Click Here for details.
Save Save Save Save
Published in the Daily Herald on October 9, 2025
By Jim Slusher
Letter to readers
Last Sunday, we published a special section insert in the Daily Herald commemorating the start of National Newspaper Week. We called it "Critical Crossroads," and included a host of reports and essays describing everything from routine features of the paper like letters to the editor, prep sports coverage and photography to our editors' news discussions and the paper's employee ownership structure.
It is a fitting and fairly comprehensive look at what we do and why we do it. And yet, as this week has progressed, I have been impressed by how difficult it is -impossible, really -to summarize what a newspaper actually does and why it is important. Those, really, are descriptions that are manifested daily only in the actual work our journalists do.
Consider how they have demonstrated this value in the past week. The story of the week, of course, has been the assignment of, first, federal immigration authorities and, now, National Guard troops from other states to conduct operations in the Chicago region. All of our reporters touch on this story in some fashion, but our senior projects and transportation writer Marni Pyke has been leading the coverage, combining her own reporting on suburb-specific developments and state-government actions with details from our wire services. Other reporters have also been called to duty on specific aspects of the story that could only be reported through a local lens -notably Barbara Vitello, who described a Saturday protest in West Chicago, and Mick Zawislak, who attended a Monday press conference with local elected leaders in Waukegan.
Their work -like the work of all reporters and photographers, whatever story they are covering has been given context and presence through the efforts of a team of copy editors and page designers -notably Brian Shamie, Bob Beamesderfer, Melynda Findlay Shamie, Allen Cone and others. Their efforts extend from the lighthearted appeal of Saturday's story on a Bozo the Clown enthusiast to Wednesday's somber Page 1 reflection on the two-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorism in Israel and its aftermath in Gaza.
As important and attention-getting as the big news stories of the day are, it is especially pertinent to consider local news items that may seem secondary to the global events of the day but that actually do as much or more to affect the quality of life in our communities. Consider just a few of these from the past week:
All these among many other seemingly "routine" but critically important stories we provide every day.
Meanwhile, who can ignore the excitement of a Cubs run in the early rounds of the MLB playoffs? Our Mike McGraw certainly didn't, providing incisive previews of coming games and analysis of the victories and losses that lent a particular authority to the presentation by Sports Editor Orrin Schwarz and others on his team.
Nor can we forget numerous human interest features like Vitello's revealing Page 1feature on pet shelters straining to deal with the numbers of pets being returned by owners dealing with difficult economic conditions or Rick West's uplifting report on the gift of a home and "a new life" to a U.S. Army veteran who was seriously injured in the Iraq War. And you can add to this regular staples like comics, local sports news, health news, business news, neighborhood news, entertainment news and, yes, weather.
In print and online, there is, indeed, an abundance of material in the daily newspaper worthy of a weeklong reflection. But the truly important and impressive work of our journalists is demonstrated in what they do on any given day.
View all Illinois public notices 24 hours a day - publicnoticeillinois.com
Member Log-In + Contact Us + Events + PressLines + Job Bank + Advertising Toolbox + Upload Pages
Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by FeedBurner
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 17, 2026 Contact Information: Katie Lewis (217) 525-8012 katie@ioaweb.org
####
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 16, 2026 Media Contact Information: Carrie Skogsberg carrie.skogsberg@countryfinancial.com
COUNTRY Financial and the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) are providing an opportunity for local high schools to win $5,000 to benefit their athletic department and student athletes through the “Sport Your School Giveaway.” Individuals can enter their school to win through May 30, 2026. This is the second time COUNTRY has held the Sport Your School Giveaway. Staunton High School was the winner of the first giveaway, which ran during the first half of the 2025-2026 school year. COUNTRY has been a sponsor of the IHSA for more than 50 years and is the presenting sponsor for 40 IHSA state championships for various high school sports throughout the 2025-2026 school year. “COUNTRY has a highly valued, longstanding relationship with the IHSA,” said Nikki Johnson, vice president of marketing at COUNTRY. “Schools are the lifeblood of our communities, and we are proud to be part of bringing championship opportunities to students and communities throughout the state.” Learn more and enter your school to win. Learn more about the partnership between COUNTRY and the IHSA.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 12, 2026 Media Contact Information: Bob Hubberts (847) 508-4995 bhubberts@firstillinoisrobotics.org
Chicago, Illinois – Creativity and science will come together this Saturday at the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge Illinois State Championship at Elgin Community College, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin, Illinois, where 56 teams of 9- to 14-year-old students and coaches will demonstrate their problem-solving skills, creative thinking, teamwork, competitive play, sportsmanship, and sense of community. The tournament is open to the public. The robot table competition portion of the event starts at Noon on Saturday, February 14th. More than 650,000 students in over 75 countries will participate in the FIRST® UNEARTHED season. Teams will have to program robots, using LEGO Education technology, to solve a set of missions on an obstacle course set on a thematic playing surface. For the UNEARTHED challenge students will unearth hidden treasures and piece together the past as they embark on this thrilling journey of discovery. Students will identify and research a problem related to the season theme and then design and create a possible solution. They will also identify a mission strategy and design, create, and code a robot to complete missions during a 2.5-minute Robot Game. The competition is judged in three areas: innovation project; robot design, and core values, which embody aspects of teamwork and good sportsmanship. Top robot game scores are also honored. FIRST LEGO League is an international program for 9- to 14-year-olds (ages vary by country) created in a partnership between FIRST and the LEGO Group in 1998 to get students excited about science and technology – and teach them valuable career and life skills. Using LEGO® Education technologies and materials, students work alongside adult mentors to design, build, and program autonomous robots and create an innovative solution to a problem as part of their research project. After several intense weeks, the competition season culminates at high-energy, sports-like tournaments. Like any other organized “sport,” teams also fundraise, create a team identity, and go on field trips. The tournament is being run by FIRST Illinois Robotics, a 501 c3 organization focused on delivering FIRST programs in Illinois. Contact us for a list of the area schools and youth organizations with teams participating in the competition. About FIRST® FIRST® is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school, in structured after-school programs or by other organizations or groups of parents. Boosted by a global support system of volunteers, educators, and sponsors that include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements during annual challenges. An international not-for-profit organization founded in 1989, FIRST has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Participants and alumni of FIRST programs gain access to education and career discovery opportunities, connections to exclusive scholarships and employers, and a place in the FIRST community for life. Learn more at firstinspires.org.
### To learn more about FIRST programs in Illinois, go to www.firstillinoisrobotics.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 7, 2026 Media Contact Information: Christopher Weishaar Digital Public relations Specialist (515) 273-7140 cweishaar@studentloan.org
WEST DES MOINES, IOWA (January 7, 2026) — Six high school seniors will each earn a scholarship valued at $1,500 through the 2026 ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship program. This program is sponsored by ISL Education Lending and is designed to make higher education more accessible while equipping students with essential financial literacy skills. Who Can Apply? All high school seniors attending school in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin are eligible to enter. No essay is required—making it simple and stress-free to apply. Parents Can Register Their Student Parents now have the option to register their student for the scholarship program, ensuring every eligible senior has the opportunity to participate. What Makes This Program Unique? Every participant will learn valuable financial literacy tips during the process, helping them prepare for life after high school. How to Apply Applications open on January 5, 2026, and close on April 30, 2026. Students and parents can apply online at www.iowastudentloan.org/Midwest. Winners will be announced in June 2026. Scholarship Details
Why It Matters “Student loan debt is a huge concern for new college students,” said Steve McCullough, president and CEO of ISL Education Lending. “As a nonprofit, we provide tools and resources to help high school seniors plan so they can reduce the amount of debt they need to take on while achieving their education goals. Students sign up for a chance at a $1,500 scholarship, and we take that opportunity to share information with them about our free resources.” Additional Resources Available In addition to offering student loans, ISL Education Lending has other resources for families planning for college and for students who intend to pursue advanced degrees. The Parent Handbook consists of valuable tips to help families of students in sixth through 12th grades prepare for success in college and other postsecondary options. Parents of students in eighth through 12th grades can also sign up to receive twice-monthly emailed tips on academic, college and career planning through the Student Planning Pointers for Parents program. The College Funding Forecaster helps families understand the total cost of four years of college based on a freshman-year financial aid offer. Information about these resources is available at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/SmartBorrowing.
# # #
About ISL Education Lending Established in 1979 as Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation, a private, nonprofit organization, ISL Education Lending helps students and families obtain the resources necessary to succeed in postsecondary education. ISL has helped nearly 400,000 students pay for college, offering student loans and other products under the name ISL Education Lending. The organization, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, also provides an array of borrower benefits, financial literacy tools and community reinvestment programs, including support for free college planning services for students and their families. For more information, visit www.IowaStudentLoan.org.
Click Image to Find the IPA Disaster Checklist!