Category Archives: General

From the Saturday, Dec. 11, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST I like big, bold ideas – especially when they involve Chicago. I was supportive of the city’s pursuit of the 2016 Summer Olympics. I thought the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art could have been […]

From the Saturday, Dec. 2, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST I always say that other than summertime, there’s no better time visit Chicago than Christmastime. With the Mag Mile awash in glittering lights, State Street truly looking like that Great Street with the festive […]

It’s been a dark decade for Fighting Illini basketball. But is there finally a light at the end of the State Farm Center tunnel? I think so, with Brad Underwood having mercifully taken reins from the overmatched John Groce. Although, with so much youth and a lack of size, Underwood’s inaugural Illini squad may not […]

It’s October again. But for the Cubs – and Cubs fans – it’s also a brave new world. No longer the Lovable Losers, the North Siders are now the Cherished Champs, and in turn, the 10th month of 2017 has a different vibe than in Octobers (and centuries) past. As the Cubs dive headlong into […]

From the Saturday, Sept. 23, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST The City of Big Shoulders remains The City of Big Aspirations. But in recent years, Chicago has more often been The City of Big Losers when it comes to actually making those aspirations a […]

From the Saturday, Sept. 9, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST From 2010 to 2014, the Chicago Cubs lost 464 games, finished in last place every season, and made the Friendly Confines a downright hostile environment for winning baseball. It was a brutal stretch to […]

From the Saturday, Sept. 2, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST I used to be a Fighting Illini. Now I’m just a frustrated one. And it’s not nearly so much because of the University of Illinois’ many losses on the football field and basketball court […]

On Wednesday morning, I joined The Jeremy Werner Show on ESPN Radio in Champaign-Urbana to discuss the University of Illinois’ decision to ban its “War Chant” music from Illini sporting events but how the issue runs much deeper than a drum beat and football. You can listen to the podcast of my segment by clicking […]

From the Saturday, July 15 editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST So, what do you do about a problem like the Chicago Cubs? Well, on Thursday we got an answer: You deal for Jose Quintana. But while acquiring the 28-year-old southpaw from the White Sox […]

From the Saturday, July 1, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST Curling along the shoreline across the Adriatic from Italy, Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast lies 5,000 miles from Chicago. But growing up as a Bulls fan during the 1990s, it seemed in some ways like it […]