Rockford voters face an impending referendum on home rule on March 20. The‎ city had home rule, but then repudiated it in a previous referendum in 1983. Constitution Article VII, section 6, of the Illinois Constitution permits home rule jurisdictions to exercise "any power not prohibited by the state constitution." Non-home rule jurisdictions exercise sharply limited powers and require permission from Springfield to do other things. Four major sources of authority are granted exclusively to‎

Something must be said about what we are doing right now. You and I … this chatting over the radio. I have been doing this with you since December 2015. This Perspective marks No. 50 for me, which I consider a sufficient benchmark to share some feelings about this whole process. I record at home and email my voice to the WNIJ station editors and engineers. The technology is amazing. But, you know what? I still feel the wonder of those younger, teenager days when I treasured my transistor radio.

I am no longer scandalized by comments from the president. Rather, I expect unpredictable behavior from him, it’s the new norm. However I am disturbed by the silence from Republican leadership in the face of yet more disturbing conduct from the President. I am angry about the silence from elected men and women charged with holding the president accountable for his conduct. My Republican friends whisper to me in corners, “I cannot bear the man,” and then are silent when he feeds his base

Last February I volunteered at a winter activity at my son's school and realized that we all need a marshmallow moment. The plan had been to have a bonfire in the school yard, roast marshmallows for s'mores and drink hot chocolate. Four volunteers were responsible for serving hot chocolate to 500 students in about an hour. I was responsible for offering the marshmallows. My son's school has a bilingual program, and some children are not adept at communicating in English. Nevertheless, the

I’m stuck. I go to my list of ideas for Perspective topics, and they all look tired. I feel empty of opinions that matter, devoid of any insight. It’s January; the holidays are over and my birthday just passed. 2018 is new and I feel old. I know I have to snap out of it, so I eat what’s left of the coffee ice cream in the freezer and chase it with a diet Dr. Pepper. Where’s my discipline, my muse? It’s too easy and boring to blame the weather or politics. I want to inspire you, and myself, so I

The morning of January 23 brought the ugliest and saddest of news. A 15-year-old boy walked into the commons area of his school and opened fire, ultimately slaying two and wounding 18 others, casting a scar that will be long visible. Since the case has been assigned to juvenile court, the shooter’s identity and other details are kept in the confines of the court room; but investigators are desperately trying to find the roots of the shooter’s motives and his capacity to appreciate the gravity of

It was a cold but sunny winter day in the 1960s, not unlike some of the days we have experienced recently. I was 15, so personal transportation was my own set of legs. Those legs would take me on a long solo walk over the frozen Kishwaukee River, and give me a lesson that day which, 50 years later, I have not forgotten. A sudden "crack" and my right leg was knee deep in frigid water. As I quickly glanced at the surrounding ice, I chose the safest path to shore. Having prepared for an incident

It turns out that Russia invaded Facebook – the Red Army scored a blow against the Blue social media site, and the American election system was shown to be vulnerable. As a child of the 80s, I grew up with Russia as the Big Bad. I read nearly all of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels, so I fancy myself somewhat of an expert. However, something about this recent Red Scare bothers me. If I see a link to an article on Facebook and take it at face value, then I am not a victim – I am gullible. I am not

Princeton, Illinois, is supposedly a quaint little town of 7,700 people right off Exit 56 on Interstate 80. You’ll know you’re here when you see the four huge Flags of Freedom at Exit 56. But if you don’t come all the way across the railroad tracks on Main Street, you won’t know what you’re missing. I know a little bit about it because my office is in the Amtrak Depot, where thousands of people get on and off the train every year, and most of them barely know this place. If you are from

One of my favorite things that presidents do, or used to do, is create national monuments. In 2000 Bill Clinton created the Ironwood Forest National Monument north of Tucson, Arizona. My sister Melanie and her husband Lee run a small store, the Valley Mart, just across the road from this monument. Every winter, if we’re lucky, my family pays a visit over Christmas. My wife Breja and I love to hike this protected landscape. The ironwood is a desert shrub that can live to be a thousand years old.