by admin | Jul 18, 2018 | Activism, Books, Crime, Government, History, Journalism, National security, Politics
It is a dramatic and evocative scene. In The Two Towers, the second novel of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Grima Wormtongue, a spy at the service of the evil wizard Saruman, has gained control of the mind of Théoden, the king of Rohan, which is on the...
by admin | May 16, 2018 | Chicago, Crime, Government, Public policy, Public safety
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, elected in 2014 and up for re-election this year as the Republican nominee, has made manipulative politics the centerpiece of his first term, at the expense of passing a budget through a Democrat-dominated legislature. Illinois has...
by admin | Dec 13, 2017 | Activism, Books, Climate, Crime, Disaster, History, Infrastructure, Natural Hazards, Public safety, Resilience
Amid all the necessary attention to current disasters, small community conferences across the country are steadily training and educating local government staff, emergency volunteers, and local stakeholders in hazard-related issues to become more resilient. Because...
by admin | Oct 1, 2017 | Activism, Civil rights, Crime, History, Public safety, Racism
Few people live for the excitement of radical demonstrations. Most of us want to enjoy life and, if we can, contribute something positive to society along the way. Thus, it is small surprise that, when hundreds of Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Nazis, and white...
by admin | Jul 9, 2016 | Activism, Adoption, Civil rights, Crime, Immigration, Personal history, Public safety, Racism
Our nation is suffering from a terrible social disease. It is not a sexually transmitted disease, though it can be spread orally, through the things we say to each other and over the Internet and the air waves. Since everything seems to need a name, I will call it BJ...
by admin | May 22, 2016 | Chicago, Crime, Personal history, Public policy, Public safety
One of the more disquieting aspects of urban life is an occasional confrontation with the irrational. I have debated telling this story, but I decided that enough other people either have had or will share such experiences that sharing it may have great value. One...
