On Behalf of Educators Dr. Freda Deskin While it is no secret that there is a teacher shortage nationwide, I suspect that those who are not currently working in our schools cannot imagine just how bad it really is. As someone who has spent 5 decades in education, I can tell you that I have […]

The World is Out of Control by Dave Rhea I hear this phrase a lot: “The world is out of control.” So, I started thinking about what “out of control” means. In this phrase’s cheapest usage, it’s a way for cable-news channels, for example (but certainly not exclusive to them), to attract and retain an […]

What goes around comes around – even Rotary’s role in eradicating life-threatening illnesses. by Russ Florence In 1979, Rotary began its worldwide fight against polio with an ambitious project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines. Six years later, Rotary International launched the first and largest coordinated private-sector support of a public health initiative, […]

Yard Lights By Ron Page When the glacier retreated from northern Illinois, it left in our county a lake roughly 15 miles in diameter. Over the centuries, it receded to “swamp” status, and, around 1910, it was drained, leaving a flat-as-a- pool-table layer of thick, black, fertile soil. Our house and outbuildings sat on a […]

Navigating the Legislature the Rotary Way by Emily Lang As a new legislative session gets underway, policy makers are again considering the priorities and direction for our state. Participation in our democracy is an obligation, and as someone who has been in and around the state capitol for the last two decades, I can tell […]