After yet another performative school board mtg this week, I was glad to sit down with Jackie Gunderson who found herself at the center of this controversy. In this episode, Jackie and I discuss the changes to health and sex education in Unit 5 and D87. Below is a copy of the PPT Jackie presented at D87. My goal with this conversation was to allow Jackie a platform to dispel mistruths and I felt she provided very clear and thorough responses to my questions. This debate is far from over and I welcome the feedback I may receive. 

D87 PPT

Equality Illinois - LGBT Curriculum

Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy

In response to the school board mtg last week, I felt compelled to dispel some myths about Critical Race Theory and the 1619 project as a part of the k-12 curriculum. Brandon is a teacher at Bloomington High School who wrote a great piece in the Pantagraph and was willing to connect. The result is our conversation. 

Brandon Thornton: My thoughts on the D87 school board mtg

The Home to Market Act is a piece of legislation that could expand the cottage food industry in Illinois. Do you dig local food producers and farmers markets? If so, check out this episode AND please support this legislation by submitting a witness slip at the link below. 

Home to Market Act

Witness Slip (HB2615 sponsored by Will Guzzardi)

Illinois Stewardship Alliance

Grace Farm Studios (Ann's Farm)

With the election just over 2 weeks away, we're back with another candidate interview. This time I sat down (virtually) with Joshua Crockett, a candidate for the Heartland Community College Board of Trustees. In a non-partisan race, Joshua has a lot of the qualities I look for in a candidate: young, local, engaged, and committed to change for the good of the community. If nothing more, this conversation is a great way to learn about this role could impact our community. Please support Joshua if you liked what you heard. 

Campaign Website

Campaign Instagram

Campaign FB Page

This podcast is tracking closer to where I aspire for this podcast to be: finding the right people to dispel myths and have a serious conversation. Charlotte Alvarez is the Executive Director at the Immigration Project in Bloomington. Without getting too much in the weeds, let's just agree immigration is a topic we hear a lot of opinions about but don't see much good faith critical dialogue on the subject. I hope you find this as interesting as I did. If you are interested in hearing more, please support Charlotte and all the other talented staff at the Immigration Project.  

Immigration Project Facebook