We at The Independent love that readers love their newspaper. Nearly all of them, anyway. Nearly all of the time. That’s pretty clear when the postal service fails to get The Independent into our customers’ mailboxes. We hear from them when that happens. That’s how we know they care. They usually don’t call to complain […]
By State Rep. Steve Reick “The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.” – Thomas Sowell, “Is Reality Optional? and Other Essays” [Gov. J.B. Pritzker] has recently issued emergency rules […]
Schools have been in the news – or, at least, this local newspaper – for the past several weeks. It’s that time of year. The Independent has committed a lot of space to recognize new graduates, scholarship winners, and retiring teachers, among others. Our first issue of June was the third in a row to give […]
By Cheryl Wormley What John Adams called illuminations, we call fireworks. The day after the members of the Second Continental Congress declared American independence, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail. In his letter dated July 3, 1776, he wrote: “The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history […]
By Richard Guebert Jr. Illinois farmers have wrapped up planting the No. 1 and No. 2 crops Illinois is known for, soybean and corn. While farmers markets and u-pick operations pick up their production, corn and soybean farmers wait for timely rains to grow the crops. For Illinois Farm Bureau, summer is an extremely busy […]
Recent revisions to the plan for a housing development on the former Die Cast factory site should not surprise anyone. And we can expect more. Although development of the site has been discussed by the City Council for most of the past decade – and the developer chosen by the council last fall acknowledged the […]
Since she was in elementary school, Morgen Neuhauser has been a writer. Back then Morgen wrote stories, and her best friend drew the art to illustrate what Morgen wrote. Fast-forward to this summer, the summer before her junior year at Drake University, and Morgen is honing her writing skills as an intern at The Woodstock […]
By McKenna Sweet Guest Columnist Conservation does not solely mean never using your car or plastic ever again. Making slight changes in your weekly summer routines – at the bird feeder, in your mowing habits, at the grocery store – can be a simple start that benefits communities and ecosystems. One step you can take […]
Maybe you avoided all of the state and national political drama that finally ended barely a week ago with no real damage from the harmless blows of typical partisan potshots. The Illinois General Assembly wrapped up its 2023 session by passing a budget, and the U.S. Congress ended its debate over the debt ceiling and […]
The Independent needed an editor about 5½ years ago. Larry Lough applied. I looked him up online and recognized having seen him at Illinois Press Association events, so I called the IPA’s CEO, Sam Fisher. When I asked Sam about Larry, Sam responded immediately and emphatically, “Get him. He knows newspapering.” So, we did. Fast-forward […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
