Top state hardware is headed to local trophy cases after Saturday’s state high school golf championships.… MORE
Week 8 football: Bloomington clinches playoff spot, West snaps 2nd place tie in Big Twelve
A shootout in Peoria and a battle between the teams tied for second in the Big Twelve Conference highlighted Week 8 high school football on Friday night. … MORE
Vice President Mike Pence drops by for lunch
A crowd estimated at 250 stood in a country club ballroom for a not-quite-half-hour speech from Vice President Mike Pence Friday afternoon.… MORE
Final debate between Rauner and Pritzker
The two main candidates for governor found their way out of the Chicago area for a joint appearance, this one a statewide broadcast debate in Quincy.… MORE
401(k)s, raise taxes, change the constitution: Candidates vary on how to solve pension crisis
Races up and down the state will determine who will be in the Illinois statehouse and could shape how the state addresses its massive pension debt.… MORE
Gov. Rauner under fire for treatment of state employees
State workers represented by AFSCME – particularly the newest hires – said they hoped Oct. 1 would mean, once and for all, they would get the money coming to them through contracted “step” increases.… MORE
Impasse puts Illinois at bottom of fiscal solvency rankings
Illinois ranked dead last in terms of fiscal stability using the most recent data that marks the first year lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner failed to agree on a budget. The author of the report notes that the state also had lower taxes at the time.… MORE
Week 8 high school football: West hopes to grab Big Twelve 2nd place alone
A match-up of teams tied for the runner-up spot in the Big Twelve Conference highlights the Week 8 WJBC Friday Night High School Football Extravaganza. … MORE
Big guns pulled out for last minute stumping
A high-profile visit at a high-dollar luncheon comes in the closing weeks of a Downstate Congressional race. Just don’t tell three-term incumbent U.S Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) it’s a desperate move.… MORE
Democrats in heated races mum on progressive tax details
Democratic candidate for governor J.B. Pritzker has repeatedly dodged questions about the basic details of his progressive income tax proposal, but he’s not alone in his refusal to talk specifics. … 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…