Columnist

The weed of crime bears bitter fruit, a hanging

Published by admin on Wed, 07/25/2018 - 9:00am

    This is the continuing story of George Henry Jacobs, the Homer wife murderer. The time is 1876, the place is Will County.
    Jacobs had been arrested in May of 1875 even before the Homer citizens discovered his wife Othilda's body. With the discovery Jacobs had been officially charged with murder, even though the evidence was purely circumstantial.

Escaping from the mob, one horse thief's story

Published by admin on Wed, 07/25/2018 - 9:00am

    It is hard to make a comparison in today’s modern life of the importance of the horse in the 19th century, especially in rural areas. Without a horse most could not live. It is no wonder then that a horse thief was considered the worst of the worst. Today's story starts in Lockport and was published on March 30, 1876 in the Joliet Weekly Sun.
    We begin the story after the discovery of missing horses by Paddy Miles of Lockport, who roused his neighbors to go after Oliver Davis, the renowned horse thief.

Make a proper classic Manhattan

Published by admin on Wed, 07/25/2018 - 9:00am

    Ask any die-hard fan of the Manhattan how they take the classic cocktail and they could more than likely describe in detail how they prefer theirs to be made.
    The preference of whiskey, the ratio of whiskey to vermouth, and the type of vermouth are among the variables that make the Manhattan one of the most customizable classics.
    Do you have a preference? Have you had a proper introduction to the classic Manhattan?
    This week we will make the iconic whiskey cocktail and review some of the finer points that separate a Manhattan from a good Manhattan.

Dem dollars to build up party at local level

Published by admin on Mon, 07/23/2018 - 12:17pm

    A couple of years ago, a little more than 1,400 voters took Democratic primary ballots in sparsely populated Warren County, which is about an hour west of Peoria.  Almost twice that many took Republican ballots.
     The Warren County Democratic Central Committee is not exactly a campaign powerhouse.  The organization officially opened its PAC with $923.72 in June 2016.  By June 30th of this year, the county party reported having $917.72 in the bank.  I couldn’t find any records showing how that $6 was spent.

Long-forgotten bourbon cocktails

Published by admin on Wed, 07/18/2018 - 9:00am

    Bourbon is having a bit of a moment right now thanks to the perfect storm that is the classic cocktail revival and a newfound mainstream acceptance of drinking straight bourbon.
    In fact, bourbon is currently so trendy that Jim Beam has hired Mila Kunis to be the new face of the brand, a position previously held by “outlaws” such as Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr. and Dennis Hopper.
    Not to be outdone, Wild Turkey has hired Matthew McConaughey to pitch their bourbon to a rapidly changing customer base.  

Wife murderer jailed, death penalty called for

Published by admin on Wed, 07/18/2018 - 9:00am

    Shades of Drew Peterson you say? Well, it caused about as much stir in Will County as did the Peterson case. Today we look at a famous Will County crime story, that of the Homer wife murderer, George Henry Jacobs.
    In Jacobs own words we know a bit of his life story. He was born in Kindare of Saxony, July 15, 1823. On the 16 of April, 1849 he sailed from Bremen to America, paying $50 in gold for his passage. He was married to Eva Ulrich, Oct. 24, 1853.  

The Broadbent House, home away from home

Published by admin on Wed, 07/18/2018 - 9:00am

    One of the earliest businesses in every early 19th century town was the hotel. And in a town like Braidwood, with new comers arriving with every train, it was even more important.
    Pack your bags and get ready for your stay at the Broadbent House, John Broadbent proprietor, the pride of Braidwood.
    In 1871 John Broadbent arrived in Braidwood and immediately went into the hotel business. He built it in the latest style and it soon filled to capacity. Of course, being a landlord does have its problems.

Pritzker campaign exerts its will on Madigan

Published by admin on Mon, 07/16/2018 - 12:55pm

    Right up front, let’s just stipulate that the recent appointment of state Rep. Christian Mitchell, D-Chicago, as the Democratic Party of Illinois’ interim executive director will not usher in an immediate sea-change.
     First, this is a temporary, part-time gig.  Rep. Mitchell told me he has no interest in staying on after the election and will continue with his part-time law schooling through the fall campaign.

Then and now, water is the way to go

Published by admin on Wed, 07/11/2018 - 9:00am

    I recently took a ride up the Des Plaines River almost all the way to Brandon locks. The views seemed to contradict each other.
    On one hand the amount of wildlife, especially wading birds was incredible. On the other hand, we had to dodge lines of barges while loading docks, chutes, etc. lined the shoreline, crowding closer as we made our way to Joliet.
    It was clear to me that commerce was still happening on the river in a big way. Today we look back to the time when Wilmington was using these same waters for its commercial ventures.

Traveling history's highways looking for our roots

Published by admin on Wed, 07/11/2018 - 9:00am

    Most of my gentle readers know that the land upon which we live did not always belong to the United States, it also belonged to the English and before them it was France.
    That history seems so long ago that most of us have forgotten it. Most think that there are no traces left of this ancient past of ours. They would be wrong.
    Today we take a road trip to a place not all that far away, where you can still see traces even today. We are traveling to Vincennes, IN.