Opinion

I’m preparing to teach a class at Southern Illinois University next spring on restoring American statesmanship and I’m struck by the critical connection between engaged citizenship and successful statesmanship. Put simply, active citizens expect – and even demand – more from their leaders than less engaged ones. Informed and concerned citizens care about good government […]

When COVID-19 turned life upside down in 2020, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum set out to capture memories of the pandemic through an oral history project called “Tumultuous 2020.” As head of the project, I spent the last year talking to Illinoisans about their myriad experiences as they weathered one of the most […]

An amendment to the Illinois Constitution sponsored by organized labor is quietly, as if on cat’s paws, marching toward enactment at the November election. The amendment would prohibit “right-to-work” legislation, and also give unprecedented power to unions where the authority of the National Labor Relations Act is uncertain, such as with charter schools. Enactment by […]

In late 2020 when the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln asked community members to submit ideas for the betterment of their community, we weren’t sure what reaction we would get. It turned out that hundreds of ideas, big and small, were submitted. In the spring of 2021, we weren’t sure what would happen […]

The Springfield City Council recently approved another $285,000 for yet more studies on the city’s favorite 50-year-plus boondoggle, Lake 2. At the council meeting, Alderman Gregory asked the best, most obvious question: Is this the last of these endless studies? His question drew laughter, for we know the answer. Why more studies? The mayor and […]

Recently I was struck by a conversation I had with a progressive friend. When I noted the significant decrease in extreme world poverty over the past two decades – a remarkable achievement that has attracted relatively little news coverage – he responded by confidently denying that this was so. His reasoning was instructive: If this […]

America has lost its way, or so I worry. Can we get back on track? What do we mean by The American Way? Each of us might define it differently, though I think there are some common threads. In 1937, social commentator William Herberg gave it a shot in a lengthy paragraph, from which I […]

Like many Illinoisans, I was saddened to learn that Caterpillar Tractor Company is moving its world headquarters from our state to Texas. CAT has been an important company in Illinois. It has been especially vital to my hometown of Peoria, where its world headquarters were located for nearly nine decades. My dad was a civil engineer […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s penchant for military adventurism abroad has gained him celebrity status, thanks in part to his asymmetrical methods. His geopolitical resumé contains a number of marginal successes, including the 2008 invasion and de facto annexation of portions of Georgia, the propping up of fellow strongman Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war […]

When the decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was announced on June 24, I went online read it for myself rather than depend on the interpretation of various analysts and politicians. In the 213 pages there were many striking comments but one caught my attention more than any other. “The resolution of this […]