We the citizens of Illinois are among the highest taxed in the US.… MORE
Category Archives: Opinion
WJBC Forum: Holiday giving
Now that we have spent a week considering how thankful we are for the blessings in our lives, it is a wonderful time to consider “paying forward” some of our gratitude.… MORE
WJBC Forum: Be selfish, be thankful
In my past Thanksgiving addresses to the nation, I enumerated some of the reasons to be thankful on Thanksgiving, or focused on one of them that seemed particularly important to me at the time.… MORE
WJBC Forum: Basics affect quality of life
It’s the off-season for street repair.… MORE
WJBC Forum: People and things for which I’m thankful
Sometimes finding a forum topic is easy.… MORE
WJBC Forum: Saying good bye to Mitsubishi
Although next week’s Thanksgiving holiday is a time for appreciating our lives, it may be a challenging one for our neighbors working at Mitsubishi… MORE
WJBC Forum: What can you do?
The other day one of President Kennedy’s most inspirational lines popped into my head… MORE
WJBC Forum: Thankful
It’s still two weeks until Thanksgiving Day, but I thought I’d be the first to bring it up.… MORE
WJBC Forum: Double feature
By David Stanczak Usually when I have two topics I really want to use for a Forum, one of them can wait a couple weeks. Not so today, which is November 11. When I was a little kid, that date was celebrated as Armistice Day, the day that ended World War I, the “war to…… MORE
WJBC Forum: Some things change, some don’t
We saw something in the paper on Sunday about cremation being in vogue.… 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…