CONGRATS TO FLETCHER
I was surprised to read of Fletcher “Bud” Farrar’s move from the role of editor, but pleased to know he’s still going to be active in the affairs of Illinois Times and its journalism. I was fortunate to have a few articles published by Bud in IT in the 1970s. Most memorable were my reporting on what it was like to be able to be in the U.S. House chamber for President Jimmy Carter’s speech on energy to a joint session of Congress, my piece on life in the small McLean County town of Colfax, and my letter to the editor on the fire that destroyed the landmark Springfield restaurant, The Mill, where two high school seniors in 1964 had our “last date,” before I was to leave to join a religious community (and we celebrated our 58th anniversary on June 6!).
Thank you, Bud, for the remarkable newspaper you created and have led so well, preserving excellent journalism for Springfield and central Illinois.
Nicholas Penning
Springfield, Virginia
IRREPLACEABLE
Illinois is farmland – not in the casual sense, but in the literal, global, irreplaceable sense. Illinois soil is among the most productive on earth. Its mineralization, its microbiology, its hydrology form a living system that existed long before there was a city, a county or a state. It grows nutrient‑dense food that feeds families here and all over the world.
Once you compact it, grade it and pour concrete over it, it is gone – permanently. It isn’t just background noise and electric rates. The thermal pollution, low‑frequency infra sound, wireless transmission and radio‑frequency output from industrial development threaten the very microbiological processes that make this soil what it is.
Illinois agricultural exports totaled $12.5 billion in 2024. Nearly half of all grain grown in this state (44%) is sold for export. Illinois is the largest agricultural exporting state in the Midwest. We are not a footnote in the global food supply. We are a pillar of it.
Illinois ranks among the top agricultural producers on the planet. Not only do we supply the domestic and global market but we feed the livestock that produces the meat the entire country eats. Yet we are not marketing our land, our soil or our agricultural economy with anything close to the leverage we actually hold.
Taiwan signed a $2.6 billion agreement specifically to buy Illinois corn and soybeans. Indonesia is an emerging market in active negotiations for Illinois grain. The world sees the value of Illinois soil, even if we don’t. While we undervalue what we have, data‑center developers walked in offering a fraction of what this land is worth – a hundred jobs and a tax abatement – and we treat that as an opportunity. It isn’t. It shows that we don’t know our own worth or value the generations of labor that built it.
Data centers don’t restore. They don’t rotate. They don’t regenerate. They extract – and when a cheaper deal appears somewhere else, they leave. The land doesn’t come back. We risk a permanent, multi‑billion‑dollar agricultural economy for a temporary tax break and temporary construction jobs.
The quality of Illinois soil isn’t just reflected in the food it grows, it’s also reflected in the people who grow here. We should market our agricultural strength, negotiate from our true value and build global relationships that match the scale of what Illinois produces and what it deserves. The valuable option is not in a data center deal but in preserving the land that preserves the people.
Kendra Barlow-Johnson
Springfield
BAD IDEA
Technically, the state is not rebuilding either prison (“Illinois seeks two Crest Hill prisons, leaving Lincoln out of Logan Correctional Center rebuild plan,” June 8). It is building new facilities and will abandon the existing facilities in Logan County – not a good plan. So many people will lose their jobs. Yes, they can go to other facilities, but will the state adjust people’s pay to compensate for the distance and cost of fuel? Also, what is going to happen to the local economy when these facilities are “rebuilt” elsewhere? This is terrible for Lincoln and Logan County.
Tammy Karrick Hawley
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
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GOOD PLAN
The Logan County women’s facility is a piece of crap and the state (meaning taxpayers) keep getting sued for inhumane conditions. Millions of dollars of our money are getting paid to people for this annually. Gov. JB Pritzker is doing the right thing for everyone long term.
Are jobs being lost? Yes. But most employees will absolutely have other opportunities. Law enforcement and nursing need staff all over the area, and many of these people will find other jobs. They’ve been getting retraining, relocation and retirement options for almost two years now.
The prison is horribly outdated, and Logan County has much bigger issues.
Rajean Gallagher
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
This article appears in June 18-24, 2026.
