In the Christian Book of Revelation we read that angels will sound seven trumpets to signal the apocalyptic events that will lead to a new kingdom of Heaven. I heard such a trumpet on my first night in my new apartment and it wasn’t announcing hail or blood or a mountain thrown into the sea. It […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
MASSEY COMMISSION
When the Massey Commission was formed, community members rightly questioned what it would actually do. Some expected a short-term task force – something tidy and symbolic. But the charge the commission was given, and the one I accepted as managing director, is not the kind of work that fits neatly into a headline. It asks […]
Posted inRich Miller
Mass transit funding deal analysis
Last May, several Illinois House Democrats complained bitterly that their mass transit negotiators were ignored and even shut out by the Senate Democratic mass transit negotiators. The House members had a point. The Senate passed a bill which was an almost purely Senate Democratic creation. They literally gave the House a “take it or leave […]
Posted inRich Miller
IFT moves into new era
At the end of the 2024 spring state legislative session, the Illinois Federation of Teachers issued a decidedly diplomatic press release. IFT President Dan Montgomery praised the new state budget as “crucial for our state’s success,” and applauded increases in K-12 and early childhood education funding. Montgomery did criticize the “meager” increase in higher education […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Letters to the editor
BAD IDEA All the coverage of the protestors (outside Sean Grayson’s trial) just ensures the jury will be influenced. Guess the idea of innocent until proven guilty only applies to those protesting. It’s a sure way to have the whole case thrown out on jury-tampering allegations. Dottie Unland Gholson Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes DATA CENTER PLANS There’s […]
Posted inOpinion
America facing the “banality of evil”
I was at lunch in Springfield when a close friend called from one of the suburbs of Chicago. He said, “This area has been invaded; I cannot go outside my house for fear of being taken away. They (ICE) are waiting outside construction and other offices. As soon as workers come out who look Latino […]
Posted inRich Miller
Hospitals and law enforcement
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights held a Statehouse lobby day last week to push its far-reaching veto session agenda. Included in the ICIRR agenda are things such as putting strict limits on executing civil immigration warrants in state courthouses. That would likely be challenged in court, but there is some common law […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Letters to the editor
BE KIND Congratulations on your longevity and success (“50th anniversary special section,” Sept. 25). While Fletcher Farrar and I have political views that couldn’t be farther apart, I must say I appreciate so much his professionalism. When I see Fletcher in public, he is friendly and cordial. As we wade through trying times in political discourse, I am […]
Posted inRich Miller
Budget deficit projections
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget projected last week that the current fiscal year’s budget will run a $267 million deficit. The budget office recommended taking “immediate” action to plug the hole. And the problem gets much worse in the future, with a $2.2 billion projected deficit for next fiscal year, which begins July […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Letters to the editor 10/9
When I heard the topic for the guest presenter – alcohol and drugs – I thought these elementary school children would be bored by it. At first, while the speaker droned through preliminary remarks, there was little interest, but as soon as he mentioned drugs, hands shot up. “My dad was on drugs,” one of […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Letters to the editor 10/9
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. UNDERSTANDABLE Dean Olsen’s cover story about the local impact of cuts to Medicaid was excellent – thorough, well-researched, with multiple perspectives (“Losing health care coverage,” Oct. 2). You made a complicated issue easier to understand […]
Posted inRich Miller
AFL-CIO move a surprise
The announcement last week that the Illinois AFL-CIO was withdrawing from the “agreed bill process” at least 40 years after its inception took almost everyone by surprise, but nobody was really shocked. For years, whenever the group engaged in carefully constructed negotiations with business interests on workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance, labor leaders would grumble […]
