Columnists
What’s old is new again with protests
. By Ray Hanania . It has been 56 years since the student anti-war protests against the Vietnam War at universities around the country that began before the Democratic Convention in Chicago in August 1968. The brutality against protesters then was later called a “police riot” by a national commission. The student anti-war protests continued…
Read MorePritzker eyes service tax as transit fix
. By Rich Miller . Governor JB Pritzker unexpectedly moved away last week from his long-standing opposition to taxing services, saying he didn’t want to start taking ideas off the table as lawmakers search for ways to fund and reform the Chicago region’s mass transit system. A major business group predictably pushed back. As you…
Read MoreFake Christians close eyes to Gaza carnage
. By Ray Hanania . Many of you know I am Palestinian Christian. I’ve written about it a lot because I believe American Christians need to be reminded that their faith comes through my family origins in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. I’m Orthodox Christian and will celebrate Easter this Sunday, which always comes after the Jewish…
Read MoreChicago sports stadium drama heats up
. By Rich Miller . More sports team stadium drama could be on the horizon as the Chicago White Sox are said, as of this writing, to be preparing to announce a significant private investment in a new South Loop ballpark. The ballclub has already demanded a share of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority’s bonding…
Read More‘Civil War’ is an anti-Trump fantasy
. By Ray Hanania . We know that the mainstream news media (news and entertainment) harbors an unrelenting hatred of former President Donald Trump. They despise him.ccccc It isn’t surprising someone would produce a movie that taps into that hatred of Trump, even though the director denies it. I am an avid movie-goer. I saw…
Read MoreLawmakers push back against ‘lefty’ CTU
. By Rich Miller . Just eight of 78 Illinois House Democrats openly sided last week with the once-indomitable Chicago Teachers Union. The CTU hotly opposed a bill to halt all public school closures and prevent disproportionate budget cuts and changes to admissions criteria at Chicago’s selective enrollment schools until a fully elected Chicago school…
Read MoreAccept consequences of criminal actions
. By Ray Hanania . Protecting our police isn’t a political statement. It’s the foundation of ensuring the public safety of law-abiding citizens. But law-abiding citizens are under siege, victims of criminals who have histories of violence but are given leniency for reasons of race and politics. And police lives are in jeopardy at the…
Read MoreDon’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good
. By Rich Miller . Chicago-area news outlets have been so intent on amplifying every possible angle on the proposals for new publicly financed sports stadiums that they have sometimes missed the bigger picture. Senate President Don Harmon last week tried to make it simple for everyone what that bigger picture is. In a speech…
Read MoreWhat RFK Jr. needs to understand
. By Ray Hanania . Dear Robert F. Kennedy Jr., The first thing you need to understand about your candidacy for president is that the mainstream news media is not your friend. The media is going to do everything possible to discredit you in the eyes of the voting public. They are driven mainly by…
Read MoreNew DCFS chief will need luck
. By Rich Miller . The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has been a very big state problem for a very long time. The department now has new leadership under Director Heidi Mueller, whose appointment was met with widespread praise. The former director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice was confirmed by…
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