Even as pro football battles the White House on whether flag salutes should be mandatory, we have St. Louis. For the second time since 2014, the St. Louis area has been torn by demonstrations that have devolved into broken windows and worse. Three years ago, the death of Michael Brown, a suspected robber, sparked rioting […]
opinion
Posted inOpinion
Work? What work?
Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood There is courage in politics, they say, and there is also chutzpah. And then there is state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood. State comptroller Leslie Munger stopped issuing paychecks to lawmakers in April, figuring that they should have to wait for their money along with private vendors, universities and tons of other […]
Posted inOpinion
Moving on up
Sen. Dick Durbin, speaking at an event in Springfield. Photo by Patrick Yeagle We don’t mean to criticize, but Chicago magazine’s just-published list of the 50 most-influential Chicagoans has us a bit baffled. Ranked Number 25 is U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, who we always thought lived in Springfield, given the number of times he has […]
Posted inOpinion
Shameless in, shameless out: Running for president in 2016
Editor’s note: Roger Simon’s column substitutes this week for Jim Hightower’s column, which was not available at press time. “We live at a time of great events and little men.” No, this was not said after the last Republican presidential debate. It was said more than two centuries ago by Honore Gabriel Riqueti, comte de […]
Posted inOpinion
Rauner releases calendar
Last fall, I got a tip. Gov. Bruce Rauner, my tipster said, doesn’t appear to have a state email account. The issue was germane. Besides Hillary Clinton’s infamous failure to do business on a State Department email account and her ensuing apology, Rauner has said that state employees shouldn’t conduct public business on private email […]
Posted inOpinion
Cubs going to the World Series?
There has been much talk lately about the Chicago Cubs. How things are different now. How they’re young and on the cusp of dynasty-dom. How Bartman can now get on his billy goat and ride into the sunset. Brave talk for fans of a team that hasn’t done, well, anything. When the Cubs finish above […]
Posted inOpinion
Suing the governor
Gov. Bruce Rauner PHOTO BY TERRENCE ANTONIO JAMES /TNS It’s a quote that can’t be repeated often enough as Gov. Bruce Rauner builds a reputation for secrecy at all costs – so long as he isn’t the one paying the bills. “I want to make Illinois government the most efficient, transparent (state government) in America,” […]
Posted inOpinion
The Museum Museum, 2515
PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Eleven thousand years ago no human beings yet lived in the central Illinois river valley. The climate was cool and glaciers from the last great ice age still covered parts of the land to the north and the east. When the first people arrived, they hunted the long-extinct elk, white-tailed deer, […]
Posted inOpinion
Confidential To The Grammar Nazi
There are few things that we here at Illinois Times enjoy more than letters from readers. Nary a week goes by that an envelope sans return address doesn’t show up in my mailbox. Usually, the sender takes great care to write my name and address in block letters, almost childlike, that would mystify the most […]
Posted inOpinion
Governor Sunshine
Want a simple answer to a simple question? File a Freedom of Information Act request. That was the word from Gov. Bruce Rauner’s staff when Illinois Times today asked for a copy of the contract between the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and University of Illinois Springfield that allowed for employees of the Papers of Abraham […]
Posted inOpinion
Bad Guys Like Me
The following is a letter from Norton Kay, who served as News Secretary to former Gov. Dan Walker. The letter was printed in the first issue of Illinois Times on Sept. 18, 1975, as a welcome and bit of “advice.” We’ve transcribed the letter from the original text, and photos of the letter as it […]
Posted inOpinion
State police just don’t get it
FOIA Facts and FrictionStaff writer Bruce Rushton will sit on a panel organized by the Better Government Association to discuss the state Freedom of Information Act and the future of the law intended to ensure open and transparent government. The March 24 event called FOIA Facts and Friction will also include experts from the BGA, […]
