Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com GIVE THEM SHELTER I was very shocked to read the story about […]
Opinion
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Answers needed in the Julie Rea-Harper case
After two years and two nationally televised exposés of the case of Julie Rea-Harper, who was convicted of murdering her child, why has the state of Illinois taken little significant action to seek the truth? Convicted serial child killer Tommy Lynn Sells has confessed to the 1997 murder of Rea-Harper’s son, 10-year-old Joel Kirkpatrick, and, […]
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This isn’t Dixie
The concept of “racial slippage” is back, and it’s being misapplied to Illinois. The term describes a situation of minority candidates’ doing worse on Election Day than the polls predict. According to the theory, some white voters lie to pollsters and tell them they support a black candidate because they are embarrassed to admit that […]
Posted inOpinion
letters 5-6-04
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com A LINCOLN-HEARTED MAN Thank you for the excellent feature on Jerry Jacobson […]
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Taking for granted the world’s understanding of the American experience
I’ve lived in Europe for several years. I find it stimulating, and, despite the fear-borne insularity of America since 9/11, the inexorable march toward a global society continues, even when it crawls. American TV, film, music and business permeate Europe. Yet when I was talking to my Italian friend about a famous American, someone I […]
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Welcome home, 233rd
The soldiers of Springfield’s 233rd Military Police Company of the Illinois National Guard are finally home after a year in Iraq. I was embedded briefly with the 233rd while in Iraq last year. The embed was one of my most positive experiences in that screwed-up nation. I also spent a lot of time in Fallujah, […]
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letters 4-29-04
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com FREE FINANCIAL ADVICE Just read the story on Renatta Frazier [Dusty Rhodes, […]
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Kioaka’s spirit
Kioaka’s eyes are moist, partly from the blustery winter wind and his advancing years but mostly because of the deep sadness he feels as he ponders what must be done. His people, the Mississippians, have lived here for more than 500 years. Before them, Woodland natives occupied this land. High on the bluff, the giant […]
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“Nothing was wasted”
There is no such thing as waste in nature — except, of course, for the piles of stuff that man leaves lying around or tries to sweep beneath a thin carpet of soil. There’s no such thing as a wasted life either, or at least there wasn’t until we humans started stuffing the dead bodies […]
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The lost promise of “take our daughters to work day”
My son grew up fatherless, but there were men in his life. One day, one took him shooting. When Ray brought him home, I asked how it went. “Great!” Jonah said. Then, with a thoughtful look on his face, he added, “You know, most people don’t have enough insurance.” This was not a lead-in to […]
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letters 4-22-04
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com THANKS FOR THE LAUGH Thanks, Tom [Irwin], for a great April Foolie […]
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Speaker speaks up
This was supposed to be a quiet year at the Statehouse. The Democrats have some vulnerable incumbents, particularly in the House. The fewer problems and the less controversy, the better for incumbents. At least, that’s what just about everybody figured. But then last week, House Speaker Michael Madigan surprised the state’s political world and whacked […]
