By Thomas L. Knapp In mid-2020, I mused that if the pandemic ended up producing any silver linings, the most likely bright spot would be its impact on government — so-called “public” — education. Throughout the previous spring, government schools had largely shut down in-person classes, switching to ad hoc and, it seems, fairly lame “remote […]
Category: Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Gamesmanship in Springfield goes viral
By Rich Miller The Illinois Senate’s COVID-19 mitigation protocols (testing, masks and limited remote voting) didn’t anticipate a partisan attempt to use a record-breaking virus surge to shut the chamber down, but that’s what almost happened last week. Senate Republicans were rightfully outraged that the Democratic super-majority geared up to jam through a redistricting bill […]
Posted inManteno Vedette New News, Opinion Vedette, Vedette New News
Does College Degree Equal Educated?
By Scott Reeder Springfield — We live in a society that extols the virtues of degrees and diplomas, but not life-long learning. In Springfield, we honor Abraham Lincoln, our state’s native son, who despite having little formal schooling was able to teach himself and become our greatest president. But today when it comes to politicians, […]
Posted inOpinion
Praise Biden for naming blacks to the bench
By Ben Jealous One of the most important reasons to vote Donald Trump out of the White House was to stop him from packing our federal courts with even more anti-voting-rights, anti-equality, pro-corporate judges. Stopping the flood of bad Trump judges was a huge accomplishment for every organizer and voter who helped elect Joe Biden as president. That’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Our youth need to learn patriotism
By William O. Lipinski Back in the 1960s, long before I ran for alderman of the 23rd Ward or the U.S. Congress, I was working in the recreation department of the Chicago Park District. It was the time of the Vietnam War. I had just completed my six years in the Army reserves and wanted to […]
Posted inOpinion
Pekau’s COVID-19 stance harms seniors
By Ray Hanania Nearly 75 percent of the 800,000 Americans who died from COVID-19 were 65 years of age or older. That number jumps to almost 90 percent when you include those 55 years of age and older. The virus affects people differently. The younger and healthier more easily survive. For seniors, it is a killer or […]