My name is Jim Fisher and I am not running for president.… MORE
Category Archives: Opinion
WJBC Forum: Pedestrian crossing and drop-off area omitted high speed rail passenger station plans
The Normal Town Council recently approved a $1.4 million consulting fee to evaluate alternative pedestrian crossings for trail and rail users at Gateway Plaza.… MORE
WJBC Forum: Urbana America is not living in hell
This election people talk about a divided America.… MORE
WJBC Forum: No tolerance for zero tolerance
It’s a rare event when laws are passed to soften instead of increase punishments, but I am happy to report a new law that requires schools to limit long-term suspensions and expulsions, as well as eliminating the use of zero-tolerance policies used to severely punish students for certain offenses.… MORE
WJBC Forum: I’m loving it
Yesterday, Bob and Julie Dobski shocked the entire community by announcing that they are selling their franchises and getting out of the McDonald’s business.… MORE
WJBC Forum: Presidential campaign
During the presidential campaign of 2008, I thought the country could never be more politically divided. … MORE
WJBC Forum: Crimes against humanity
Benjamin Crump, lawyer for the family of Terence Crutcher, a black man killed by police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, had the same question I had. … MORE
WJBC Forum: Habits and Qualiteis for Success!
I recently had the opportunity to teach a class on the Habits of Success to GED/ESL students at Heartland Community College. … MORE
WJBC Forum: School buses & Unit 5 – you get what you pay for…
Going to school and getting on the school bus should not be a daily gamble.… MORE
WJBC Forum: November election
Are you sick of the national election yet?… MORE
Blogs
Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
Is federal mobilization the answer?
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…