Guest Opinion | Thursday, May 17,2012

Justice for black farmers

The 180-day period for monetary claims by black farmers against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) expires this month. May 11, 2012 was the last day for black farmer claimants to file

Guest Opinion | Thursday, May 10,2012

Commemorating Springfield’s Lithuanians

By Sandy Baksys

Thousands in Springfield today are descended from the flood of Eastern European and Southern European immigrants who arrived during Sangamon County’s coal boom. Among those turn-of-the-century i

Guest Opinion | Thursday, May 3,2012

Buffett Rule still makes Main Street sense

By Lew Prince

As a music store owner, the Buffett I’m usually concerned with is Jimmy Buffett of Margaritaville. But a bunch of lobbying groups who claim to represent small business are making me mad. They&rs

Guest Opinion | Thursday, April 26,2012

A caring economy would invest in children

By Riane Eisler

We’re being told that fiscal responsibility requires big cuts in education, nutrition and health care for millions of children. This shortsighted and uncaring thinking is not only a nightmare fo

Guest Opinion | Thursday, April 19,2012

This small business needs health care reform

By Lauren Traut

When we started our business, Jay’s Professional Automotive, buying expensive health insurance seemed completely out of reach. With so many start-up costs, there were many things we did without.

Guest Opinion | Thursday, April 12,2012

School discipline: A better way

By Syda Segovia Taylor

On March 6, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released data from a national survey of more than 72,000 schools, covering a range of issues that included school discipline. Th

Guest Opinion | Thursday, April 5,2012

A ferry for the mentally ill

By Rick Wade

I could not sleep last night for quite awhile, thinking about her.Limping carefully, the young woman in the faded blue scrubs and hooded sweat shirt put one sock-covered foot in front of the other, fr

Guest Opinion | Thursday, March 22,2012

Boycott cynicism and fear

By Nick Capo

One recent evening, I participated in a discussion about crime and punishment with a large group of civic-minded professionals. In such discussions, people’s thoughts inevitably explore matters

Guest Opinion | Thursday, March 15,2012

Keystone pipeline can bring prosperity to Illinois

By Larry T. Shedwill Jr.

The Obama administration recently announced its decision to reject construction of Keystone XL – a planned, state-of-the-art petroleum pipeline to carry crude oil from the oil sands of Canada to

Guest Opinion | Thursday, March 8,2012

Window panes and the state’s fiscal pain

By Roy L. French

I was a painter in my younger days. With my dad, uncle and brother, we maintained many of the buildings in the Sangamon Valley back in the forties. I started when I was 17, making 50 cents an hour and