The James R. Thompson Center located at 100 W. Randolph Street in the Loop, Chicago. PHOTO BY PRIMEROMUNDO VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG News came last week that the liberty-loving Mr. Rauner wants to free the people of Illinois from the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago. He took steps to establish its fair market value, thus taking […]
James Krohe Jr.
Posted inOpinion
Through a glass beautifully
A paperweight from the Illinois State Museum’s Morton D. Barker collection was made in the Baccarat glassworks in France, circa 1845-1855. PHOTO BY DOUG CAR/ILLINOIS STATE MUSEUM In a climate in which open windows are as rare as an honest tax return, I don’t need paperweights on my desk. I have one anyway. It’s a […]
Posted inOpinion
Political economy
Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford PHOTO BY TIM WARD VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG “Because economic decisions are made by elected officials every day,” said Rockford state senator Dave Syverson to the Register Star recently, “we need to have officials who understand the economic impact of what they do.” Illinois lawmakers who do not understand such things, in the […]
Posted inOpinion
Keeping things clear
PHOTO BY NABIL K. MARK/TNS [Note to readers: The snow has gone, as snow does, but it will be back – probably in July, given how wacky the weather has become. Time now, while memories of the drifts are fresh, to ponder how best to cope with them a few months from now.] To most […]
Posted inOpinion
Back on the roads again
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER W. HOLMES – INSTAGRAM @CHIGUY79 It is unclear exactly where Illinois’ new CEO wants to take this state, but we have indications in his proposed budget how he would like us to get there. If approved, his budget would spend slightly more of the public’s money on motorcycle safety and on new […]
Posted inOpinion
Pay as you leave
I guess you could call it a roaming charge. State Sen. Chapin Rose, a Republican from over Mahomet way, has introduced a bill to reform the program that grants tuition aid at state colleges and universities to roughly 140,000 poor students. Mr. Rose would like those students to repay those grants if they leave Illinois […]
Posted inOpinion
An overdue policy on the library
Is the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum a museum with a library attached? Or is it a library with a museum attached? The two institutions are like conjoined twins, one of whom has a wonky heart; the best chance for each might be to separate them, in spite of the risks that surgery poses. […]
Posted inOpinion
A man worth knowing
John Garvey “Agnostic though you are you should pray for his health,” John urged me when he heard that critic and essayist Clive James was suffering from cancer. “After [the deaths of Christopher] Hitchens and [Robert] Hughes we can’t lose him.” From memory, John offered as evidence a line from James’ review of the excruciatingly boring official […]
Posted inOpinion
Of the people and for the people – but never like them
“What thrilled the people who stood before Abraham Lincoln,” wrote novelist Francis Grierson in The Valley of Shadows, “was the sight of a being who, in all his actions and habits, resembled themselves, gentle as he was strong, fearless as he was honest, who towered above them all in that psychic radiance that penetrates in […]
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Masters of the new machine
Gov. Bruce Rauner PHOTO BY Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/TNS “We’re going to pay what we need to bring in talented people,” said Illinois’ new governor to reporters on Jan. 23. He was defending the many six-figure salaries he’s offered to the people he wants to handle the pumps and keep afloat a State of Illinois that is […]
Posted inOpinion
The bird and I
Black-capped chickadee PHOTO BY GraniteStateBirds ViA WIKIPEDIA.ORG The stout birders of Springfield set out just after New Year’s Day again this year to count birds because, really, what else is there to do this time of year? During what was the 80th such census since 1909, 23,113 birds were seen or and/or heard within a […]
Posted inOpinion
A cautionary tale
For those who don’t know the story, here’s what happened. Politically connected Springfieldians undertake to put more of the city’s long-hidden Lincoln legacy on display to new generations of visitors. They envision a new building that will invigorate tourism, restore downtown, and put Illinois on the tourism map. The idea is pushed by winds blowing […]
