Columnist

Freedom Seekers and those who helped

Published by admin on Wed, 04/03/2019 - 9:00am

    Today when we speak of freedom seekers, we most likely think of immigrants who come to this country to escape oppression and crime in their native land. That is not what we are talking about today.
    Today we look at people who were born and raised in this country, but had no civil or political rights whatsoever - slaves.
    When Wilmington was first platted out in 1836 by Cox, slavery flourished, not only in the south, but also to some extent in the north.

Expect more penalties for move over law violators

Published by admin on Mon, 04/01/2019 - 2:25pm

    About a year ago, I attended a hearing of the Illinois House Judiciary - Criminal Law Committee and watched the Democratic majority vote down one Republican-sponsored criminal penalty enhancement bill after another.
     One would've made recruiting street gang members a Class 4 felony instead of the current Class 3. A bill to prevent child sex offenders from moving within a mile of their victims went down. The Democrats even killed a bill to enhance criminal penalties for anyone who knowingly harmed a police dog.

The Ward Eight - a winning cocktail

Published by admin on Wed, 03/27/2019 - 9:00am

    Win or lose, it seems as though drinks will flow on both sides following everything from a championship game to a hard fought election.
    The Boston area has seen its share of Super Bowl victories and literally centuries of bitter political battles. One such battle occurred in 1898 and resulted not only in a victory for Boston power broker Martin Lomasney, but also in a delicious cocktail, the elusive Ward Eight.

Not making the history books, but should

Published by admin on Wed, 03/27/2019 - 9:00am

    There are names in Braidwood history that everyone knows, James Braidwood, McLaughlin, Mitchell and Cermak to name a few.
    These people were important to the town and to the country as a whole. But there were others, whose name means nothing to us now, but whose contribution to the community loomed large. Honorable William H. Steen was one of these.

Where they hide the knowledge

Published by admin on Wed, 03/27/2019 - 9:00am

    When my son was young he was on his break at work reading a book. One of his co-workers commented on wasting his break reading, and asked him why he did it.
    He responded, “I found out that they hide knowledge in the pages of books.” Enough said. That is why public libraries were founded. Today we look at our own library history.

Really no reason to slow down legalizing pot in Illinois

Published by admin on Wed, 03/27/2019 - 8:00am

 

Should proponents of legalizing cannabis in Illinois be worried about Rep. Marty Moylan's (D-Des Plaines) House resolution?

The case of the unbelieving landlord

Published by admin on Tue, 03/19/2019 - 10:31am

I guess we all know someone like Fred. They always think they are being cheated by someone; if it's not the government, it's the car repair place. They count the number of pills in the prescription bottle, they count the number of worms in the bait container; they go out to the electric meter to see if it's been read properly. Well, that was Fred all over.
Let's look at where this counting business led Fred Smith, owner of a boarding house in Braidwood in 1873. This story also reminds us to look before you shoot.
From the August 9, 1873 Wilmington Advocate:

Old Soldiers, old times, Civil War reunions

Published by admin on Tue, 03/19/2019 - 10:26am

At the turn of the 20th century there were still quite a few Civil War Vets in the Will County area.  Almost all of them belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans' organization for Civil War vets only.  
In Wilmington, the Bowen Post No. 17 of the G. A. R., had many proud members.  Lloyd Kahler was always on the list of officers, as was M. N. M. Stewart and Jacob Miller.

A tiki revival is in full swing, polynesian-themed bars make a comeback

Published by admin on Mon, 03/18/2019 - 1:35pm

The “tiki revival” is in full swing across the country as new Polynesian-themed bars and restaurants are opening in nearly all major metro areas.  
This is exciting news for fans of tiki drinks that until recently had limited access to the classic rum cocktails outside of their home bars.  These new establishments are introducing a new generation to the classic tiki drinks, and all signs point to success as we take an early look at mixology trends in 2019.  

Will voters trust Pritzker with income tax change?

Published by admin on Mon, 03/18/2019 - 12:59pm

 

A bunch of weak political arguments have been used so far against Gov. JB Pritzker's proposed constitutional amendment for a graduated income tax. But there is a clear path to killing it.