Back to the drawing board on pensions plan by Madigan
Our view condemns House Speaker Mike Madigan for a plan to divert over 1 billion dollars from local governments to fund Illinois pensions. It would hurt counties and school districts, burden taxpayers, and threaten education unless pension reform and Medicaid costs are tackled first. Local governments, park districts, and schools face sizable losses, risking layoffs and program cuts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mike Madigan
Madigan
Chicago
Cook County
Illinois
Jackson County
Williamson County
Carbondale
Thice Cusd
Benton Consolidated High School
Pinckneyville Community High School
Tough on crime era rewrites justice in America
Leonard Pitts Jr. argues that mandatory minimum sentences and zero tolerance policies from the Reagan era strip judges of discretion, producing unjust outcomes. He cites cases like Williams Silva Shanahan Alexander Berryhill and a 20 year ceiling shooting as examples, urging rollback and restore individual judgment. Pitts is a Miami Herald columnist forwarding a call for reform.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pitts JR
Reagan
Jerry DeWayne Williams
Duane Silva
Dixie Shanahan
Jeff Berryhill
Berryhill
Marissa Alexander
Jacksonville
Fla
Shanahan
Alexander
Williams
Silva
Lord
Simon LeGree
Charles Smith
Leonard Pitts JR
Miami Herald
Herald Plaza
Miami
Miamiherald
Voice of the Reader Show respect in cemetery
A reader urges reverence at Herrin Cemetery after witnessing a man walk a dog and let it relieve itself on sacred grounds Saturday May 5 at about 3 30 pm with no maintenance staff present. The letter reminds visitors to honor graves this Memorial Day and asks offenders to consider others.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Herrin
Regional tourism push for Southern Illinois promoted
Edward Benyas advocates a regional approach to attracting visitors to Southern Illinois. He notes Shawnee National Forest Shawnee Wine Trail and Southern Illinois University as main draws and argues no single entity can market the region effectively. A regional collaboration could pool resources for broader promotion.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Carbondale Convention and Tourism Bureau
Jackson County
Illinois
Shawnee National Forest
Southern Illinois University
Edward Benyas
Readers Letters Policy and Contact Details
Community letters limited to verification purpose and 250 words. Signed letters must include hometown and contact number for verification. Libelous or personal attacks not published. Editors Gary Metro and Mark Fitton can be reached at thesouthern.com and local phone lines.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Thesouthern
Gary
Metro
Thesouthern.com
Gary Metro
Officials contacts for Illinois lawmakers listed
The note provides phone numbers and websites for U.S. Senator Mark Kirk U.S. Senator Dick Durbin U.S. Representative John Shimkus and State Senator David Luechtefeld with incomplete URLs and mixed formatting for official outreach.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Mister Speaker
Heartbeat OF America
Southern Illinois
Symi
Murphysboro
de Soto
Voice of the
Southern Illinoisan PO
U.S
Mark Kirk
Kirk
Senate
Dick Durbin
Durbin
Jerry Costello
Costello
House
John Shimkus
House.gov
Shimkus
Gary Forby
Yahoo.com
David Luechtefeld
Sendavel
Midwest
Brandon Phelps
Gmail
Mike Bos
Mike
Bost
Hotmail
John Bradley
Jerry F. Costello
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!