I have occasionally used my space in this paper to remark on the dearth of the scenic in most of central Illinois. In “Living in three dimensions” I observed in a helpful tone that whatever good the glaciers did for the central Illinois farmer, “they did no favors at all for the central Illinois sightseer. […]
James Krohe Jr.
Posted inOpinion
Taking the dopes out of doping
In “The needle and the records won“ I tried to make a case that doping in sports in inevitable and unavoidable, and that only cure is, in effect, to make it legal. We don’t have rules in politics or business or war in this country, why be squeamish about playing our games that way? […]
Posted inOpinion
Reforming what matters
PHOTO COURTESY OF AFSCME Tell me, brother, don’t you understandWe’re all working for the Pharaoh “Pharaoh” Richard Thompson© BMG Rights Management US, LLC Reform. Our problem is not that everybody talks about it but no one ever does anything about it. Our problem is that everybody talks about it but only a few people get […]
Posted inOpinion
A place for business to live
PHOTO BY DAVID HINE On July 28, Mayor Langfelder 2.0 made good a campaign promise and appointed the members of a new Economic Development Commission that will advise the city’s – which is to say the mayor’s – Office of Planning and Economic Development. Major development projects, such as the bungled Bluffstone proposal to build […]
Posted inOpinion
Historic commitments
No loyal son or daughter of Illinois can ignore this pleas from Tara Winter, the Director of Development for the Illinois State Historical Society. The Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS) was founded in 1899. Our mission is to foster awareness, understanding, research, preservation, and recognition of history in Illinois. In order to meet our mission and provide services in our communities, […]
Posted inOpinion
You say
Words are to a writer what nails are to carpenter or lies to a diplomat. To do your job well you must choose just the right one for the job. I was chagrined today to learn, some 60 years late, that the standard plural of “octopus” is not “octopi,” as I always assumed. The Oxford […]
Posted inOpinion
Being boiled alive
Now and then in recent columns, I’ve touched on the risks and the occasional opportunities faced by Illinois as the world’s climate changes. Over at WUIS-FM’s useful news site, three experts at the University of Illinois taking part in the U of I’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs’ Climate Policy Initiative — Dan Fullerton, […]
Posted inOpinion
Tuning in
So much of happiness, I’ve realized, depends on getting tuned in. When he was a young married, my father used to tune in the console radio in the living room of the Krohe family mansion on Manor Avenue to the live broadcasts of big-band music “from the beautiful Blue Room in the Roosevelt Hotel” in […]
Posted inOpinion
West Side Story, then and now
In August, the Springfield Muni Opera will stage West Side Story. Directed and choreographed by Anna Bussing, the Broadway classic will play August 7-8, 13-15 and 20-22. (Curtain at 8:00 p.m.) Muni put on West Side Story in 1977, and I was backstage on opening night in my disguise as a reporter. It was a […]
Posted inOpinion
Embarrassing ancestors
In “Naming rights and wrongs,” I discussed, but did not settle, a question raised by Rick Miller of Capitol Fax, to whit, whether government facilities and entities in Illinois should be allowed to reflect historical incidents, doctrines or individuals that some members of the polity regard as odious. The entity he had in mind was Calhoun […]
Posted inOpinion
Making 2 plus 2 equal 3
In “The razor blade in the apple” I ventured to dismiss Mr. Rauner’s proposal to exempt local governments from the Prevailing Wage Act, which sets a locally controlled floor for construction pay on taxpayer-funded projects as a way to lower local government costs. I noted that construction is only a fraction of the cost of […]
Posted inOpinion
A beginning for happier endings?
In my 2013 column “Happier endings” I deplored the fact that doctors of patients in the final stages of incurable diseases so often continue to administer invasive or unpleasant treatments intended to prolong life when what patients and their families really want is help to die painlessly. Good news, then, from the folks who run […]
