Last week, Bruce Rauner signed a letter sent jointly by Republican governors to President Obama asking him “respectfully” to suspend all plans to resettle additional Syrian refugees in the U.S. “Respectfully” — but also confusedly and cowardly. Readers who don’t regularly read Rich Miller’s dispatches at Capitol Fax.com might wish to read his Monday post critiquing […]
James Krohe Jr.
Posted inOpinion
Rauner’s cowardice
Sadly, two weeks after writing a column extolling a senior Illinois Republican for his brave stand on admitting refugees from the horrors of World War II Europe into the U.S., our state is shamed by a senior Illinois Republican who has surrendered to fear and xenophobia. I pass with applause this comment by the editors at […]
Posted inOpinion
Unhappy days are here again
Photo by G. Kunz/ Tribune News Service The news media, as their name suggests, focus on what is new in the world. Journalism’s only subject is current events – “current” having been defined of late to mean “within the past 10 minutes.” Yesterday is barely mentioned, last year is nearly forgotten, a century ago does […]
Posted inOpinion
Huang speaks
In my column of May 6, 2010, “Making room for the Huangs,” I described Wenguang Huang, the Chinese translator and journalist who emigrated to the United States in 1990, specifically to Springfield, where he earned his second master’s degree from the public affairs reporting program offered by what was then still Sangamon State University. Huang […]
Posted inOpinion
Kitchen concoctions
Jim Davison enjoys corn dogs at the Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield. PHOTO BY TOM UHLENBROCK/TNS Writing about diners and diner food lately (see “Off the menu” and “Breakfast of a champion”) has left me hungry to know what other contributions to the nation’s waistline can be traced to this part of the world. […]
Posted inOpinion
Outta here
In “Going for the fences” (Oct. 2, 2014) I noted that the moguls who rule the game were in a sweat. Both home runs-per-game and runs-per-game were 20 percent lower than the record-setting pace of the early 2000s. Attendance and TV ratings are down in consequence. The end was nigh. What is wrong with our game? […]
Posted inOpinion
Baseball by moonlight
As much as I enjoy watching them, I dreaded the Cubs’ entry into the playoffs, because that would mean I would be compelled to watch them in every game. I am offended by any team that decorates its players so they look like an 8-year-old’s bedroom, for one thing. For another, I detest watching night […]
Posted inOpinion
Breakfast of a champion
PHOTO COURTESY CHARLIE PARKER’S To such names as A.L. Ide, Ira Weaver and George Celani (who in the 1980s invented an express air package service out of thin air!), we should now add to Springfield’s roster of distinguished inventors that of Mike Murphy, who devised a process to turn an English muffin into a $25,000 […]
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Questions that need asking
Horseshoe sandwiches have been in the news lately, which reminded me — would a kiddy shoe with fish be half-soled?
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Let the Pilgrims land again
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin PHOTO BY HARRY E. WALKER /TNS The United States should accept 100,000 refugees from the ghastly violence in Syria, said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin recently. More than half of that nation’s people have been driven from their homes and to date at least 250,000 have been killed – the equivalent of […]
Posted inOpinion
As Portland goes, so goeth Illinois?
Back in April I remarked on the decision by Mr. Rauner to take the necessary administrative steps toward seeling the old State of Illinois Center (now known as the Thompson Center) in Chicago. The new governor judged that the building was inefficient, decrepit, and inappropriately designed for its purpose and ougt to be sold, and […]
Posted inOpinion
Winner takes nothing
As you might have heard, the merry band of ball players disguised as Chicago Cubs won for themselves a chance to go to the World Series this year as one of the two best teams in American professional baseball. Except that the two best teams were already known back on Oct. 4. They’re the Royals […]
