Illinois: Don’t swap money bail for digital jails
Illinois has made history. With the implementation of The Pretrial Fairness Act on Sept. 18, it is the first state to fully eliminate cash bond. This means that no one will be held in jail simply because they cannot afford to pay for their freedom. But this historic win for pretrial freedom is in jeopardy.... more
Remembering Bill Black
Bill Black was a lawmaker who alternated between being outraged and outrageous. The former Danville high school history teacher died Sept. 9. He was one of my favorite people in the Illinois General Assembly.... more
Looking at land prices
Every year I get dozens of calls from landowners asking me what is the selling price of farmland or the going rate of farm cash rents. While the dollars and cents part are the predominant thing they look for, there’s more that goes into negotiating a viable sale price or cash rent. However, being a farm owner in Illinois with its rich soils has its advantages as both sales prices and cash rents tend to trend higher that other parts of the country.... more
Fall programming at the library
Fall is coming and the temperatures are starting to get cooler. We are starting our fall programming this month at the library. Follow us on Facebook for up-to-date program information. ... more
Court actors must implement SAFE-T Act for crime survivors
In mid-September, Illinois will move one step further in the pursuit of justice by exchanging risk for wealth as a determinant of safety when making pretrial release decisions. As someone with 25 years of experience as an advocate for survivors, most spent working in our federal criminal legal system that has long operated without money bail, I know risk-based decision making can keep survivors of gender-based violence and the public safe. ... more
Make farm safety a top priority this harvest season
Climbing into the combine seat and hitting the fields each September always fills me with a sense of excitement and anticipation. Even after 48 years, there is no better feeling than looking out over a field of matured corn or soybeans. But, year after year I hear of yet another tragic loss of life due to a preventable work-related injury on the farm during harvest.... more
Wheat and The Great Chatfield Hog War
In the early days of Hickory Grove (Rochelle), agriculture was the mainstay of the economy. Early settlers like Jeptha Noe and Willard Flagg found countless miles of prairie grass as far as the eye could see. The grasses on the prairie would range from four to eight foot tall. The land had to be cleared before farming could begin. Frequently fire was used to burn off the grasses.... more
Consider this: In short, it’s up to us
I’m guessing that there are a lot of people frustrated with our Federal Government and how things are trudging along. We seem to move at a pace that would make sloths, slugs, turtles and other animals’ movements appear to be lightning fast. Then, when they do decide on passing a bill or setting priorities, we don’t agree with what they have done.... more
The banality of evil
As I walked through the lobby of the University of Illinois’ Veterinary School, I looked at the photos of graduates lining the walls. Of course, I was drawn to the images of two people: my father and my wife.... more
Interjecting some humor
Been busy lately and I forgot to feed the hamster so the ol’ noggin’ isn’t exactly working at peak performance. So I’ll let my brain drift this week and just interject some humor.... more
Joe Biden and our crisis of trust
President Biden is the second-most unpopular president in modern history, when compared to others at this point in their first terms. This at least is the verdict from a survey of polls reported on July 18 by Andrew Romano at yahoo.com.... more
Celebrating public power and municipal-owned electric utilities
One of the favorite parts of my job is overseeing RMU and our municipal electric utility. This year national public power week is being celebrated from Oct. 2-6.... more