Editor’s Note

The Republican Party in Illinois needs to be taken seriously, because in the land of Lincoln Republicans know deep down they have to steer their party away from the ridiculous Donald Trump. That’s what party leaders mean when they call for “moderation” in their platforms and candidates, but that’s too boring to take them far. […]

It may not be enough to satisfy Joe Manchin, but here’s something that needs to be deleted from the gargantuan spending plan now pending in the Senate. It’s called the “Local News Payroll Tax Credit,” and would provide up to $25,000 in the first year and $15,000 in years two through five for each full-time […]

It doesn’t detract from our Thanksgiving gratitude to include a prayer that life could get better for others. The 2021 Sangamon County Citizen Survey, conducted by University of Illinois Springfield, tells us 56% of respondents had at least one bad mental health day in the last month. Those of us grateful to be in the […]

Many in this country seem to believe the three great enemies of the people are globalism, socialism and journalism. That sentiment, however, is more than matched by the idealism of the young journalists we’re interviewing this week for the UIS Public Affairs Reporting internship. They are in it to make a difference. To them we […]

On a “civil rights” tour of Alabama, many of the speakers resist making connections to the present, preferring to discuss the desegregation and voting rights struggles of the 1950s and 60s as a closed book, the way we explain Lincoln. Others see Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma as an important chapter in the continuing antiracism struggle. […]

One of this state’s wicked problems is that health in Illinois isn’t equal or equitable. The George Floyd protests in the midst of a pandemic were a stark reminder that Black Lives don’t last as long as others, and that racial and low-income health disparities have been neglected. Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois […]

When Brian McFadden starts talking about the county’s “campus,” you know he’s on a roll. After the Sangamon County administrator announced in April a $16.7 million makeover of the existing county building, the county last week bought the State Journal-Register building next door because, McFadden said, “It fits naturally into our campus and we’re happy […]

The best part of refurbishing the Old State Capitol is the plan to renovate the interpretation of the building as a monument to freedom and equality. Abraham Lincoln wasn’t pure on issues of race, but he steadily progressed as an antiracist, and in the building in June 1858 he said the nation, divided over slavery, […]

Why can’t Republicans get on board with raising the debt limit? Why can’t Israelis support Palestinians, and vice versa? Why can’t those who oppose abortion also support a woman’s right to choose? Some people refuse to get vaccinated because they take care of their health and immune systems. Some are quick to take medicines because […]

Social media put out word Monday that there was a “heavy police presence in Harvard Park,” but it was a joke. Turns out a half dozen cops showed up to serve hot dogs at the Harvard Park Neighborhood Association meeting, which drew 30 or so residents. City council members Kristin DiCenso and Shawn Gregory share […]

We have two new staff writers reporting for Illinois Times. Scott Reeder and Kenneth Lowe have been contributing articles occasionally; now their work will appear weekly in these pages. Reeder, a resident of Sherman, is a veteran Statehouse reporter, having worked for several news organizations, including the Small Newspaper Group and Illinois News Network. His […]

Having ended the war in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden is now trying to explain to a skeptical world his plans for building a peace. Biden pledged not to retreat to the kind of America First isolationism of his predecessor, but instead to continue to speak out for the basic rights of the Afghan people, especially […]