BAGHDAD, IRAQ – The American soldiers smashed through 68-year-old Ali Ahmed’s door at 2:30 in the morning. According to Ali, the Americans roughed up one of his four sons, then handcuffed everyone except his wife and 12-year-old boy. The soldiers ransacked their tiny apartment, took what little money they had, and finally hauled Ali and […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Your Turn. . . 9-4-03
A failure to communicate To the editor, We were disappointed with the slant your reporter gave to our union’s role in the merger of the Illinois State Lottery into the Department of Revenue [“Fired,” August 7, 2003]. Contrary to the allegation in the article (based on speculation by unnamed sources), AFSCME never cut any kind […]
Posted inOpinion
Missing the mark
Eight markers in central Springfield were set out to tell the story of the 1908 race riots. The markers were put in place in 1994 by the Historical Events Memorial Committee under then-mayor Ossie Langfelder. On August 14 and 15, 1908, two blacks, Scott Burton and William Donnegan, were killed by a white mob. Governor […]
Posted inOpinion
Your Turn . . . 8-28-03
Home sweet homely Dear editor: I can help answer the question, “Whatever happened to Scenic Springfield?” [August 21] The article covered a number of events that can help explain it. I wish to add to the list. The first is an expansion of the trash issue. Even though the city replaced trashcans downtown with recycle/trash […]
Posted inOpinion
Did the governor tee-off on a 14-year-old girl?
One of the most peculiar stories to come out of the Illinois State Fair concerned an animal-doping controversy. The story was actually about a costly mistake by the parents of a 4-H Club member, but it quickly turned into some bad publicity for Rod Blagojevich. Representative Shane Cultra (R-Onarga) even demanded an apology from the […]
Posted inOpinion
A neat trade
For the last 12 years, Mike Chase has been cleaning the windows of the Great Western Railroad Depot, where Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd, and their children bid farewell to Springfield before heading to Washington, D.C. Chase, owner of Rayvon Window Cleaning in New Berlin, also cleans the windows of the Old State Capitol. “These windows […]
Posted inOpinion
Your Turn . . . 8-21-03
The state fair is in his blood To the editor: Thanks for the state fair stories [“Our Fair City,” August 14]. From the age of 7 to 13, I always went away for a few weeks of the summer to spend time at my grandma’s house in Somalia, MO . . . home of the […]
Posted inOpinion
Your Turn . . . 8-14-03
Another Findley fan To the editor: During the years in which I served in the public sector, I came to know Congressman Paul Findley on a primarily business and somewhat personal level. I always had a great respect for him as a public official who spoke his mind on the basis always of what he […]
Posted inOpinion
Your Turn . . . 8-7-03
Findley fan Dear Editor, Thanks for the feature on former Congressman Paul Findley [“Our Darkest Time,” July 31]. Paul is a largely untapped treasure of Central Illinois. Oh, that his foreign-policy wisdom would be called upon by today’s decision-makers. I grew up in an avidly Democratic household, and I can remember my father telling me […]
Posted inOpinion
How the governor swore off video games
Even with everyone focused on “the worst fiscal crisis in the state’s history,” Governor Rod Blagojevich continues to be obsessed with his public image. Some state employees were required to monitor local TV news broadcasts for any mention of Blagojevich, until bad publicity forced the governor to reconsider the practice this week. In one instance, […]
Posted inOpinion
Your Turn . . . 7-31-03
No Tom Tomorrow! Dear Sir or Madam, I grow increasingly tired of the liberal fire-fueling cartoons and articles in your paper. I pick up your paper every week in order to get Springfield information and ideas for my upcoming weekend. However, I am appalled at your partisan beliefs. Yes, you have freedom of the press. […]
Posted inOpinion
The Patriot Act . . . Now at your local library
Last week was a public relations nightmare for Rod Blagojevich. A few months after freezing the wages of nonunion state employees and deducting 4 percent from their checks to pay for their pension contributions, a month after vetoing pay raises for legislators and judges, two weeks after unilaterally slashing the operating budgets of two statewide […]
