By Joe Ragusa SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate has approved a bill that would make sweet corn the official state vegetable. The legislation passed unanimously, despite some debate whether corn is actually a grain and not a vegetable. State Sen. Sam McCann (R-Carlinville), the bill’s sponsor, says the idea was proposed by a group of…… MORE
By John Gregory/Illinois Radio Network CHICAGO – Accepting a $7,000 bribe lands a former state lawmaker in prison. Former State Rep. Derrick Smith was facing up to five years in prison, but instead was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Chicago to five months for bribery and extortion. Failing in his attempt to avoid prison…… MORE
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.” …
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…
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…
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…
