress is complicit if it continues its course of inaction,” Durbin said this week. “Can we protect the Second Amendment rights of every American, yet draw reasonable lines at the […]

 Many of us of a certain age are this week reliving a painful chapter of our past with nightly installments of Ken Burns’ documentary The Vietnam War on public TV. For me it’s not just revisiting the confusing times and political turmoil of then, but beginning to understand some parts of that complex era for […]

Welcome back, Hillary. Some say she never left the public political scene, but the thoughtful talk Hillary Clinton has been giving to the media on her book promotion tour remind us how much a tough, wise, experienced and, yes, angry politician can contribute to the national dialogue as we all try to figure out, “What […]

 After years of crowing about his pro-business agenda, Gov. Bruce Rauner has finally signed a pro-business reform into law. It’s called school aid formula reform, and it, together with increased funding for education, will do more to improve the state’s business climate than anti-union legislation ever could. More equitable funding for schools, together with a […]

During his nationwide address Monday night, President Trump seemed proud of himself for changing his mind on Afghanistan, America’s longest war. For years he has criticized the nation’s involvement there, and he acknowledged that his “original instinct was to pull out,” but now his generals have persuaded him to commit more American troops and make […]