After more than a century and a half of underappreciation, the emancipation celebration known as Juneteenth is bringing out the regional differences in various ways, some of which make me wonder whether the Civil War really ended in 1865 — and if so, who won.

On Thursday afternoon, Illinois legislators got their first glimpse of what an energy package may look like as they are set to reconvene in Springfield early next week to consider energy-related legislation. Unfortunately, it appears as though the Democrats and Governor Pritzker are cooking …

Nineteen years after completing our journey from Egypt to this great country, we had the opportunity to be sworn in as American citizens on May 12, 1995. Our son, Ramez, however, was living in Seattle at that time and had requested to have his swearing-in ceremony in Seattle. But that reques…

When I was a boy in California in the 1960s, my family was pretty much the only family I knew that ate bagels. That’s probably because we were Jewish and bagels are a Jewish thing.

About 25 years ago my buddy and I were on spring break. We were broke, though, so instead of heading south to cruise down a beach we were driving to McDonalds to cruise through the parking lot. It was a rainy day and too overcast for the beach anyway, which is likely one reason he got the id…

HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital and the Family Life Center recently partnered with St. Anthony High School on an annual event, “Window to the Womb,” which allows high school students an opportunity to see the development of life while in the womb.

The headline accompanying the video shouted in capital letters.

Climate change is one of the most pressing problems facing society today. Climate change can be attributed largely to the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and its effects are numerous and severe.

For a moment there, it almost seemed like we might have a bipartisan investigation into what happened Jan. 6.

With less than three weeks of the Spring Legislative Session remaining, the Democrats are rushing hundreds of bills through the legislative process – often at such short notice that the public lacks the opportunity to read, let alone weigh in on, these sometimes radical proposals. One of the…

Every year, we take time to celebrate School Principals’ Day on May 1 and National Teacher Appreciation Day on May 4. The Appreciation Day for teachers has now turned into National Teacher Appreciation Week, and this year was celebrated May 2-8.

Although the CDC announced on Thursday that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can go without masks indoors and outdoors, it’s a roseworthy move by HSHS facilities to maintain the requirement. Health care facilities and other high-risk settings are excluded from the CDC guidance. In a …

President Joe Biden is proposing to spend more money than I knew existed, on infrastructure and children, families, free college and much more. I am not opposed to spending all that money, so long as it is aimed at improving our nation’s weak educational and social outcomes, and so long as w…

After the normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, there was an optimistic wave of articles hailing the “magnificent peace treaty between the three old combatants.” This was an oversimplification and even silly giddiness from those who do not understa…

As a broken-down prof of American politics, I was asked this question recently: What do the terms conservative and liberal mean today in American political life? I think the question is important because: 1) the human animal craves context to help him or her navigate the world; 2) the terms …

In just a few days we will celebrate Commencement at Lake Land College. During this event, we take time to thank our graduates for choosing Lake Land and remind them of the tremendous gift they have given themselves by investing in a college education.

It appears that my last opinion column, “How I separate the right from the left” on April 14, caused a bit of a negative reaction.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s lie about taking politics out of reapportionment and pushing “fair and independent maps” wouldn’t be so shocking if he hadn’t said it so often and with such conviction and sincerity.

Today, Illinois residents cannot access health care as well as people living in 34 other states, but there is a simple way to fix this. Illinois must join the Nurse Licensure Compact now. SB 2068 must be passed.

The stars are aligned for Illinois to become a hot spot in the revival of manufacturing across our great American heartland. For example, I propose a really big, transformative, federal-state-private-sector partnership that would create a cutting-edge, computer chip manufacturing and researc…

As EDN reporter Andrew Adams reported this week, biting wind and April snow didn’t stop members of the Effingham Water Authority when they broke ground on the Lake Sara Beach Park, the project formerly known as the Pearson Peninsula Park. The small ceremony featured the “Assistant Lake Super…

One of the common deterrents to locating a business in Illinois is the state’s hostile business environment. The combination of high taxes and excessive business regulations makes Illinois one of the worst states for business.

We have seen police needlessly kill people before — but rarely a child.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children through the bloodstream.”

I’m biased about vaccines. I get that. As a school teacher, I was eligible for my first Moderna shot in January and got my second one a month later. I have a job where I share a room with 25 different students six times a day. Most importantly, my 74-year-old dad is on immunosuppression medi…

Friends ask: “Why hasn’t Mike Madigan been indicted yet? After all, he has been under investigation for what must be a couple of years now.”

Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Karen Feldkamp delivered some thorny news this week that we should all pay attention to: The spread of the British COVID-19 variant in Effingham County has local health officials concerned, as does the increasing number of young residents testing positive f…

It was the kind of story reporters do all the time: Something terrible happened, the police investigated and I wrote about what they found.

Now that the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly is underway and there have been literally thousands of proposals filed for consideration in the House and Senate, it is time to begin following bills that interest you and let your voice be heard. It is time to get in the game.

Our company this week named the Effingham Daily News the Newspaper of the Year in its division for news and sports coverage in 2020. Judges lauded our strong local coverage, relevant editorial page, clean design and frequently updated website.

This is a “good news” story (we could use a few). I am late to the game here, as you will see, but worth the telling, and lessons to be learned.

Social: Relating to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship relations. Connected with.

Recently seated members of the 102nd General Assembly had introduced 6,950 bills as of March 22. That is correct, it is not a typo and you did not misread. Almost 7,000 proposals of some variety have been introduced. In addition, 180 Senate resolutions, 162 House resolutions, 10 Senate joint…

So what did we learn from President Joe Biden’s long-delayed first news conference on Thursday?

Every night for the past few months, Noemy Godina has cried for her father.

There was some roseworthy news for Dieterich this week as the state awarded the village a $2 million grant to build a 16,600-square-foot community center. The Dieterich Community Center is planned to feature multipurpose rooms, a 24-hour fitness center, a large court striped for a variety o…

I’ve had many conversations about this pandemic with family, friends and even strangers, such as when I’m waiting in the check-out line at the store – while wearing a mask and socially-distanced! It’s obvious that many people are more concerned than ever over their physical health. Some are …

One of the most impressive aspects of American political discourse that impressed me the most was the civility by which it was conducted. On multiple occasions while visiting my family and friends in Egypt I would sit surrounded by a healthy mix of young and old relatives and friends talking…