. By Brian O’Shaughnessy American universities have long attracted the best and brightest from around the world. They come for the sophisticated research opportunities that prevail in academic labs — funded, in part, by American taxpayer dollars. But with taxpayer dollars comes political scrutiny. One-hundred members of Congress proposed a reinterpretation of the law that […]
Category: Opinion
Dems fight ‘extremist’ candidates
. By Rich Miller Gov. JB Pritzker told reporters a few weeks ago that he was concerned about some local school and library board races. “There are organizations that are anti-LGBTQ, that are racist, they’re anti Muslim, that are supporting candidates for these local boards. And they’re trying to take over at a local level […]
Voting Begins in Contest Naming Coolest Thing Made in Illinois
Nearly 250 unique products vying to advance to Top 16. The initial round of voting is open in the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association’s (IMA) fourth annual “Makers Madness” contest, a bracket-style tournament in which the public decides what product earns the 2023 title of The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois. Presented by Comcast Business, the competition […]
Above all, let’s support Ukraine
By Ray Hanania The terrorist regime in Tehran, Iran is providing weapons to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Iran is the same nation that supports terrorist militias that have targeted American soldiers who are fighting to eradicate the ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria. Iran is partnering with Syria to block relief from getting to […]
State’s fiscal heath looking good
By Rich Miller After taking a pandemic-induced hiatus from proposing large, permanent base spending increases and instead using most revenue increases for one-time expenditures, Gov. JB Pritzker’s recently proposed Fiscal Year 2024 state budget appears to increase base operational spending by at least $2.75 billion, or 7.9%. Annual pension payments will also rise by a […]
Teacher shortage more complex than it seems
. By Jessica Krim While there has always been an ebb and flow of teacher shortages and overages over time because of population, trends within generations of students, and enrollment in and support for university educator preparation programs, there are several factors that provide a unique twist to our current iteration of a teacher shortage. […]
Fiscal report makes sense, on paper
. By Rich Miller The legislature’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability released its latest monthly fiscal report last week. The report claimed the state is still on track to match the commission’s revised November estimate of a $4.1 billion revenue increase for the current fiscal year. Revenue had originally been projected to fall from […]
System is rigged against regular folks
. By Ray Hanania Consumers are reeling over massive increases in Nicor Gas costs, and they can’t get answers because the system is rigged against them. Nicor Gas is owned by a massive conglomerate called Southern Gas, which has four gas subsidiaries serving 4.2 million customers. Nicor is the largest serving 2.2 million consumers in […]
GOP money tells quite a tale
. By Rich Miller State records show that Dan Proft’s People Who Play by the Rules PAC spent almost $36 million during the second half of 2022, mostly on advertising boosting Sen. Darren Bailey’s gubernatorial bid and opposing Gov. JB Pritzker. Of that, $2.4 million was spent on consulting. Former ABC7 political reporter Charles Thomas […]
Letter to the Editor: Crime in Our Townships
Dear Community: Unfortunately, there is increasing crime in our townships. A few years ago, it was mostly illegal dumping and occasional thievery. BUT, in the past few years and, most recently, thieves are becoming more daring and uncaring. Several residents in Will Township have had their sheds, garages, barns, and driveways pilfered but not for […]
