Skip to main content

30 Days of Thanks: Illinois


My 5th day of gratitude was a derailed slightly by the delightful news out of our state capitol that marriage equality is finally going to become a reality. Thus, today, I give thanks for my birth state, the place I call home -- Illinois.

30 Days of Thanks, Day 5: Illinois

The Land of Lincoln has been my home for (gosh) nearly four decades. It was where I was born. It may be where I die. It's what I know. The midwestern sensibilities, the changing of the seasons, the hot summers and harsh winters, the good people of all ages and political stripes and, last but not least, it's great location. We're situated either on the western fringe of the eastern U.S., or the eastern fringe of the midwest, take your pick. From where I live, it's a fairly quick drive to three major cities. Can't beat it.

Does Illinois have problems? Yes, indeed it does. It's losing too many businesses. It has woefully underfunded its pension system for state workers. Taxes are mounting. Too many of its top-level politicians are serving time behind bars instead of serving terms of office. One could say that, on a financial level, our outlook is bleak. I despair sometimes at how the state will right itself. Many have left for what they consider to be greener pastures. I sincerely wish them well, and hope they are happy.

For me, it's not so easy. I'm rather fond of this dysfunctional state. While some may think (and perhaps rightfully so) that Illinois doesn't value its business climate as much as it should, I do think that it values its people very much. That much was obvious today when the state legislature passed its marriage equality bill. It was a long time coming, but I knew that a majority of our good legislators -- Democrat and Republican -- had it in them.

Feeling welcomed by the state you live in is important. It can't be adequately expressed in words. It's something you feel, and I feel at home in Illinois. I feel welcome. But, yeah... about the budget. That needs work. A hell of a lot of work. I'm thankful for you today, Illinois, and proud. Now... keep me that way.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yesterday's Restaurants

The local newspaper has a feature from one of Champaign-Urbana's most legendary restaurateur's, John Katsinas, on what his favorite area restaurants were that have now since closed (or will soon be closing).  It's a nice little read, and has made me stop and think about the restaurants that have come and gone that have left an indelible (and edible) impression on me throughout the years. Here we go....
Post a Comment
Read more

Watching The Hours

A Twitter friend named Paula has asked for folks to submit ideas for a blog-a-thon about what we think will be the classic films of the future. In other words, what relatively recent movies (namely, from the 21st century), do we think will be considered classics in the decades to come, possibly airing on such venerable stations as Turner Classic Movies ? While a number of films come to mind for such a category, one in particular stood out from the rest, and thus is my entry for Paula's blog-a-thon.
5 comments
Read more

She's Madonna

Today we're going to talk about something very important. We're going to talk about Madonna. "Madge," as she's affectionately known around the gay scene, has been making music for over thirty years. I grew up with her songs, many of them pop classics. In recent years, it can be arguably said that her popularity has waned a bit. During the past decade, Madonna has put out seventeen singles. Of those, three have charted in the US Top 40. Ten Failed to chart at all on the Billboard Hot 100. We now have at least one possibility offered as to why Madge's chart power is waning: Ageism. At least, that's what Diplo (just, Diplo), a producer of some of the tracks off her latest album, thinks . I know it's difficult to be objective about something you've worked on -- whether you were the producer or the artist -- but, as a listener/fan, I have to say that Madonna's most recent work has simply not been that good. Still, we'll hear what
Post a Comment
Read more