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It’s time once again to dive into another round of quick takes on the people, places and events that were being talked about over the past week:
Poetry in motion
Despite his advanced age (80), former U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard said he still is driven to “do something worthwhile.”
“I’m not going to stop,” said Poshard, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1998 and later became president of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
One of his passions is the Poshard Foundation for Abused Children, which he runs with his wife. Another is poetry, an interest encouraged by his uneducated mother, who prompted him to write his own poems throughout his life.
“I just write for my own benefit. … All my poems are about my life and family,” he said.
Now Poshard is combining his passions — poetry and helping those in need — with what is billed as the “Poshard Poetry Tour.”
It began Sunday (June 22) at the Varsity Theater in Carbondale. He has other dates scheduled (Mattoon, July 27), and he figures to get many more once the word gets out.
Poshard’s goal is to hold poetry sessions in each of the 39 counties he represented while he served (1989-1999) in the U.S. House — and raise $500,000 in donations. The money will be directed to local food pantries in the communities where he speaks and used to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables for hungry children.
Ironically, one of his poems — “Hunger” — relates the embarrassment his disabled father displayed when he was forced to ask a local government official for surplus food to feed his impoverished family.
Poshard is modest about his ability as a poet, joking that he is “neither a published nor a polished poet.” But his writing is straight from the heart.
Poshard said he plans to read his own poetry as well as some of his favorites.
There will be no admission charge for the events. Those interested in hosting a reading should contact 618-534-4724.
The FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing track at Fairmount Park in Collinsville.
FairmountPark.com
And they’re off …
Well, actually, they aren’t. But advocates of a Decatur-based “racino” — race track and casino — are still plugging away on their plans to win legislative permission to build one.
The Bloomington Pantagraph reports that proposed legislation would direct the Illinois Racing Board to grant a license to Macon County. That would allow Revolutionary Racing to “develop a 200-acre parcel at U.S. 36 and Wyckles Road into a one-mile race track that would include a casino with 900 gaming positions.”
The legislation made it out of a Senate committee during the recent legislative session but did not receive a floor vote.
Gambling legislation is difficult to pass because there often are many adverse interests that fight to a stalemate.
Illinois’ once-thriving racing industry is flat on its back. More important for public officials, it doesn’t generate anywhere near the tax revenue that other forms of gambling — the lottery, video machines, sports betting and casinos — do.
Operators of race tracks see adding traditional gambling to the horses as a means of economic survival.
Illinois has one operating “racino.” Located in Collinsville, it once was known as Fairmount Park. Now it’s FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing.
Other would-be “racino” operators are skeptical of adding a new one in Decatur. So, too, according to the Pantagraph, are video-gambling operators and “businesses that host” slot machines that don’t want additional competition.
Revolutionary Racing is a Chicago-based company that describes itself as a “real estate and operations group for horse racing and parimutuel wagering facilities.”
Conor Lucas, the company’s chief lobbyist, said, “we feel good about the project” but indicated there’s a time limit for getting the legislation passed and the project off the ground.
“While it is our intention to pursue Senate Bill 1473 from now through veto (session), we’re definitely going to have to take a step back depending on what happens in the fall to assess what we think the realistic opportunity is, as much as we want to develop a harness racetrack racino in Decatur, we just can’t do it forever,” he said.
Proponents of the Macon County plan have painted a beautiful — and exaggerated — picture of the project, one they say will create jobs and generate tax revenue. They’ve also raised the possibility of additional developments that include restaurants, hotels and a sports complex.
Packing heat
Former Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis made some interesting comments recently in a Politico interview, which followed a politician-targeted shooting spree in Minnesota that left two dead.
Davis was present in 2017 when James T. Hodgkinson of Belleville opened fire on a group of Republican members of the U.S. House who were practicing for a Republicans vs. Democrats baseball game. Politico wanted to know if that event changed how Davis dealt with “constituents and appearing in public for events?”
“Well, it changed me personally. Even in private events, where I’m much more secure, I carry a gun, where I am able to, in order to fire back if somebody decides to come and kill me and my friends again. I’m much more aware of the security situation. … And I always find myself walking at the end or watching our surroundings. I didn’t pay as much attention to that before June 14 of 2017, but I do now,” he replied.
Asked how he handles personal security issues, Davis said, “I never felt insecure going out to dinner in my hometown of Taylorville, Illinois. So I wouldn’t have needed a security detail there. But parades in certain areas of the district, or more of a public town hall type of event, we were more cognizant of the security needs. But it doesn’t negate the fact that you have, as a public official, threats on your lives that never get publicity. My wife would come home from work, and the kids would come home from school when I was in office, and they would immediately call me and say, ‘Dad. Why is there a sheriff’s car parked in front of the house?’
‘Yeah, somebody threatened to blow Dad’s head off again today. So I’m making sure you guys have some protection if this is serious.’
“Now, those are the types of things that really have an impact on families, that have an impact on people wanting to serve in office and that, to me, is the key fact that goes unnoticed.”
Matt Riggs, left, and Zach Apfel talk about the seal on a can as a hefeweizen is canned at Riggs Beer Company in Urbana.
Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
Pork barrels of beer
Owners of the Riggs Beer Co. of Urbana have 107,126 reasons to toast their good fortune.
U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski announced $485,477 in grant funding to three businesses in her sprawling district that will help them install solar arrays.
Budzinski said $107,126 will go to Riggs; $287,500 to Quality Pontiac, a car dealership in Alton; and $90,851 to The Cubby Hole, a commercial screen-printing business in Carlinville.
Installation of solar arrays “will improve their efficiency and lower utility costs,” according to a Budzinski news release.
The funding is provided through a grant program titled “Rural Energy for America.”
Duke’s Cooper Flagg (2) reacts after scoring a 3-pointer against Arizona in March’s NCAA tournament.
Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Hoop Dream$
Those who think that college athletes who take advantage of new play-for-pay arrangements make too much money have no idea.
That was one conclusion to draw after a recent exchange between sports journalist and author Howard Bryant and broadcaster Bob Costas at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.
According to published reports, Bryant asked Costas how much basketball star Cooper Flagg earned in NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) at Duke.
Bryant answered his own question: $28 million.
“He had a $13 million deal with New Balance and then $15 million with Fanatics,” Bryant said.
That’s a bit misleading, because the money doesn’t come all in one chunk. Contract payments are made over time. But Flagg’s deals represent the new world of college athletics where super-achievers can become multimillionaires before turning officially professional.
Flagg will be coming into more cash soon because he’s expected to be the first player chosen in the NBA’s Wednesday/Thursday draft.
Two members of the Fighting Illini men’s team are expected to be drafted.
Draft speculators predict that point guard Kasparas Jakucionis will be taken somewhere in the middle of the 30-pick first round, while wing Will Riley is expected to go in the late first or early second round.
