Guest Opinion

 My grandmother, whom we called “Nana,” always loved children. Many times, she asked me to give her great-grandchildren. In 2000, the moment finally arrived. But it didn’t seem to matter. Eagerly, tenderly, I lay my newborn son in her arms. She sat motionless, her eyes void. No expression whatsoever. I searched her face, desperately hoping […]

Prof. Bruno spoke recently with University of Illinois News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about a potentially crippling case for labor unions at the Supreme Court. Most Supreme Court watchers are predicting that a majority of justices will side with the petitioner – Mark Janus, a child support specialist for the Illinois Department […]

 So long, Shamu. For more than a decade I’ve been signing the name of the world’s most famous killer whale on credit card receipts and signature pads. When I’m not in a hurry, I add a crude drawing with jagged teeth and a spray of water coming out of Shamu’s blowhole. And not once, not […]

On Saturday, April 28, the Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) will honor retired Lt. Paul Echols from the Carbondale Police Department for his persistent quest for a posthumous exoneration of Grover Thompson, now 22 years after the innocent man died in prison. The Thompson case exemplifies the problem of racism in southern Illinois and the horrifying […]

 A few nights ago in Springfield, after enjoying dinner at our favorite Old Capitol Plaza restaurant, I came across an illuminating discovery – an old friend. Next door to our restaurant is a bookstore well known by Springfield-area residents and visiting bibliophiles. After closing, management leaves two folding tables filled with books outside for purchase. […]

Seeing groups of high school students at Midway Airport on March 23 gave me a feeling that the March for Our Lives event the next day in Washington, D.C., would be big. Indeed, as I took the Metro train to the event, I soon found myself with thousands of others making our way to the […]

 The U.S. Constitution is the document that ultimately impacts every facet of our lives – our sense of freedom, our belief in equal justice for all and our ability to pursue our dreams. It is a document for which I have enormous respect. Yet one part of the Constitution has never been fully utilized: a […]

You could choose any number of marquee dilemmas to illustrate how broken congressional politics has become. Guns, Russian interference, climate change – Americans want progress on all of them and get little from Capitol Hill. But to my mind, nothing illustrates the dire state of our politics better than how we act on the federal […]

For the past two years the Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) at University of Illinois Springfield has been involved in an initiative with the Police Training Institute (PTI) to introduce and train new police recruits on the challenges involved in avoiding wrongful conviction of innocent individuals. These two may seem like an unlikely pairing, but it’s […]

Last Sunday, March 4, Italian voters crushed the ruling Democratic Party. Fifty-five percent of the electorate voted for the two anti-European Union and anti-establishment parties, one on the right and one on the left, both populist. This election sends an unmistakable signal that democracy in Italy is both not working and is working well. Throughout […]

 Some are calling for teachers to be armed. This idea has many flaws and shows a lack of understanding about a teacher’s real role. There are better solutions. I studied to be an English teacher, attended conferences and seminars and took classes to hone my skills and to learn ways to reach students and help them with […]

The Sangamon County Board has recently formed the Economic Development Corporation(EDC) to attract new businesses to the Springfield area. Several concerns have been raised about the makeup of this group (23 men, 3 women and 1 minority), and the price tag to have a seat on the commission at $25,000-$50,000 per business. This cost leaves […]