It was the governor’s first legislative session. And he didn’t disappoint. Gov. J.B. Pritzker rolled the dice and ran the tables in Springfield. His $45 billion Rebuild Illinois legislation is historic. The Illinois General Assembly swooned, as Pritzker lined up not only suburban Republicans, but also 12 of 16 conservative west-central Illinois Republicans. Of these […]
opinion
Posted inOpinion
When I lost my dog
There’s never a good time to lose your dog, but my dog chose the 11th hour of a 16-hour workday during the hellish heat wave that hit near the climax of the state budget impasse. I was at a committee hearing for a bill I’d been watching for more than two years when my son […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to opt in
Two very nice union representatives knocked on my door last week. Anticipating an unfavorable ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, they asked me, a “fair share” state employee, to join the union. I didn’t have to think twice. Sign me up, I told them. I’m with you. Although I don’t believe, as Mr. Janus does, that […]
Posted inOpinion
ERA in the Statehouse, then and now
Watching the debate on the Equal Rights Amendment last week in the Illinois House was a true case of déjà vu. Some 40 years ago, I was covering similar debates in the General Assembly as a young reporter for United Press International. When I realized how many years had passed, I was ashamed of my […]
Posted inOpinion
Paradise and the Y block
Having recently returned from south of the border, I’ve found that there is a lot we can learn from Mexico. The president wants to build a wall to keep out myriad deviants who would destroy our way of life. Whether a wall is a good idea is a matter of opinion, I suppose – even […]
Posted inOpinion
Cop charged in beating may get a break
Former Springfield cop Samuel Rosario might become a defendant in a new court established to handle charges against veterans. The Seventh Judicial Circuit on Monday got Supreme Court clearance to set up a court designed to help veterans instead of treating them as ordinary criminals. A law that took effect in January requires such courts […]
Posted inOpinion
Pug on a plane
Somewhere over Colorado, a flight attendant drew the line. “Sir,” she told me, not unpleasantly. “Your dog must be in your lap or on the floor.” Snoring atop a computer satchel placed on the middle seat, Peanut was oblivious, as was a passenger on the aisle who boarded with us in Seattle and instantly fell […]
Posted inOpinion
Homelessness is a lot of work
I first heard the rumors a few years ago, when beggars bearing cardboard signs began showing up on street corners throughout the city, about the time the cops started cracking down on downtown panhandlers. These people are organized. They work in shifts and live in a house near the center of town where they nurse […]
Posted inOpinion
Something in the water?
Football fans have seen amazing things in recent weeks. Coach installs a freshman as quarterback in the second half and Alabama wins the national championship in overtime. With no time on the clock, the Minnesota Vikings score a go-ahead touchdown to advance in the NFL playoffs. The Vikings got clobbered the following week. What happens […]
Posted inOpinion
A broken records unit
Remember Candace Wanzo? She’s the secretary of state employee who was escorted from her office last May and remains both under investigation and on the payroll at the rate of $7,278 per month while she sits at home. It’s not clear what prompted Wanzo to be sent home on paid leave last spring, but the […]
Posted inOpinion
Planning and doing
To say that Springfield is going ga-ga over a comprehensive plan would be an exaggeration in more ways than one. Peppered with quotes from Myron H. West, a planner who helped author the city’s first plan in the 1920s, the plan that soon will be up for a council vote is as much an endorsement […]
Posted inOpinion
Mayor trumpets anti-hate measure
Where elected officials live has a lot to do with what they say. In California, the mayor of Salinas, along with the United Farm Workers and immigrant groups, opposed a welcoming city resolution that passed the city council last summer. The mayor and other critics said they opposed the measure because a welcoming city resolution, […]
