Most people seem relieved that April’s consolidated local election is going smoothly, and that November’s election is over (one that longtime Republican Christopher Krebs, U.S. Cybersecurity chief, said was “the most secure in American history”). Despite that – some say…
Author Archive for Bill Knight
When government aid falls short, mutual aid steps in
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on When government aid falls short, mutual aid steps in
Despite the isolation needed in a pandemic, some are working for others, even if it’s at a safe distance. A garage outside Pekin is where Tazewell County Mutual Aid constantly fills and empties shelves of material for central Illinois neighbors.…
Bill Knight | Taxing times
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Bill Knight | Taxing times
These are taxing times; times we face not just a pubic-health crisis, but higher taxes – or lower levels of public services. Or both. Nationally, Republicans who backed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are responsible for federal taxes…
Bill Knight | Carl Cannon pushes himself
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Bill Knight | Carl Cannon pushes himself
The longtime weightlifter, soldier, policeman, family man and mentor also pushes others – to bear life’s burdens and condition themselves to meet future challenges. In Full Cannon, published late last year, the 61-year-old Peoria who founded programs such as ELITE…
Bill Knight | ‘The big get bigger, and the small will go out’
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Bill Knight | ‘The big get bigger, and the small will go out’
Winter’s when farmers and farm communities think, plan and remember. In the cold of 2021, who’ll recall Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, in 2019 inadvertently conceding at a World Dairy Expo, “In America, the big get bigger, and the small will…
Stay at home orders pointless for the homeless
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Stay at home orders pointless for the homeless
As cold weather returns and an annual estimate of homelessness looms next month, advocates for the homeless are preparing for winter –– amid a worsening pandemic. Meanwhile, the state’s health department in November issued new recommendations urging Illinoisans to stay…
Bill Knight | Trump’s lame-duck tantrums
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Bill Knight | Trump’s lame-duck tantrums
With 31 days in December and 20 days in January before the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States, many of us are holding our breath. It’s unclear how outgoing President Trump will react. He…
News Analysis: Vote yes on the graduated income tax
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on News Analysis: Vote yes on the graduated income tax
Misleading attacks on the ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to enact a graduated income tax (“Fair Tax”) range from scare-tactic lies to exaggerations that defy logic. Some opponents say that a Fair Tax will lead to taxing retirement…
Bill Knight | “Falsehood flies”
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Bill Knight | “Falsehood flies”
The last time Central Illinois’ 18th Congressional District was represented by someone other than a Republican was in 1939 when James Meeks finished his third term. So it’s not crazy for the GOP to be confident, even arrogant, about the…
Bill Knight | Trump’s defiance of science and law
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Bill Knight | Trump’s defiance of science and law
The day Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged to violate McConnell’s own precedent on USSC vacancies, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency re-authorized the use of the herbicide atrazine, which contaminates…