A few weeks ago, McLean County lost a true gem with the passing of Jay Smithson of Ellsworth.… MORE
Category Archives: Opinion
WJBC Forum: A commander in chief or a ranter in chief
As the polls jostle daily for the Iowa Presidential caucuses, it’s always a good reminder to note this is not a horse race, but a process to elect a national leader next November.… MORE
WJBC Forum: The national anthem
What does the National Anthem mean to you?… MORE
WJBC Forum: The impact of politics
My father taught me many lessons that helped carve the path of my life.… MORE
WJBC Forum: Lost pets
Even the BEST pet guardians can lose their pets.… MORE
WJBC Forum: The cougar canary
By David Stanczak The Chicago State Cougars’ usual function is to provide annual tune-ups for the University of Illinois basketball team. Today, CSU is performing a more vital role: Canary. As in the canary in the mine shaft, which warns miners by dying, that they need to save themselves from a toxic situation, and quickly.…… MORE
WJBC Forum: Cold stories
The forecasts have maintained that our arctic snap is going to break a little bit today; welcome relief!… MORE
WJBC Forum: Wind turbine
By Jim Fischer I was sitting my living room this past week. The sun setting low on the horizon when I notice a bright light from the sun reflecting off the newly fallen snow onto the wall of the room. I was sitting there day dreaming as I watched the beam of light ever so…… MORE
WJBC Forum: The only voice that matters
In this election year, we are hearing a lot of noise on the campaign trail.… MORE
WJBC Forum: Unraveling the bird reservation stand-off
As the stand-off continues between the self-appointed militia in Burns, Oregon at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, as an urban Midwesterner, I try hard to understand the motivations and the strong feelings about federal land.… 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…