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Newest-posted
Articles
(older articles may be found under the proper category to the left, or
use the search engine):
A
“bonus” for readers
My second political novel, The Editor’s Wife,
covers the post-World War II era ranging from small town Illinois to
Springfield and Chicago. This period piece is filled with many of
the events and real people, masqueraded to protect the guilty, who gave
character and color to the years up to the 1970s.
The Editor’s Wife is rather good, if I do say so myself,
though a bit racy in places.
I have authored or co-authored four non-fiction books for very
legitimate university presses, but I never found a big-time publisher
for this book, so I have warehouses full of them.
If you like historical political fiction and want a copy, send me $5,
and I’ll send you a copy. I can be reached at P.O. Box 240, Toulon IL
61483.
A note to readers - March 11, 2019: After
a decade and more than 500 weekly efforts, I have decided to hang it up
this column, at least for a while. I feel my writing is becoming stale,
and that I am losing touch with a world I haven’t been involved with
professionally for years. I do plan to pursue longer public policy
pieces for magazines, on topics generally beyond Illinois, and maybe
another book.
Regarding usage:
writers may use these columns, or portions of them, with
attribution. If you have questions please contact the author.
Download Jim's new series "Fixing Illinois 2019" here
Schools II - Being average is no longer good enough (January 3, 2020)
Single parents (December 20, 2019)
Lost and unconnected (December 19, 2019)
Lobbying (December 13, 2019)
Tax increase (December 9, 2019)
Curbing corruption (November 22, 2019)
Start a movement (November 14, 2019)
Anne Burke should step down (October 30, 2019)
IPA-ComEd and the legislature (October 26, 2019)
Winning isn't the whole ballgame (October 19, 2019)
America squandering future (October 18, 2019)
How to run for office (October 1, 2019)
Higher Ed in disarray (September 30, 2019)
Nowlan needs reader help (September 25, 2019)
Illinois looming fiscal chaos (September 6, 2019)
Why so much red ink (August 28, 2019)
Navigating government and politics (August 22, 2019)
How allocate wealth (August 14, 2019)
Urban violence experts (July 18, 2019)
No reason anymore for rural towns (July 2, 2019)
We're at war (June 10, 2019)
Pritzker gamble (June 6, 2019)
Are things getting worse, or better? (March 11, 2019)
Get kids out of violent neighborhoods (March 4, 2019)
Another ‘Con-Con’ might be good but won’t happen (February 28, 2019)
Are farmers becoming serfs to Big Ag? (February 22, 2019)
“The Chicago Way” casts shadow on mayor’s race (February 18, 2019)
Revisiting the Founding Era for lessons learned (February 11, 2019)
School spending-achievement relationship? Not much (January 29, 2019)
Dot Foods—Colossus in the country (January 21, 2019)
Will it be ‘Happy Days’ or ‘Blood, sweat, toil and tears’? (January 14, 2019)
Can Pritzker reverse state’s relative economic decline? (January 7, 2019)
Illinois: Land of somebody else (December 31, 2018)
Will debt overwhelm us? (December 24, 2018)
If court won’t change, change the court (December 11, 2018)
Keeping score tricky in Chicago mayor’s race (December 3, 2018)
How to win the war (November 26, 2018)
We’re at war, and we’re losing (November 19, 2018)
Credit or blame now falls totally on Illinois Dems (November 12, 2018)
Who is calling the signals? (November 5, 2018)
Where have all the teachers gone? (September 3, 2018)
Offenders trying to break into this prison (August 20, 2018)
Make no little plans—Daniel Burnham (August 6, 2018)
We must not steal from young Peter to pay old Paul (July 30, 2018)
The titan versus the third-rate businessman (July 23, 2018)
Voting system could help de-polarize politics (July 16, 2018)
Neighborhood violence mars Chicago (July 9, 2018)
Father’s Day at Denny’s Restaurant (June 26, 2018)
Illinois school finance explained in 700 words (June 25, 2018)
Ask me how much I love my grandkids (June 18, 2018)
It isn’t a fair fight (June 11, 2018)
Don’t count on more gambling to save Illinois (June 4, 2018)
Voter dilemma haunts Illinois Christian conservatives (May 28, 2018)
What the devil is blockchain technology? (May 21, 2018)
Who ruined Illinois? Many share blame (May 14, 2018)
John A. and Mary Logan gave us Memorial Day (May 7, 2018)
More on Downstate matters (April 30, 2018)
Does Illinois matter anymore? (April 23, 2018)
Illinois political parties morally bankrupt (April 16, 2018)
Can Illinois be saved? (April 9, 2018)
Rauner-Pritzker a classic capital-labor fight (April 2, 2018)
Here’s your chance to reshape Illinois politics (March 28, 2018)
First, let’s kill all the political consultants (March 19, 2018)
Disarray in Illinois higher education hurts state (March 12, 2018)
Mike Madigan’s last hurrah? (March 5, 2018)
The unsung who shaped Illinois (February 26, 2018)
Business group prescribes bitter medicine for state budget (February 19, 2018)
Pro-choice, pro-life, or pro-reduction (February 12, 2018)
Texas is “open for business”; why not Illinois? (January 30, 2018)
The loss of the American yeoman class (January18, 2018)
Illinois should prepare now for climate change (January 15, 2018)
A potpourri of 2018 forecasts (January 8, 2018)
This is not your father’s county jail (January 1, 2018)
The Old South sticks it to beleaguered Illinois (December 25, 2017)
Nobody trusts nobody anymore (December 17, 2017)
It’s no fun being from Illinois (December 11, 2017)
Are the poor different today? (November 27, 2017)
I’m an “Opportunity Democrat”; what are you? (November 13, 2017)
The party’s over; what will replace it? (November 6, 2017)
Oh, it’s a LONG way to AlbuQUERque (Column for local weekly - October 24, 2017)
The middle must be heard (October 23, 2017)
The way we were, and are (October 6, 2017)
Illinois best place by far to build Toyota-Mazda plant (September 25, 2017)
Football, at zenith, is dying (September 18, 2017)
Edgar Fellows combat toxicity in Illinois politics (September 11, 2017)
Illinois public schools on the defensive (September 4, 2017)
Illinois school finance 101 (August 28, 2017)
Is the sun setting on rural Illinois? (August 28, 2017)
State’s high taxes, low services explained (August 7, 2017)
Shutting down the American mind (August 7, 2017)
Anybody have a good word for Illinois? (July 31, 2017)
Someone needs to call out the IPI (July 24, 2017)
Tears fell on Illinois (July 17, 2017)
Was our present Illinois dysfunction shaped by history? (July 10, 2017)
My love affair with librarians (June 26, 2017)
Hey Jude (June 10, 2017)
Health care costs are what ail us (June 14, 2017)
Why are so many of us so angry? (June 2, 2017)
Rauner-Madigan battle imperiles state stability (May 31, 2017)
Term limits now—Here’s how (May 17, 2017)
Readers balance Illinois state budget (May 29, 2017)
Illinois pension changes in jeopardy (May 21, 2017)
“Politics of blame” game diminishes us all (May 15, 2017)
The ties that used to bind (May 8, 2017)
The pols won't do it, so you
balance the state budget (May 1, 2017)
Accompanying game sheet
Let’s bring back Gov. Jim
Edgar (April 17, 2017)
Illinois population—So long,
it’s been good to know ya’ (April 17, 2017)
Justice Stark County
style (April 10, 2017)
A proposal to eliminate
poverty for millions (April 3, 2017)
Just when you think it
can’t get any worse (March 27, 2017)
Is restoring the
American spirit a dream? (March 20, 2017)
Things are sure
different now. Why? (March 13, 2017)
Fiscal follies
continue as Illinois suffers (February 22,
2017)
We live in a dicey cyber world
(February 13, 2017)
Illinois doesn’t know
how many kids not in school (February 6,
2017)
Can Illinois put the bounce
back in our step? (January 30, 2017)
“Rome is burning” (January 16, 2017)
Barbell society a worry for future
(January 9, 2017)
Illinois social services
under fire, again (January 2, 2017)
Nowlan riles readers
with Rauner piece (January 2, 2017)
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