The organization of Champaign County government, only one of many levels of government in Illinois, can be confusing to its constituents.
I’ve tried my hand at writing over the years. I really love it. It’s like talking without being interrupted.
SPRINGFIELD It’s got to be rough to be the child of a politician.
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan doesn’t know anything about his lobbyist buddy’s appalling 2012 email advocating on behalf of a politically connected worker who kept his mouth shut about a rape and ghost payroll practices.
Some things are objectively subjective. Is a Ford better than a Chevrolet? Is a Nikon camera better than a Canon?
Illinoisans awoke to a brand new industry on New Year’s Day, with legal recreational marijuana sales coming online Jan. 1.
I’ve always wanted to write an advice column but, not surprisingly, nobody asks me for advice.
RURAL DEWEY — Wow. SHARE has a secret Santa!
What must it take to be a star that shines brightly? I am not sure if I can even come close to explaining what I think it is to be a bright star.
US-China Cultural Arts Exchange Center is a subsidiary of Amerinvest International, LLC.
SPRINGFIELD – I’ve covered politics for more than 30 years, and I still scratch my head when I encounter folks who embrace politicians despite personal behavior that defies their stated beliefs.
Ever wanted to see life from the eyes of someone else? The main joy of reading biographies, novels, etc., for me, is the ability to walk along somebody else’s journey of life.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed bipartisan legislation Wednesday to consolidate 649 public safety pension systems into two, a baby step to address the state’s much larger pension problem.
To the editor:
My name is J. A. Werner. I grew up in Rantoul and graduated from Rantoul Township High School.
It wasn’t quite the Boston Tea Party, but Cook County residents revolted in 2017 after a penny-per-ounce tax hike on sugary drinks.
RURAL DEWEY — Thanksgiving came so quickly, and along with the holiday came two new rescues.
As our readers might know, the ownership of The News-Gazette and all its community weekly papers changed hands recently.
It was the winter when my cousin Diane died that we recognized the severity of the situation. Every situation has a turning point, and this was ours.
Quick helped to get boulder
SPRINGFIELD — Every August, Sandy Fulgenzi shuts down the restaurant she owns with her husband, John, and stands along Sangamon Avenue waving a flag trying to get folks to pay to park in their parking lot.
The block I grew up on was double-sized. Adjacent to our house was an alley that divided the block, but it had never been rocked or paved, so it was a wide grassy strip that connected all the backyards in the neighborhood.
In 2019, state lawmakers raised taxes on gasoline, tobacco products, parking in Chicago, vehicle trade-ins and online purchases. They also increased fees for vehicle registration and new vehicle documentation.
There is no place more miserable to be on Thanksgiving Day than in a buffet line in a Las Vegas casino.
I’ve been snoozing a lot of people on Facebook lately. I feel kinda bad about it.
To the editor:
I started to reflect on the pivotal moments of this year because it’s December, and that’s what people do in December: they sit down and compose a list of every person, place or thing they’ve crossed paths with throughout the entire year.
Illinois’ second-longest serving lawmaker announced Nov. 14 that he will retire in January 2020.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s bluster on the state’s pension problem is dangerous.
RURAL DEWEY — Thank goodness the weather cooperated for our open house in October at the Society for Hooved Animals Rescue and Emergency.
ROCK ISLAND – A few days ago, I pulled into Walt’s Service Station in Rock Island and as the manager filled my gas tank, I asked, “How’s business?”
The 88-member Property Tax Relief Task Force charged with coming up with a plan to reduce property taxes was supposed to deliver an initial report to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the General Assembly on Halloween.
I knew this day would come. I was hoping it would be a long while yet. But when that little black train rolls into the station, you have to board whether you like it or not.
If you don’t believe in miracles then I really hope you didn’t watch the Illini football game on Saturday.
Moweaqua ---— The Fisher Bunnies football season ended in the second round of the IHSA playoffs for the second straight season. The Bunnies fell to Central A&M 69-34.
Some stories need to be told, even if they’re difficult to share. How can you understand a problem if you can’t even acknowledge it exists, let alone fix it?
Someone shared a tiny story with me the other day which shifted my understanding of greatness — what we value in a person.
SPRINGFIELD – Just call it a state-supported scam.
For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth not.
I first learned about the lynching of Emmett Till from a racist.
Some stories need to be told, even if they’re difficult to share. How can you understand a problem if you can’t even acknowledge it exists, let alone fix it?
One-and-a-half miles south of White Heath on 23 acres of partially wooded land there is a hidden treasure: the Broken Oak Art Gallery.
My sister, whom has had a long struggle with alcohol, gave up custody of her daughter many years ago to her ex-husband. My niece was four when this happened and since then I have reached out at least once a year with a Christmas card just to let them know I was thinking about them. My niece …
At 11:35 am, on Oct. 21, 1805, off a Spanish cape known as Trafalgar, a British naval fleet and a combined French-Spanish fleet were poised for battle.
SPRINGFIELD — Middle school parents, beware.
One of these days, I’m going to buy myself an easel, a few canvases, paint and brushes. Then, six months or so later, I’ll work up the courage to paint.
Senate President John Cullerton repeatedly said that he wanted to make an “informed” decision about state Sen. Martin Sandoval’s leadership role before Sandoval resigned as chairman of the Illinois Senate Transportation Committee.
From 1997 to 2017, almost 400,000 people died from an opioid overdose nationally. The number of opioid-induced deaths in 2017 alone was six times higher than 1999. That year, drug overdoses killed a record-breaking 72,300 Americans, more than the yearly death tolls from HIV, car crashes and …
I muse widely, yet my knowledge base in quite narrow. So, I could sure use help from thoughtful readers who know more than I about the topics below, which I am beginning to explore for possible essays. If you have informed thoughts and links to good sources, please email at jnowlan3@gmail.com.
RURAL DEWEY — Society for Hooved Animals Rescue and Emergencies is in the process of getting things ready for our open house from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20.
