Columnist

More funding for colleges a step in right direction

Published by admin on Wed, 06/19/2019 - 8:00am

Back when this state was fairly well-run - meaning, before Illinois voters elected three anti-Springfield "populist" governors in a row - the general rule of thumb was that for every two dollars appropriated to K-12 education, higher education received one dollar.
The split wasn't based on any sort of scientific study, as far as I know. It was just the tradition, but the tradition seemed to work pretty well. Even in lean years, everybody got something, and our state's higher education institutions appeared to thrive.

More than one way to catch a fish

Published by admin on Wed, 06/12/2019 - 9:00am

Ever since I was a little girl I've known many ways to catch a fish. Besides a normal pole, reel, line and hook, there was the branch with a line with a hook tied on to it. I knew many ways to make a net, and the fastest of my school chums could sometimes grab a fish with his hand if the water were clear enough. But among the adults I knew, catching fish with dynamite was always a standing joke.

Pleasure, profits and problems - automobiles

Published by admin on Wed, 06/12/2019 - 9:00am

War moves things along. Inovations that were only on the drawing board can become a reality in a very short time.
It was like that with the automobile industry. Before the war, an automobile was a novelty, after it was a necessity. Let's look at the changes.
In 1915 purchasing an automobile got your name in the paper. We read on Oct. 29, 1915, “The Steinhart-Whitmore company are certainly doing business in the automobile line, the latest sales being two seven passenger Studebaker automobiles, one to Arch Montgomery and one to William Bell.”

It’s not a real bar without Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Published by admin on Wed, 06/12/2019 - 9:00am

If you don't have a bottle of Angostura Aromatic Bitters in your bar, you don't have a bar. In fact, there was a time when the legal definition of the term “cocktail” was spirit, sugar, water, and bitters.
Without bitters you literally did not have a cocktail. Bitters are the unsung heroes of mixology, and the House of Angostura has produced the best in the business for nearly 200 years.
If you haven't yet added bitters to your home bar, it's time to take the plunge.

Rookie governor off to a record start

Published by admin on Mon, 06/10/2019 - 3:15pm

If you talk to the Statehouse old-timers, they'll tell you they haven't seen such a productive spring legislative session since Gov. Jim Thompson's days.
I think it's probably safe to say that Gov. JB Pritzker cleared even that high historical bar this year, mainly because he had friendly Democratic super-majorities in both chambers. The Republican Thompson had to deal with a Democratic-controlled legislature for almost all of his 14 years.

Ending the strike, but who won?

Published by admin on Wed, 06/05/2019 - 9:00am

We have been looking at the strike of 1877. It started in April, 1877, and in October it still had not ended. Let's pick it up there.
The Miners' Central Committee was adamant. The strike would continue until the companies agreed to pay $1 per ton, and pay the March wages still owed the miners when they went on strike. They issued an address patting the strikers on the back for their continued strike.

The Home finds new life in death

Published by admin on Wed, 06/05/2019 - 9:00am

All wars take a terrible toll on those who do the fighting. But those who they leave behind also experience life changing traumas. This was especially true during the 19th century and in to the 20th.
The role of women, that of domestic, keeper of the flame, raiser of the children was vital but paid nothing. When the bread winner was killed, the women who depended upon them found themselves depending on charity.
But in one place at least, that charity felt more like family, the Soldiers' Widows' Home.

Mix up a true Hawaiian Mai Tai

Published by admin on Wed, 06/05/2019 - 9:00am

I recently had the opportunity to visit Honolulu's La Mariana for what I thought was going to be the last time.
As recently as April of this year it seemed that the 6--plus year run of the iconic bar was going to come to an end as their lease was not likely to be renewed. As luck would have it, La Mariana was able to reach an agreement to extend their lease within literally weeks of having to close the longest running tiki bar on the island.
This week we will toast their victory with one of their famous Hawaiian Mai Tais.

No turning back now for Pritzker, Illinois

Published by admin on Mon, 06/03/2019 - 12:25pm

The governor and his top staff showed again last week that they can make things happen under the Statehouse dome.
To corral 73 votes for a graduated income tax constitutional amendment in a 74-member House Democratic caucus accustomed to extreme coddling and over-protecting its more politically vulnerable members was quite something. Nobody was left off the hook.

Happy hour like an Italian with an Aperol

Published by admin on Wed, 05/29/2019 - 9:00am

Happy 100th birthday to Aperol. Long regarded as the “other” Italian bitter liqueur in a class dominated by Campari, Aperol has managed to climb back to the top via its signature cocktail, the Aperol Spritz.
Around this time each year Drinks International publishes a mid-year list of the world's bestselling cocktails, and rarely are there any surprises, especially in the top ten. The Aperol Spritz is currently ranked number nine, and perhaps stands to pick up a few more spots before we close the book on 2019.
Why the sudden spike in popularity of the Aperol Spritz?