The Kyle Rittenhouse trial and verdict is a bit like those ink blot tests psychologists sometimes have patients examine. A half-dozen folks can look at the same thing and see something different. I’ve heard Rittenhouse described as a “hero” by right-wingers and as a “criminal” by those on the left. But when I look at […]
Scott Reeder
Scott Reeder is a staff writer at Illinois Times.
Posted inNews
The missing moderates
Illinoisans are passionately moderate. For a quarter century, that was the contention of the Republican governors who led the state from 1977 to 2003. Governors Jim Edgar, James R. Thompson and George Ryan governed from the middle, sought consensus and coated whatever they did with a heavy layer of pragmatism. Edgar and Thompson supported abortion […]
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Jesse Sullivan is well-funded, but does he have a chance?
He’s handsome, articulate and driven. His pretty wife and four adorable children appear to have come right out of central casting. When Jesse Sullivan launched his campaign in September, he already had raised $11 million, several times more than all of his Republican opponents combined. In fact, not that long ago – before billionaires and […]
Posted inOpinion
Relics of the past
I was digging around in a barn loft a while back, collecting things that had been stored away for half a century. When I pried open a suitcase, I found a stack of newspapers from November 1963, cataloging the details of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I carried the suitcase down the ladder to […]
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Rigged elections?
With the stroke of a pen, Gov. JB Pritzker made Illinois perhaps the most gerrymandered state in the nation. The map was drawn by the General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, and signed into law by Pritzker, who is also a Democrat. “Unfortunately, what Democrats did here is perfectly legal,” said Madeline Doubek, executive […]
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On the right path
A 10-foot-wide ribbon of asphalt now joins Williamsville and Sherman, enabling residents to bike, hike and run between the two communities. The bike path, which stretches 4.4 miles between the two villages, opened Nov. 20. A more formal opening will occur in 2022 after bike racks and park benches are added. “We want the interconnectivity […]
Posted inOpinion
Giving thanks for family
There is no place more miserable to be on Thanksgiving Day than in a buffet line in a Las Vegas casino. Trust me. I’ve been there. Back when I was single and a reporter for the Las Vegas Sun, I found myself new in town and alone on the holiday in the middle of Sin […]
Posted inOpinion
The missing middle
Just when it looked like things couldn’t get any worse for Democrats in rural areas, Virginia voters proved them wrong. This month, the Republican gubernatorial candidate captured more than 70% of the vote in 45 rural Virginia counties, compared to just four counties any of the GOP’s candidates carried by at least that margin in […]
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Rod Blagojevich is not a changed man
They defied the odds and stayed married. When a married man enters prison, he almost always leaves it alone, particularly when he serves a lengthy sentence. But Rod and Patti Blagojevich held it together, not just through his almost eight years in prison but through two federal trials, seven elections, a years-long feud between Rod […]
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Literacy at the laundromat
Family Pride Laundry in Springfield has a new spin for its customers: a children’s library. The idea of turning a corner of the laundromat into a place where youngsters can read originated with Amanda Brown, a 20-year-old student at University of Illinois Springfield. “I was just really attracted to it because I love working with […]
Posted inOpinion
Holding police accountable
The No. 1 reason innocent people go to prison is because of government misconduct. That’s not just my opinion. It’s the view of the National Registry of Exonerations, which catalogs wrongful conviction cases and their underlying causes. The group concluded recently that in 54% of cases in which someone was wrongly convicted, it was through […]
Posted inOpinion
Puppy love
“He’s half Labrador retriever and half German shepherd,” the volunteer said as she handed me the wiggling puppy. I looked into the mutt’s shiny eyes and just shrugged. A few months ago, my wife, a veterinarian, went into work on her day off to spay and neuter dogs from a local animal rescue. Since I […]
