Three strikes and you’re in

Immigrants as the solution, not the problem

I have no idea what the American Dream means to the 63 persons from 25 nations who were welcomed into the fraternity of the free and the brave in October ceremonies at the Old Capitol. In my version o

Poor housing

Will tougher enforcement improve shabby housing on the east side?

If its aldermen were running Springfield’s fire stations, the city would have burned down years ago. On Oct. 18 the Springfield City Council passed a complex new ordinance that stiffened the pen

Gizmo-maker as god

The death of Steve Jobs and the Anerican need to believe

Steve Jobs is dead, and the world talked about little else for a week. By now we have arrived at the transitional moment that was neatly described by columnist Rick Polito in the Pacific Sun – t

The Durbin Fee

Is it really possible – even in a nation whose congresspeople believe that laying off people creates jobs and whose wealthy believe that helping to pay to run the country that made them rich is

Boomerangers

Enticing trained brains back to Springfield

The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce is talking industrial parks as the way to make Greater Springfield – which I prefer to think of as Bigger Springfield – a Great Place to Do Busi

Wise guys

In which a mere opinion-monger sets out on the path toward Truth

Life is full of mysteries. Why would a beneficent god allow humans to invent ceramic cooktops? Why didn’t the Pyschedelic Furs sell more records? The public’s confusion is rich soil for th

The college game

I know only two lawyer jokes. One is Rod Blagojevich. The other one is this: In a nation that already has more lawyers per capita than any other nation on earth, U.S. law schools are churning out many

Two schools for the price of one

Is there an alternative to tearing down Enos Elementary?

On Sept. 11, the District 186 board announced that it would cancel classes forever at Enos Elementary School. The board approved plans to demolish the aging building on the north side and replace it w

Temples in ruins

The old Franklin Life complex did not get the owner it deserves

I left one question unanswered when I wrote recently that the Horace Mann Educators Corp. building in downtown Springfield was one of four in the capital city designed by a world-famous architecture f

Looking back

Updates and addenda to recent columns

Satchel Paige wisely advised us, “Don’t look back: Something may be gaining on you.” He’s right.I addressed the time and energy costs of daily commuting to jobs in Springfield