One consequence of conservatives’ insatiable hunger to starve government could jeopardize people’s health by letting drinking water become contaminated and go unreported, according to a report from the non-partisan Government Accounting Office (GAO). For now, people can still track local…
Author Archive for Bill Knight
Progressive – and proud of it!
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Progressive – and proud of it!
Patience is a virtue, it’s said, and that might be especially true when reform is sought. If progress seems slow, impatience can lead to frustration and worse.Patience is particularly important when conventional wisdom, stereotypes, etc. become obstacles to change. For…
Boycott WEEK advertisers
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Boycott WEEK advertisers
I’m going to watch a lot of WEEK-TV 25 in the next few weeks. I’m going to watch to see which companies advertise there, because I won’t patronize companies who, with their commercials, enrich a New York corporation that devalues…
Smoke & Mirrors: Casinos, State want the moola, no matter who’s hurt
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Smoke & Mirrors: Casinos, State want the moola, no matter who’s hurt
I’ve had friends and family who worked at metro Peoria’s Par-A-Dice casino, so I appreciate that it provides jobs and revenue to government, but the legislature’s debate about changing the smoking ban to exclusively benefit gaming interests either oversimplifies or…
What would a Tea Party-type budget reform mean for Peoria?
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on What would a Tea Party-type budget reform mean for Peoria?
In mid-April the Peoria Journal Star ran a story about a Tea Party rally that, from the looks of the crowd pictured, barely had more people than the journalists covering it. That’s OK, but there had been mostly silence about a…
A few familiar & obscure comments about baseball might be a nice warm-up during a chilly Spring
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on A few familiar & obscure comments about baseball might be a nice warm-up during a chilly Spring
As Major League Baseball resumes a few days early this season, a few familiar and obscure comments about the National Pastime might be a nice warm-up on a chilly Spring – and a respite from controversies. From ex-ballplayers Jim Bouton…
In Peoria, one of the most obvious places the economy affects us is in the restaurant business
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on In Peoria, one of the most obvious places the economy affects us is in the restaurant business
The economy isn’t an abstract and government shouldn’t “operate as a business.”Economic woes affect employers and workers, consumers and kids, retirees and almost everyone in a community, a nation – now, a world. And government doesn’t exist to mimic corporations…
Commercial Border War with Indiana, Illinois still has ‘mile after magnificent mile’
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Commercial Border War with Indiana, Illinois still has ‘mile after magnificent mile’
A cinder-block truck stop on the south side of Interstate 74 at Pittsboro, Ind., used to serve outstanding biscuits and gravy, and I made a point of stopping there every time I drove through our neighboring state – where I…
Good Guys and Wise Men
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Good Guys and Wise Men
When the lingering, languid Fall finally faded, it went fast, yielding to the harsh arrival of frigid temperatures, blustery winds and suddenly obvious darkness. The days are too short. The days were too short, too, for two good guys who…
‘Waiting for Superman’ incomplete on education
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on ‘Waiting for Superman’ incomplete on education
If hospitals didn’t provide scalpels to surgeons or if contractors prohibited plumbers from using wrenches, would we get out the pitchforks and torches to storm operating rooms and basements? That’s unclear after seeing the new documentary from Oscar-winning director David…