Opinion

By DENNIS GRUBAUGH    Thirty years ago, Downtown Alton was dying on the vine. A once-thriving business district was going downhill fast.    You could see the difference reflected in historical photos from decades past. Just after World War II, cars, merchants and shoppers would line Third, Belle, State and Piasa streets, vying for the bargains they…

By ALAN J. ORTBALS    Last month, the Illinois Supreme Court smacked a big, bright, UNCONSTITUTIONAL stamp on the legislature’s 2013 pension fix law. It wasn’t a mixed review. The decision was both unanimous and harsh. The legislature has tried to lie their way out and wriggle their way out and neither has worked. So, what’s…