Opinion Columns
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The homicide epidemic in Chicago during the COVID-19 pandemicFeb 15, 2021 12:00 am - The number of murders in Chicago increased an unprecedented 55% from 2019 (495) to 2020 (769). Previous years with a comparable number of homicides in Chicago were 1996 ...
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Good foreign policy is good domestic policy, and vice versaFeb 14, 2021 12:00 am - There was an interesting moment in Washington at the end of January, on Antony Blinken's first full day as secretary of state. Meeting with the press corps that covers t...
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Criminal justice bill makes system fairer, streets saferFeb 14, 2021 12:00 am - Lake County is facing a dual crisis: a rise in violent crime over the last eight years and a deterioration of trust in the justice system. I decided to run for state's a...
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Illinois' budget problems won't be fixed without change in revenue structureFeb 12, 2021 12:00 am - When it comes to Illinois' fiscal system, the adage "the more things change, the more they stay the same" rings hollow. It'd be far more fitting to recognize that in thi...
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Keep rail resurgence going strongFeb 11, 2021 12:00 am - Lost last fall amid the run-up to the election was the 40th anniversary of the Staggers Act, a landmark federal law with an especially strong connection to Chicago, the ...
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Unite the Republican Party, save IllinoisFeb 10, 2021 12:00 am - Illinois is a disaster and I hope to help save it. After the surprise resignation of Tim Schneider as chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, the opportunity to help ...
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Political hypocrisy on deficits and the national debtFeb 07, 2021 12:00 am - On April 1, 2018, when Thad Cochran retired after 40 years as a U.S. senator from Mississippi, he made history; Cochran was the last Republican in Congress to have ever ...
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The strength and courage of women business ownersFeb 05, 2021 12:00 am - A recent survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that women-owned small businesses have been more heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and they are less ...
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Democrats have no excuse not to reform the criminal justice systemFeb 05, 2021 12:00 am - Democrats now have the luxury of a unified government. Controlling the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House gives them an opportunity to do many thin...
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Why is the National Guard still in Washington?Feb 04, 2021 12:00 am - There were roughly 25,000 National Guard members in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President Joe Biden. It has been normal practice to have some National Guar...