Opinion

By DENNIS GRUBAUGH     As a society, we’ve become quite attached to shiny objects.    Somebody, or something, catches our eye, and soon we’re like cultists, placing all kinds of importance on the “shine” when our common sense is telling us otherwise. The talk builds, the image grows and before you know it we have a…

By ALAN J. ORTBALS     In the late 1990s, I was the executive director of the Southwestern Illinois Development Authority, a regional economic development agency covering Southwestern Illinois. One day I was called to a meeting at the Tri-City Port District office along with other economic development specialists from the city, county and state.    The…