For more than a century, Phillips Park on Aurora’s East Side has been a destination for residents and visitors alike, and plans are under way to build upon its legacy and impact on future generations. Officially named by the Aurora City Council in 1902, Phillips Park has grown into a
By John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead The Supreme Court has spoken: There will be no consequences for cops who brutalize the citizenry and no justice for the victims of police brutality. Although the Court’s 2021-22 rulings on qualified immunity for police who engage in official misconduct were largely overshadowed
By Peter Hancock Governor JB Pritzker and top Democratic Party leaders in the Illinois General Assembly said Tuesday , July 5that although they still plan to call a special session this year to strengthen abortion rights, they expect to take the “remainder of the Summer” to craft policies before lawmakers
By Jason Crane At the Aurora city government Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting Tuesday, July 5, a couple of discussions became heated between Ninth Ward alderman Edward Bugg and Richard Irvin, mayor of Aurora. Edward Bugg expressed frustration about the two following agenda items: • Placed on unfinished business
By John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead Imagine living in a country where armed soldiers crash through doors to arrest and imprison citizens merely for criticizing government officials. Imagine that in this very same country, you’re watched all the time, and if you look even a little bit suspicious, the
By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council approved a proposal to redevelop the vacant and mostly unused former Carson Pirie Scott building at 970 N. Lake Street at the Aurora City Council meeting Tuesday, June 28. • Seven individuals used their voices for up to three minutes each speaking against,
Friday of last week there was a seismic change in United States law because the 50 year old Roe v. Wade ruling, guaranteeing access to safe and legal abortion, was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. There were cheers from everyone who has been fighting for this moment for years,
Libraries are evolving. Gone are the silent, stoic, halls with shelves as far as the eye can see. People of all ages visit the library to connect with others, create new things, and discover new ideas. Libraries are one of the few remaining establishments where the public can interact with
By John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead The burden of proof has been reversed. No longer are we presumed innocent. Now we’re presumed guilty unless we can prove our innocence beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Rarely, are we even given the opportunity to do so. Although
By Peter Hancock A federal judge in Chicago handed down a one-year prison sentence Tuesday for a former State senator who once was chairperson of the Senate Labor Committee. Tom Cullerton, a Villa Park Democrat, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of embezzlement for receiving salary and benefits
By Beth Hundsdorfer A state audit released Thursday, June 16 found nearly $2 billion in federal money intended to help unemployed Illinoisans during the pandemic was lost to fraudulent claims in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Employment Security blamed “insufficient and flawed federal guidance” and a lack of controls on
By Jason Crane Members of the Aurora City Council listened to a proposal to redevelop the vacant and mostly-unused former Carson Pirie Scott building at 970 N. Lake Street at the Aurora city government Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting Tuesday, June 21. • Four individuals used their voices for
By Donna Zine, Aurora, Ill. Ward resident I am opposed to any zoning and ordinance changes that would allow the current out-of-state owners of the former Carson Pirie Scot property, 970 N. Lake Street in Aurora, to install a passive income model storage unit at that site, or a car
The Naperville Police Department recently completed a round of tobacco/alternative nicotine product compliance checks June 7 and 8. The compliance checks were performed at 73 Naperville businesses to determine if local tobacco/alternative nicotine product retailers are complying with the minimum-age tobacco laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco/alternative nicotine products
By John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead What we do not need is yet another pretext by which government officials can violate the Fourth Amendment at will under the guise of public health and safety. Indeed, at a time when red flag gun laws, which authorize government officials to seize
By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council honored Mark Baum, executive director and founding member of the Fox Valley Blues Society and the Blues on The Fox festival, at the Aurora City Council meeting Tuesday, June 14. Baum is given the credit for leading the charge with his vision of
June 13, 2022Dear editor; Some among us may ask questions of the purpose, or, the value of the public hearings being presented by the January 6 (2021) Committee of the House of Representatives. Most of us who have been paying attention to the various political maneuverings which have taken place
By John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead “Have you ever wondered who’s pulling the strings? … Anything we touch is a weapon. We can deceive, persuade, change, influence, inspire. We come in many forms. We are everywhere.”— U.S. Army Psychological Operations recruitment video The U.S. government is waging psychological warfare
By Peter Hancock A new survey released this week suggests Illinoisans are more moderate on the issue of abortion than the current Democratic Party-controlled General Assembly, but it is unclear whether that will cost Democrats votes in November. The poll by the Chicago-based firm Ogden & Fry, which is owned
By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council listened to a plan to demolish the East Aurora School District Resilience Center at 417 5th Street and construct a space to facilitate extracurricular activities for students and parents at the Aurora city government Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting Tuesday, June 7.
