We’re at the midway point of the spring sports season, with the month of May ready to fly by in the blink of an eye. High school seniors are beginning to look around and wonder where the time went since they entered school as freshmen.

May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, and the Twin Rivers and Thunder Rock chapters of ABATE of Illinois would like to remind drivers to please watch for motorcycles and don't use your phone while driving.

The egg, one of nature’s purest foods. I still remember as a lad grabbing that wire basket off my grandma’s table and heading out to the chicken coop to collect the eggs the hens had produced from the preceding day.

Without a doubt, the most feedback I received this year has been public-private school debate. The overwhelming sentiment has been that public schools are at a competitive disadvantage against their private counterparts.

“Illinois families will pay the highest combined state and local tax burden in the nation this year … With nearly 3-in-5 Illinoisans believing the value of public services they receive are not worth the property taxes they pay – which are No. 2 in the nation and account for nearly half of their tax burden – lawmakers should be pursuing structural reforms that will keep families in Illinois.” (Illinois Policy: antitax group)

Table crops: “The federally funded Local Food Purchase Assistance and the Local Food for Schools programs, both begun during the pandemic, focused on small, local farms in aim of building stronger domestic food supply chains. Grants allowed schools and food banks to buy meat, dairy and produce from small farms. Trump administration last month nixed more than $1 billion for local food programs.

You could never deserve or earn this precious gift!  It was bought, just for you, at the Cross, by your Holy Redeemer, Jesus Christ.  It signified a brand new Covenant between God and man.  Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God bore all your sins, once and for all, while you were a sinner.  He endured the flogging, taunts and agony with His body and blood.  He overcame death, our living Savior. 

As I write, according to the “old timers”, I’ve got about 10 more days left to plant my potatoes. Not sure where the old norm of getting tubers in the ground before Good Friday came from, but I do know those “old timers” will even get out there in the mud to make that deadline.

I haven’t gotten a feel on what is going on in high-school spring sports yet, so let’s talk some college basketball, especially with the NCAA men’s and women’s tournament wrapping up.

I am writing to thank President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Director Elon Musk for their attempt at a first ever audit of our federal government.

Lest you think the IHSA is ignoring the carnage inflicted on public schools in boys and girls athletic competitions by the privates this schools year, think again. Recently, they issued a statement on how they will legislate what they refer to as “leveling the playing field”.

Huey Long was born in Louisiana. As young man (disagreeing with principal, did not finish high school) he worked as travelling salesman. He got to know people around the state: what they were concerned about (mainly poverty) and what they wanted (money and voice in government).

American life is unsettled. American political culture is disturbing. Each day brings some new crisis and opportunity for our common life to become more chaotic.

Psychotherapy isn’t the same thing as politics. I’m convinced, though, that politicians and political parties need to respect some of its basic principles, if they want to earn and keep the support of the people.

With the popularity of the NCAA March Madness tournament, the IHSA made a wise choice a couple years ago in moving its championships to the weekend before. With most people engaged in the college game because of the drama and bracketology, our high school tournament lost some of its luster.

Since we're in the middle of tax season, I find myself really looking forward to my next vacation. It got me thinking about why we go on vacation in the first place. For me, it’s about escaping the craziness of life, exploring new places, meeting new people, and trying different foods.

I’ve always felt that the best place for a politician is at home. That way they aren’t anywhere trying to pass more legislation that does more harm than good. Unfortunately our state legislators are in Springfield waving their magic wand trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

With the conclusion of the boys state basketball tournament, the private-public debate is rearing its head again and not that it has died down much since the debacle that was the state football playoff.

Yes, having masculine girls in competitive athletics is unfair to those who are not.

Five Vermont towns have voted against apartheid and doing future business with Israel. I recall a time when the US was critical of apartheid South Africa. However, being critical of the apartheid system of government seems to have mellowed over the years. Or perhaps it has always depended on who is employing apartheid. 

Plenty of talk and speculation out there by the economic pundits predicting what the effect of new tariffs instituted by the Trump administration will do to U.S. consumers. I do not profess to be an economic guru so the only test I have to tell is what I pay for goods in the store.

The stall tactics employed by Eastland in an upset sectional win over Pecatonica remain a hot topic of discussion. One side believes that a shot clock is needed and what Eastland did could be construed as poor gamesmanship.

The Ogle County Life has implemented a new political letter policy.

In recent speech to Congress, Trump said: “Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again.”

With Spring Break approaching, I thought I’d share some essential travel tips to make your journey smoother. I recently listened to a podcast where three travel writers discussed their biggest pet peeves at airports and on airplanes. Inspired by that, here are my top travel dos and don’ts!