Durbin remembers late Congressman John Lewis

Dick Durbin
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). (Facebook/Dick Durbin)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – Lawmakers and people across the country are paying their respects to the civil rights icon and late Congressman John Lewis of Georgia.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) spent some personal time with Lewis on a trip to Selma, Alabama, where Lewis almost died while marching during the civil rights movement.

“Something as simple as standing with John on that bridge and him explaining what it was look when those troppers turned on him and bashed him in the head and he fell to the ground, that is something I will never forget,” Durbin told WJBC’s Scott Miller.

“He was an amazing individual, a real inspiring person, and a real humble man. We are going to miss him,” Durbin added.

Lewis’ body lies in state at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. He became the first Black lawmaker to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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…