What a great time for a magazine dedicated to Illinois politics. The Democrats own Illinois again. Its leader, Governor Rod Blagojevich, is the son-in-law of a Chicago ward boss. Its head law enforcer, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, is the daughter of Illinois House Speaker and Democratic Party Chairman Mike Madigan. Not that the other party […]
Opinion
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Your Turn… 4-24-03
A patriot acts . . . To the editor. I just finished perusing the April 17-23 copy of the Illinois Times and found not one positive word about what our brave troops accomplished in Iraq. Considering what they have just done, I found it shameful that your paper ignored them. The only words in your […]
Posted inOpinion
Unequal time
Over the last month, local news has bristled with nasty swipes at any and all who publicly opposed the war with Iraq. There’s a sad, wide gulf between the two groups who have followed the event most closely, who track every bootstep and weep for each life lost on the battlefield. Despite reporters’ shorthand, nobody […]
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Your Turn 4-17-03
Rockford wants WUIS To the editor: I am dismayed to learn that some public radio affiliates in Illinois will no longer broadcast the highly acclaimed State Week in Review. Airing weekly from the University of Illinois at Springfield, this panel discussion is an insightful and entertaining look at current topics in Illinois politics and the […]
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From the top down
One of the stated major objectives of the American war in Iraq is to establish a “democratic” form of government. Yet when we look at the way decisions were made in our war policy, American democracy itself is found to be seriously lacking. The decision to go to war was one of the most important […]
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Taking stock in the statehouse
Last week a new source of cash fell into the laps of Springfield lobbyists. Several New York securities firms hired statehouse lobbyists, but not for their help with legislation. What stock traders wanted was information, which, in the right hands, could be worth millions. Philip Morris has been rebelling against a court order to post […]
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Young Americans
“Consider the life of a teenager: You have parents, teachers, telling you what to do. You have movies, magazines, and TV telling you what to do. But you know what you have to do. Your job, your purpose, is to get accepted.” So said Harry H., the nastily-nicknamed, wizened-beyond-his-years pirate radio jock in the 1990 […]
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Your Turn 4-10-03
UIS against sweatshops To the editor: This is a response to a letter from Hytham Kilani in your April 3-9 issue. Hytham stated that a majority of the clothing sold at UIS is made by sweatshop workers. Hytham’s allegation is not true, and I want to correct the record. We have documentation from our supplier, […]
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Your Turn 4-3-03
Everyone likes a winner To the editor: Last Sunday the State Journal-Register picked a Democrat as their choice for mayor. Last Monday I got up early to watch the sun rise in the West! Donald E. Palmer Springfield Opportunity knocks Dear editor, I want to thank Pete Sherman for his excellent article on District #186 […]
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Strange embedded fellows
Welcome to what NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw calls “the greatest televised event of the history of humankind.” The Iraq war has become a place where journalists and politics make strange embedded fellows. When networks go wall-to-wall with any story, they move fast to brand their coverage. It gets a catchy name, dramatic music, and flashy […]
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The world is watching
Lee Kyong-hee in the Korea Herald, Seoul Last Saturday afternoon, the host of a popular radio news show in Seoul pleaded with Korean parents to keep their children from television. It was hours after a thousand Tomahawks had pounded Baghdad. Watching the city reduced to smoldering rubble and its skies ablaze with soaring columns of […]
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Image conscious
Since the beginning of the new Iraq war, the Qatari news network Al Jazeera has been showing corpses. For a few days, pickings were slim: Several bombing casualties from the first night’s selective strike, then a few more on the following evenings. The station hit paydirt late last Friday and throughout Saturday. Al Jazeera provided […]
