Let’s continue our examination of U.S. Senate candidates. This time, the Democrats: • Dan Hynes. Obviously the man to beat. State Comptroller Hynes has lined up big-time labor support, he has the backing of most county chairmen, and he has put together a good organization. He’s already won two statewide elections by wide margins. So […]
Opinion
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Groveling for 50 bucks per month
BAGHDAD, IRAQ – The line sometimes stretches a mile long. Former soldiers and employees of the Iraqi Army, 400,000 in all, are paid a $50- per-month “pension” by the occupying forces. The only catch is, they have to stand in line to get the money. The lines in Baghdad are the worst. There is only […]
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Your Turn … 9-11-03
Scary oversight In last week’s listing of area Haunted Houses, we neglected to mention the Springfield Jaycees Haunted House, a local institution since 1979. Proceeds fund a variety of charity programs, including the purchase of Christmas gifts for underprivileged children. This year’s haunted house will be at the Capitol City Shopping Center, October 15 through […]
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Republican roundup
This seems like a good time to rate our various U.S. Senate candidates. Let’s start with the Republicans. • Jack Ryan. A handsome multimillionaire with three Ivy League degrees, he quit his career as an investment banker and went to work as a teacher in an inner-city school. This guy could catch fire. He’s putting […]
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Grim realities
BAGHDAD, IRAQ – Fadia was crying when we arrived, but she quickly explained that it wasn’t serious. The teenager was hungry and had a stomachache. The pain would soon pass, she said, as tears welled up in her red and swollen eyes. Her family’s home–in a tiny, poverty-stricken Christian ghetto in Baghdad–was one of my […]
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Prisoners of war
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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
