Opinion

By ALAN J. ORTBALS    Throughout American history we’ve seen some pretty interesting and unusual presidential elections. The new nation had just barely gotten out of the gate when the election of 1800 ended in an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr and had to be decided by the House of Representatives.    The election…

By DENNIS GRUBAUGH    There’s an interesting paradigm in life that suggests everything in the past makes us who we are today. That should make 2016 an interesting year in Southwestern Illinois.    There is also a paradigm that suggests we can’t escape the world around us.     Here’s my take on 10 things we’ll be talking…