By John W. Whitehead The American people remain eager to be persuaded that a new president in the White House can solve the problems that plague us. Yet, no matter he winner of the November 3 presidential election, you can rest assured that the new boss will be the same
By Peter Hancock As the dust settled after Tuesday’s general election in Illinois, Republicans in the State patted themselves on the back after making gains, while high-ranking Democrats pushed back against embattled State party leader Michael Madigan. “I’m going to give ourselves an A because before Tuesday, the House Republicans
By Jerry Nowicki Although nearly 3.6 Million Illinoisans had already voted by Monday morning, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections, nearly 2.3 Million ballots were still to be cast if the State is to match the 70.56% turnout of 2016. As of Monday, there were 586,709 mail-in ballots
By Peter Hancock As State leaders continue to face push-back from the restaurant industry and even some county and municipal governments regarding COVID-19 mitigation measures, governor JB Pritzker Tuesday put pressure squarely on the shoulders of local elected officials. “The fact is that local officials who are not doing the
First of two parts Here’s how Native Americans’ right to vote has been systematically violated for generations In the new book, Voting in Indian Country, The View from the Trenches, Jean Reith Schroedel weaves together historical and contemporary voting rights conflicts on the eve of the November 3 election. She
By Jason Crane Discussions about a residence requirement for city of Aurora police and fire employees was part of the Aurora city government Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday, through the Zoom video conference platform. Rules, Administration and Procedures (RAP) Committee chairperson, alderman Carl Franco, gave an update about the
By Jason Crane The North Aurora Village Board, through the Zoom video conference platform, discussed at the Committee of the Whole meeting Monday, to create a program to assist food establishments with costs associated with outdoor dining in the Winter due to indoor dining restrictions because of COVID-19. Six establishments
By John W. Whitehead Things are falling apart. How much longer we can sustain the fiction that we live in a constitutional republic, I cannot say, but anarchy is being loosed upon the Nation. We are witnessing the unraveling of the American dream one injustice at a time. Day after
As Election Day draws closer, Americans are being inundated with polls about the state of the presidential race. And understandably, many are wondering whether polls can be trusted after Donald Trump’s surprise victory in 2016. A better question to ask may be what, exactly, are we trusting polls to do?
By Peter Hancock Heading into the final weekend before Election Day, Illinois voters continue to set records for advance voting, and election officials are urging anyone who has not yet turned in their mail ballot to do so as quickly as possible. “Whether you do that by mail, or by
The following is letter sent to governor JB Pritzker from Aurora mayor Richard C. Irvin on behalf of restaurants and bars in the State’s second-largest city. “Dear Governor Pritzker: “I am writing to you on behalf of the small businesses in the Aurora community. Aurora is the second largest city
By Jason Crane At the Aurora city government City Council meeting Tuesday, through the Zoom video conferencing platform, the City Council approved the purchase and installation of a body-worn camera system for the Aurora Police Department (APD). The approval is another step in a lengthy process due to budget considerations
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has issued resurgence mitigation measures beginning Friday, October 23 for Illinois Region 8 which includes Kane and DuPage Counties. Tier 1 restrictions are imposed on restaurants, bars and social gatherings. Indoor bar and restaurant service is prohibited. Social gatherings (including weddings and funerals)
By Jason Crane At the Aurora city government Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday, through the Zoom video conferencing platform, included was a discussion by the Aurora City Council about an increase in compensation for the mayor and aldermen. Mayor Richard Irvin recused himself from the discussion to avoid any
October 17, 2020Dear editor; Although Kane County residents face devastating losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, David Rickert, the Kane County treasurer and Republication Party nominee for Kane County Board chair, has stated rather odd priorities: Funding for nature preservation, better coordination of transportation projects, and relief from unfunded State mandates.
Chris Kennedy, holding a plaque, and his wife, Sheila Kennedy, pose for a photo last week in recognition of their non-profit organization, Top Box Foods, outside the Centennial House, 1630 W. Plum Street, Aurora, during distribution of food and diabetes prevention information.
The Kane County Health Department (KCHD) encourages residents to complete the Kane Health Counts Community Survey by Monday, Nov. 2 at surveygate.fun/SurveyBridge/nid_pro_redirect.php. The results of this survey, combined with other community data, will help Kane Health Counts as well as other public health representatives and community service organizations to understand
An often overlooked piece of our November ballots is the retention of judges. Politicians’ stances on issues and job performance are very public. Judges are cloistered away in courtrooms and should be non-partisan, at least in theory. So how is the voting public to decide whether to retain a particular
By John W. Whitehead It is not an election. It is a con game, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko, a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle, and a bamboozle. In this carefully choreographed scheme to strip the American citizenry of our power and our rights, “we the people”
By Marie Wilson Annual work on the Van Buren Parking Deck, 43 W. Van Buren Street, is scheduled to begin Wednesday, Oct. 21, as part of the downtown parking deck maintenance program. Work is expected to take approximately four weeks, pending weather or unforeseen circumstances. The City has contracted with
