October 8, 2014By Robert M. Williams, Jr.
What do you care most about in life?
Most of us would put family at, or near, the top of such a list. Friends would be there. So would our jobs or businesses, our livelihoods. Our homes. Maybe our pets. Our hobbies and pastimes. Add in those around us: Neighbors, the community, etc.
That’s our world, our “sphere of influence.” Whatever happens to those who inhabit that place in our hearts and lives means something to us. Read More
October 1, 2014by William C Bailey
Professor, Western Illinois University
It is said that records are made to be broken. In my undergraduate days, a classmate set a record when, at one sitting, he ate 24 breaded jumbo shrimp at the local Friday seafood buffet. As noteworthy as that seemed at the time, Illinois corn and soybean farmers are on track to set four records this year – now that is really impressive and makes one marvel at today’s agriculture.
In recently released estimates on the size of this year’s Illinois corn and soybean crops, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) set the state corn yield at 194 bushels an acre with soybean yield projected to be 56 bushels an acre. Both of these yields, if harvest goes well, will be records. 2004 was the year the previous Illinois corn yield record was set – 180 bushels an acre. The 14 bushel increase in corn yield is testimony to contemporary farming technology, farming skill and, of course, some excellent weather. It is a similar situation for soybeans – the new record yield of 56 bushels an acre is almost nine percent higher than the previous record. Read More
By Gerald Tilley
Social Security Dist. Manager, Decatur
Kids and kids at heart look forward to the end of October, when we use tricks and treats in equal measure to celebrate Halloween. No doubt, you’ll be passing out treats to costumed hobgoblins and hooligans in your neighborhood this Halloween night. But be careful that you’re not fooled by a different kind of trickster looking for a larger handout—such as your identity. Read More
by Jerry Ginther
NP Guest Columnist
One thing that comes to mind when I reflect on the schools in Sullivan was what was located at the top of the stairs at the east entrance of Lowe School. On the wall at the top of the stairs there was a plaque depicting the Ten Commandments. If memory serves, I believe an identical plaque was posted on the opposite wall as well, so, no matter which side of the stairs you ascended you would see one or the other. I suppose that sticks in my memory because I do not recall there being such a display in the other school buildings in town. There may have been, but if so they were not so prominently displayed. At Lowe you would see them each morning or any other time you topped the stairs. I’m unaware if they remained as long as the building was in use, but they were there in 1955, the year I entered the fourth grade. Those plaques are in part responsible for the remainder of this article. Read More
September 24, 2014by John Golden
NP Columnist
Just in case you have not noticed, all signs are currently pointing to another summer gone. The children are firmly back in school, and the temperatures in the classrooms remain cool enough that the student body can stay and learn all day long. Sweatshirts are out of the rear of everyone’s closets, and they are being worn prominently. Football is back and being played every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And all the while, inside most of our homes, the air conditioners have been turned off, and all of the windows have been opened in order to invite in the fresh air. Also, if one felt so inclined, for a limited time they could purchase a pumpkin spice frappuccino blended beverage at a near-by Starbucks. Read More
Sullivan Needs to Support Restaurants
It never ceases to amaze me how odd people act sometimes. What I hear most is that there isn’t anywhere to have a good sit down dinner that isn’t fast food or pizza. Pauly’s On the Green at the County Club has one of the finest Sunday brunches I have eaten at in a very long time. Unfortunately , due to the lack of customers, they are cutting down their hours of operation and even contemplating closing forever this coming December. It’s a shame that even with ads in the papers, this restaurant hasn’t been given a chance, because it’s a bit of a drive. Read More
September 24, 2014by Jim Nowlan
Outside Columnist
This column summarizes the 26 reader responses to a recent column I wrote on income inequality. I laid out a list of generally redistributive ideas to address the problem.
I note that many respondents conflated low-wage workers with welfare recipients and in turn focused on the latter. I meant to focus on those who were indeed working yet struggling to make ends meet.
Slightly more than half the respondents were clearly against redistribution by government. Read More
September 17, 2014
by Jim Nowlan
Outside Columnist
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is one of the world’s great graduate research centers. The 2013 world rankings compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, one of China’s most prestigious, placed UIUC at 25th best in the world, ahead of elite U.S. institutions such as Duke, Northwestern and the Ivy League’s Brown.
The challenge is to stay near the top of the rankings in a context of fierce competition to develop and attract star faculty and the research grants they bring to campus.
I am amazed that UIUC has done as well as it has. It is sometimes tough to attract faculty to a small city (actually cities) on the prairie where it can be difficult to find a rewarding job for one’s spouse.
A huge challenge is money. UIUC lacks a large, multi-billion dollar endowment like those at some major private institutions. The university entered the fund-raising game late, relying instead on generous state funding. Read More
by Jerry Ginther
About 1960, the mothers of 25 or 30 of us local kids signed us up for accordion lessons with the Illinois Conservatory of Music. As a group we were filled with enthusiasm before the first lesson. Most of us had never held an accordion prior to that day, and we were ready to see what sort of racket they made. We figured out on our own that it would make some kind of noise if we would hold down just one of the piano keys while we pulled or squeezed the bellows. Beyond that we had no clue as to what else it might do. However, on that first day each of us received a small, 12-bass accordion complete with carrying case for home practice. Those small accordions would be sufficient to get us through the first book of instruction. After completing the first book a decision had to be made on whether to continue or “throw in the towel”. Continuing meant a rather healthy investment in a larger accordion. Read More
September 10, 2014by Jim Nowlan
Outside Columnist
The U.S. has five percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of it prison inmates, according to Mary Ann Dyar, executive director of an Illinois prison diversion program.
We need to get smarter on whom we send to prison and for how long.
“I probably sent away a thousand or more people for drug crimes,” recalls former federal judge Mike McCuskey of his 16 years on the U.S. court bench in central Illinois. In effect, he filled up a federal prison.
I had dinner recently with old friend McCuskey, now retired from the federal bench and back serving as a state circuit court judge in Peoria. Read More