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Understanding Illinois: Rauner-Pritzker a Classic Capital-Labor Fight for Illinois

News Progress Posted on by

•April 4, 2018•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

The November election contest between Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic challenger J. B. Pritzker is shaping up to be largely a classic conflict between capital and labor.

Mushy moderate that I am, I wonder if there is any constructive middle ground on this topic for Illinois in the foreseeable future.

Rauner made his money as a private equity investor. His company borrows money to buy companies, pumps them up and sells them for a big profit. Doing so requires a hard-nose approach to employees.

Rauner’s disdain for labor unions is well known. He initiated efforts that have resulted in a present case before the U.S. Supreme Court that will likely strip public employee unions of the capacity to require non-union employees to pay union dues. Read More

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John Maynard 

John Wayne Maynard, 84, of Sullivan passed away at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, April 1, 2018 in Eastview Terrace in Sullivan.

Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 10 in Greenhill Cemetery in Sullivan with military rites by Sullivan American Legion Post #68. Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. Monday, April 9 in McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan.  Read More

Obituaries 4-4-2018: Kathryn Hutchcraft 

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Kathryn Hutchcraft 

Kathryn M. Hutchcraft, 87, of Sullivan, passed away at 6:20 a.m. Thursday March 29, 2018 in Decatur Memorial Hospital.

Celebration of Life services were at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan. Burial was in Greenhill Cemetery in Sullivan. Kathryn was born August 3, 1930 in Ewing, Illinois, a daughter of James Howard and Eva Wyrick Richardson. She had worked at the Brown Shoe Company, Dean’s Greenhouses and Elzy’s Florist in Sullivan. She was a member of Sullivan First Christian Church. Previously she had been very involved in church activities at Sullivan Church of God and enjoyed southern gospel music. Kathryn married Paul Hutchcraft September 3, 1948 in Mt. Vernon, and he preceded her in death November 25, 2013. Read More

Illinois Native Bill Veeck was Champion for Game of Baseball

News Progress Posted on by

•April 4, 2018•

By Dennis Anderson
Of the Peoria Journal Star

Bill Veeck wasn’t your typical baseball team owner.

He was listed in the Chicago phonebook. He often walked the Comiskey Park concourse shaking hands as he limped on his wooden leg that he retrofitted with an ashtray.

As a young man he planted the ivy on the outfield walls at Wrigley Field.

He hired Larry Doby, the first black to play in the American League just months after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. And he owned the Cleveland Indians when they last won a World Series in 1948.

In later years, he was a regular on Chicago sports TV talk shows offering reasoned arguments on politics and society, and was often seen on WGN broadcasts of Cubs games shirtless with a beer in his hand sitting among the fans in the Wrigley Field bleachers. Read More

Sullivan Girls’ Track Team is First at Meridian Quad

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•April 4, 2018•

The Sullivan girls’ track and field team took first place in the Macon Meridian Quad last Wednesday at Meridian High School.

The Redskins scored 59 points to defeat Meridian, Warrensburg-Latham and Athens.

Katherine Kite took first place in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 13:20.02, and she placed second in the 800-meter run at 2:48.92.

Haley Rose placed first in the 300-meter hurdles at 50.58 and third in the 100-meter hurdles at 18.56. Read More

Lovington Public Library April News

News Progress Posted on by

•April 4, 2018•

Kids of any age may join After School Storytime 3:45-4:15 p.m. to hear a story and do fun activities. Activity packets will be sent home with participants to help advance literacy and critical thinking skills.

Reading RedbirdsYouth Book Club is for students in grades fourth-eighth who hang out, have fun and get creative at the library. Meeting time is 3:45-4:45 p.m. Tuesday, April 3 and 17. Computer time, #bookstagrams for the library’s Instagram account and bulletin board decorating. Those who want to will get a chance to read during After School Story Time. New members always welcome!

Wee Readers Storytime is held 10:45-11:15 a.m. Thursday mornings. Little ones enjoy stories, arts and crafts, song and dance, learning games and more! April themes are Apr. 5: “Frogs”; Apr. 12: “Butterflies” | Apr. 19: no storytime | Apr. 26: “Rainbows” Read More

Sec. State Unit Visits Library

News Progress Posted on by

•April 4, 2018•

Secretary of State Jesse White, in cooperation with Sullivan Library, is offering drivers a chance to renew their driver’s license or vehicle registration renewal sticker, obtain a duplicate or corrected license, or obtain an Illinois identification card.

White’s mobile unit will be available at the Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library in Sullivan from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 19.

An applicant renewing a current Illinois driver’s license or identification card need only present a current valid driver’s license or identification card. If the applicant is applying for either a duplicate or corrected driver’s license or identification card, the applicant must present two forms of identification. To find out what documents are considered acceptable identification, call 217-782-7044 or visit the Illinois Secretary of States website at:

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/dsd_x173.pdf.

Top Three Finishes for Sullivan Boy’s Track

News Progress Posted on by

•April 4, 2018•

The Sullivan boys’ track and field team competed in the Macon Meridian Quad last Wednesday at Meridian High School.

Several Redskins placed in the top three spots.

Luke Bowman placed second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.23 and fourth in the 200-meter dash at 11.88. Read More

Quarter Auction to Raise Funds for Moultrie Co. Fair

News Progress Posted on by

•April 4, 2018•

This month’s annual quarter auction at the Sullivan American Legion starts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 11.

All ages are welcome to attend and this month’s charity is the Moultrie-Sullivan Fair. The fair board is raising funds for needed improvements to the fairgrounds. Check out Moultrie-Sullivan Fair on Facebook for more information about the fair.  Read More

No One in the Masked Mob was Charged in the Lynching

News Progress Posted on by

•April 4, 2018•

By Eden Martin
NP Guest Columnist

Editors Note: This is the final installment in the News Progress series on the 1896 Lynching of Grant Atteberry in Moultrie County. The series was researched and written by Sullivan native historian and retired attorney Robert Eden Martin. 

The Aftermath

The day after the night of the hanging, February 13, a short private service was conducted in the dead man’s home by a Methodist preacher. During the service, the widow reportedly “grew hysterical and between sobs exclaimed, ‘How could they be so cruel.” Her friends had difficulty in getting her to leave his coffin, but taking one last look she supposedly exclaimed, “Oh, God, Grant, does this part us forever? Oh God, Have mercy upon us.” As the widow bent over the coffin crying, the children were in an adjoining room sobbing loudly.

(These lurid adjectives and quotes may strike the reader today as “fake news” — particularly in light of the fact that the service was supposedly “private.”)

After the short service, the body was taken to the cemetery in a hearse, with one vehicle following — containing Grant’s widow, her sister, a brother, and a neighbor. The newspaper said a number of people, possibly as many as 75, followed the remains to the cemetery either out of respect or curiosity. The county paid $9 in costs for the burial — $7 for the coffin, and $2 for a shroud. Read More