My first paying newspaper job was in the summer of 1970, when I was a reporter intern at the twice-weekly Southtown Economist.
We worked on manual typewriters, writing stories on thin newsprint paper and correcting them with Black Beauty pencils. I reported to John Dienhart, who’d been in newspapers since “The Front Page” era of the ‘20s and ‘30s. He was in his late 70s, wore a gray suit with a vest every day and, as an editor, never smiled – at least not that I ever saw.
I still didn’t know much about the newspaper business and wasn’t very good. But I made it through the summer with a number of story clips in my portfolio before going back to college in the fall.
We referred to the paper as “the Economist,” a designation that was dropped after the Southtown became a daily. The office was west of Midway Airport in Chicago and many of my assignments took me to far-flung places like Tinley Park and Orland Park, then sleepy railroad stops on the edge of Chicago’s suburban area. Orland Park had a tiny business district at 143rd Street and LaGrange Road but not much else. I’d guess that the town’s population was about 5,000, and that Tinley Park was a little larger.
Before finishing for the summer, I wrote a story about how a major development was about to take place in Orland Park but village officials were not prepared to share any details just yet. That, of course, was Orland Square mall, which opened a few years later and was the start of the sleepy railroad town’s conversion into the largest commercial hub in the South Suburbs.
So this year marks my 50th year in the newspaper business. I have spent the bulk of my adult life as a reporter and editor and, for the most part, have enjoyed it immensely.
It’s also time for me to go.
I’m leaving the H-F Chronicle at the end of the year. I’ve been with the paper since it started in the fall of 2014 and believe I have done just about everything I can do to make the Chronicle a solid, reliable news outlet for Homewood and Flossmoor. The best thing that can happen now is for someone with new ideas and full-bore enthusiasm for community journalism to take over my one-third share of the Chronicle.
We started the Chronicle because the three of us – Marilyn Thomas, Eric Crump and myself – knew that our towns needed a newspaper that covers local government, keeps the community up-to-date on other important happenings and tells the stories, great and small, of the people who live here. We are believers in old-school journalism and that’s what we wanted to give our readers.
Six years later, I think we have accomplished our original goal. We have delivered thousands of locally-produced stories, posted them online every day and, for the last five years, put out a monthly print edition that is mailed to every residential address in Homewood and Flossmoor. We have gotten important support from our advertisers. During this pandemic year, we have stayed above water because kind readers have made donations to the paper.
I have definite thoughts on how I’d like my portion of the Chronicle to be passed along to a new partner. I live in Flossmoor and would like the new partner to also be from the village. (Eric and Marilyn live in Homewood.)
Also, I’d like to pass my ownership along to a person of color. Our towns are highly diverse and I believe it would be appropriate that the ownership of the local newspaper reflect the diversity of our communities. Whenever possible we have tried to take on freelance writers who are persons of color. Having a diverse ownership, I believe, would be a significant step in the right direction for the Chronicle.
Again, these are my thoughts on what I’d like to happen. For starters, though, we’d like to see if anyone with journalism experience is interested in my position, and what they might bring to the Chronicle. Potential candidates need to know, from the get-go, that this is an unpaid position. Someone recently described the Chronicle to me as a “passion project” and that pretty much sums up why we’re here.
My last day at the Chronicle is Dec. 31. Until then, I am willing to talk to anyone who is interested in owning a piece of the local newspaper. I also plan to talk to people in government, business and community groups to see if they know any potential candidates. If you think you’re a good fit, contact Eric at [email protected].
Fix. The. Streets.
That was my message in this space about a year ago. I had just taken a bike ride along the course of the Hidden Gem half-marathon, which would be held eight weeks later, and was appalled by the condition of Flossmoor’s streets all around town.
Here’s one of the first lines from that column:
“Traversing the geology of Flossmoor’s choppy streets gives a good general idea of what those astronauts encountered on the lunar landscape 50 years ago.”
Anyone who has taken their vehicle on Flossmoor streets for the last few years knows that they are badly in need of repair. The village commissioned a study in 2017 that determined it would cost about $20 million to fix all of Flossmoor streets. Money from the state’s Motor Fuel Tax fund is traditionally used to repair local streets but MFT revenue has fallen short of what’s needed for a number of years.
After that study, the Flossmoor Village Board indicated that it planned to ask voters to approve a referendum issue to sell general obligation bonds so that the worst streets could be repaired and improvements can also be made to thoroughfares that are only in fair condition. The referendum would be timed so that the bonds would not be sold until after a previous bond issue – it financed the building of Flossmoor’s new library – is paid off. That is expected to happen at the start of 2021.
As the guy who called for the fixing of the streets last year, I am asking my fellow Flossmoor residents to approve the bond issue on Nov. 3. I believe it is a good deal that will not have much effect on our local tax bills and will correct a nagging problem in town. Proceeds of the referendum, if needed, can also be used to solve flooding problems in the village.
You can find out more about the referendum elsewhere in the Chronicle or at the village website, www.flossmoor.org.
With your help, Flossmoor’s streets will no longer resemble a lunar landscape. Vote to fix the streets.
