May 13, 2015

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

Illinois has been hemorrhaging residents to sunny California and the Southwest for decades. But today California lacks the natural infrastructure to support its nearly 40 million residents, most of whom live on the desert.
A study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration reports that California is probably in for a mega-drought that will last 30 or more years.
Will a reverse migration back to the water-rich Midwest unfold? Probably not right away, but it could in the decades to come, if we plan for it.
Just last year, 400,000 acres of California farmland were taken out of production, which represents in area more than twice my small Stark County, north of Peoria.
Always a big deal, water is becoming a really big deal now that it cannot be taken for granted.
And Illinois has a lot of water, an abundant supply until at least 2050, if it is well managed, according to Vern Knapp, the senior hydrologist at the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois.
The sources of our water in the state vary. Lake Michigan provides the lion’s share of the water used by the public in populous northeastern Illinois. Most of the rest of the water for central and northern Illinois comes from shallow underground aquifers. Read More

May 6, 2015

I have observed over the years that when one political party wants to curb these kinds of abuses by getting a handle on this out-of-control spending and trying effect legislation to help in this area, we see something happen. This political party gets severely demonized not only by the opposing political party, but by the media, Hollywood, and academia, all jumping in to call those trying to bring about positive change as heartless and haters of the poor and minorities, and on and on the heated rhetoric goes. Many people and families do need necessary help, and it’s great America can afford this as they most certainly should be helped. Read More

April 29, 2015

By Jim Nowlan
Outside Columnist

I travel the state a lot. On Amtrak, from western Illinois into Chicago’s Loop, I pass from left-behind rural towns and through new middle-class housing tracts on the suburban fringe.
Next come older, wealthy suburbs like Hinsdale and farther on the mostly Hispanic towns like Cicero and Berwyn. After that it is the mean streets of poor, black and Hispanic Chicago before reaching the golden, gleaming city center on the lake.
These varied worlds don’t communicate much with one another. Few in tony Hinsdale have in their world view the poor, often violent black neighborhoods not far to the east.
When I was a child after World War II, there were more vibrant farm market towns and small cities and fewer suburbs than today. Read More

April 22, 2015

By Jim Nowlan
Outside
Columnist

I am invited to give talks to Lions, Rotary, women’s and other clubs, generally about Illinois and, particularly, its budget problems.
In recent talks, during the question period, several listeners have observed that we could save taxpayer money if we took the “undeserving” off the welfare rolls.
Then the audience members illustrated with anecdotes of local cases they “know” of people who are abusing our several welfare programs.
Anecdotes certainly don’t prove a case, but they do illustrate alarming trends in the growth of dependency of Americans on our government.
For example, one audience member, who rented properties, told of a woman, “smart and capable,” with four children, who received substantially more than $2,000 a month in rental payments ($882), food stamps ($775), heating, phone and other benefits. Read More

Concern About Proposed Zoo

I no longer live in Moultrie County, however I do own farm land and am concerned about the proposed zoo in Moultrie County. I came to Sullivan on April 9 to attend the county board meeting as they were voting to change the zoning to allow a zoo in Moultrie County. Read More