Opinion

Over the last few years, a marked transformation has occurred in education. Long-standing research on how to best teach children to read was acknowledged. School districts around the country embraced the “science of reading” – an interdisciplinary body of knowledge about reading and writing. Thankfully, our local districts have begun to make this long-overdue change. […]

The U.S. Surgeon General has recently identified gun violence in America as a public health crisis. The American Medical Association has long considered the uncontrolled ownership and use of firearms a threat to public health. And yet all political attempts to curb gun injuries and deaths have been met with fierce resistance.  What is missing […]

I have been incarcerated for 35 years at the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, and so I write this as a representative of the inmate population that is opposed to its closure and relocation. While there is no doubt as to the need for infrastructure repair or rebuilding, the complete closure of this facility is […]

You are probably thinking to yourself, surely that headline is a misprint, right? Ten years ago, the city of Detroit had an empty downtown, high crime, had lost half its population to outward migration and capped off its downward spiral with the declaration of bankruptcy. The city was effectively dead. Last month, the Wall Street […]

“You haven’t lived until you have helped someone who cannot repay you.” –John Bunyan Crack pipes. Heroin needles. Baggies. Air canisters. Infection from dirty needles. Stitches. Staples. Black eyes. Arms in casts. Open wounds. Crutches. Wheelchairs. Canes. Tears. Used condoms. Bloody clothing. Worn out book bags. Wet blankets. Torn sleeping bags. Dirty coats. Duct-taped tennis […]

A person’s freedom should not depend on how much cash they have. Illinois understands this tenet of fairness, and became the first state to eliminate money bond. The step follows the lead of other jurisdictions who successfully reduced the use of money bond. But rather than celebrating, the move away from money bond has come […]

Your Feb. 29 cover story, “When Kids Can’t Read,” references Springfield public schools and my curriculum, Units of Study. I applaud Springfield for attending to the individual differences among children as readers. It is fundamentally important to recognize that children are all different. Assessments from reading specialists and individualized support for those who need it […]

Vladimir Putin demonstrated in his “interview” with Tucker Carlson the delusional version of Russian history that rationalizes his brutality. Hamas and Benjamin Netanyahu continue to demonstrate Auden’s classic line: “Those to whom evil is done, do evil in return.” It often seems as if vast swaths of the Middle East operate under the collective delusion […]

Over the last century, Illinois has produced a few politicians of national prominence, usually for the wrong reasons. The one who achieved the most respect was Adlai Stevenson, a former governor who was the Democratic nominee for president in both 1952 and 1956. Stevenson, who was sworn into office as governor 75 years ago, on […]

In 2023, we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Illinois Nature Preserves System. Sixty years ago, Illinois recognized the plight of our natural areas sooner than most states. Unlike out east, where most nature had already been fundamentally transformed, we still had high-quality remnant natural areas – unplowed and unpaved. Ecosystems of rare plants, animals, […]

Most people are familiar with the story of the Trojan Horse – the “gift” that disguised destruction, at least for Troy. When legislators reconvene in the fall veto session, they will be confronted with a legislative Trojan Horse called SB76 – a pro-nuclear power bill which Gov. Pritzker wisely vetoed this past spring. Nuclear advocates want this […]