•September 4, 2019•
By Phil Luciano
Of the Journal Star of Peoria

From organizing unions to effecting labor laws, Illinois has played a vital historical role as a flashpoint — sometimes involving violence and danger — for workplace fairness. These are some of the key figures and events of that struggle.
Mother Jones
She lost her own family, so she adopted a new one, a huge one, lifting up the cause of labor.
In the process, Mother Jones became perhaps the greatest labor force in the history of Illinois.
An Irish immigrant and dressmaker, Mary Harris landed in Memphis, Tennessee, where she met and wed George Jones, a foundry worker and union supporter. They’d had four children by 1867, when an epidemic of yellow fever claimed the entire household, save Mary. The 30-year-old widow relocated to Chicago to start anew with a dress shop, but it was lost in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
She scraped to get by, sometimes sewing piecework for wealthy Chicago families. As she’d gaze out their picture windows, she gained a keen eye and soft heart for disenfranchised. Read More

•September 4, 2019•
Jerry L. Ginther
NP Guest Columnist

If you still live in the city or town where you were raised, pause for a few moments on a peaceful day and listen for the sounds of current activities.
Are they different from past years?
You may begin to contemplate the sounds you hear today and reflect on sounds from yesteryear. Are they familiar sounds from years past or are they new?
At first you may not be aware of sounds that are no longer there. As a matter of fact, if you are 50 or 60 years of age, someone your age or even an older person might remind you in a conversation of a sound that at one time was common to daily life in the community.
Such a conversation could start an avalanche of memories that lead to comments such as, “Yes, I remember that and do you remember…?”
In a small town you can often hear noises from nearby locations, sounds of industry or construction. Read More

•September 4, 2019•
By Jim Nowlan
Capital News Service

I am giving a talk to long-term state prison inmates, soon to be released, about how to navigate government and politics. This, on the premise they will need licenses to drive and ply some trades, and maybe even want to get involved in politics.
Background: Illinois is divided into 10,000 voting districts called precincts, each with roughly 500 voters. Political parties have long used precincts to organize and contest elections. Precinct committeemen are elected at primaries to advocate for their respective parties (called “captains” in Cook County, where they are appointed by party higher-ups).
When I was in politics half a century ago, political party organizations were important in navigating politics. Citizens would go to their committeemen to find out who to contact to resolve their problems with, say, the DMV or other state agencies. That no longer happens, with rare exceptions.
Patronage jobs in government, which committeemen and captains once coveted, are mostly gone. So, why seek the post? In addition, television ads and money have basically replaced party as campaign tools. As a result, candidates for offices such as state legislator now must build their own personal organizations of volunteers and committees to raise money for campaigns. Read More