Letter to the Editor1: 7-25-2018

News Progress Posted on by

Dear Editor, The July 11 issue contained a letter from Ms. Ellen Dick-Ferrera who seemed to want to reduce the issue of abortion, the deliberate terminating of the life of an unborn child, to what she calls a “choice”. Throughout her remarks she champions what she calls “choice”. While knowing, as she writes, that she is not fond of crotchety and those she considers to be ignorant old men, as a former unborn child who is well on my way to becoming, if not ignorant, a crotchety old man, what I know for sure is that if my mother had … Read More

Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville: ‘America’s First City

News Progress Posted on by

•July 25, 2018• By Mike Koziatek Of the Belleville News-Democrat A gaggle of rambunctious fifth-graders scrambled to the top of the 100-foot-high Monks Mound to get a great view of the Gateway Arch in downtown St. Louis and burn off energy at the end of their class field trip to the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Before climbing Monks Mound, the Gardner Elementary students from Waterloo, Illinois, toured the historic site’s spacious interpretive center in Collinsville, Illinois, and learned how Native Americans based at the mounds conducted trade with people in other regions, including the Great Lakes for copper and … Read More

The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow for Annie

News Progress Posted on by

 •July 25, 2018• By Ellen Ferrera for the News Progress The great comic actor W.C. Fields had a rule of never performing with children or dogs. If you see “Annie’’ at The Little Theatre you will know why. They steal the show! The children (and dog) are such polished performers and just carry the show in ways you don’t expect. If you have or know children who have never seen musical theater, please give them the gift of a ticket to “Annie”. You will open a whole new world of wonder and enchantment for them. Those of a certain age … Read More

County Tax Sale

News Progress Posted on by

•July 25, 2018• Moultrie County, as Trustee, has completed their tax deed proceedings on real estate properties that were delinquent for 2014 and prior real estate taxes. The County, as Trustee, will now offer for sale the real estate obtained to the public. They will offer approximately nine items through a sealed bid auction sale. All sealed bids must be in the Moultrie County treasurer’s office located in the Moultrie County Courthouse, 10 S. Main Street, Suite 10 in Sullivan no later than the close of business of August 24, 2018. … Read More

Understanding Illinois: The Titan Versus The Third-Rate Businessman

News Progress Posted on by

•July 25, 2018• By Jim Nowlan NP Guest Columnist This column is one of several about colorful but little-known characters from Illinois history, written in tribute to our 2018 bicentennial this year. Charles Tyson Yerkes and George E. Cole were larger-than-life figures who squared off in the Gilded Age of the 1890s, when Chicago politics made today’s game look like tiddlywinks. In 1886, fresh out of jail in Philadelphia for financial improprieties, Yerkes exchanged a loyal wife and six children for a stunning beauty. The twosome headed for Chicago, the fastest growing city in the world, to make his fortune, … Read More

County Board Corrections

News Progress Posted on by

•July 25, 2018• In the July 18, 2018 Moultrie County board story appearing in the Moultrie County News Progress three corrections need to be made. Upon handing in his resignation State’s Attorney Jeremy Richey did not point out it will assure the Republican party control of the state’s attorney’s office for the remainder of Richey’s term 2020. Building and grounds committee chair announced that the county farm is up for rent and proposals are due in the county clerk’s office by noon Wednesday, August 1, 2018 (Not August 8 as was incorrectly reported). Also Mac Condill appeared on behalf of … Read More

Recent Obituaries: Lena Ann (Botts) Gillenwater

News Progress Posted on by

Lena Ann (Botts) Gillenwater Lena Ann (Botts) Gillenwater, 96, formerly of Lovington, Illinois, passed away in Imboden Creek Nursing Home in Decatur, Illinois, on Tuesday, July 18, 2018 at 6:27 pm with family at bedside. She was born on May 22, 1922 in Monroe County, KY to the late William Earlie and Pearliza (Smith) Botts. She married Don Mitchell Gillenwater on September 3, 1946, and they had five children. She attended the Lovington United Methodist Church. She loved spending time with her family, and never met a stranger! Her favorite past times were playing the guitar, singing, listening to music, … Read More

Understanding Illinois: Voting System Could Help De-Polarize Politics

News Progress Posted on by

•July 18, 2018• By Jim Nowlan NP Guest Columnist I have a friend who is among 10 candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in the August primary election in Wisconsin. Political observers in cheese-head country say the winner might receive as few as 25 percent of the votes cast. In effect, the preferences of three-quarters of the voters will be disregarded. Because of situations like this, a flurry of interest has developed around a voting system called “ranked voting.” Some background. In Illinois, Wisconsin and most places in the U.S., you and I vote for one candidate for each … Read More