state by state

If you're someone who's been experiencing "vaccine hesitancy," it may seem like you're the lone hold-out among people you know, or the public in general. However, that's just not the case at all.

If you've lived here in Illinois for any significant length of time, you already know that you're paying a lot in taxes of all sorts. But did you know that our state was taking this much from you?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says that there's $1.77 billion of unclaimed stimulus cash from that first round of payments at the beginning of the pandemic, and a good chunk went unclaimed here in Illinois.

Let's say that you've gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, and your best friend hasn't. Are you more of a "live and let live" sort of person who is cool with others making their own decisions while you make yours, or do you have to end the friendship?

Depending upon your outlook, that headline may anger, disappoint, and/or depress you; or you may feel like Samuel Johnson felt in April of 1775 when he said "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."

We may love all the colors under the rainbow overall, but when it comes to the color of our cars here in the Rockford area and throughout Illinois, we're a lot more boring about colors than we might think.

The definition of fun is different, depending on who you're talking to. For some, fun is lights, loud music, and partying. For others, it's a binge marathon of true crime/serial killer shows on Discovery Plus. For one of my neighbors, it's ordering kids, dogs, and leaves off of his lawn.

As you probably already know, Illinois leads the Midwest (and is near the top in the nation) in outbound migration. When people who are moving out of our state are asked why, the number one reason, by a wide margin, is a one-word answer: taxes.

I'm sure that you'll recall that recreational weed sales started in Illinois in January of 2020. MedicalMarijuana.net reports that total sales numbers, including both medical and recreational, topped $1 billion dollars by December. That’s over 14.5 million products sold, and 25% of that went to out-of-state residents.

I guess my first question after reading this headline would be "Seriously?" I've been an Illinois driver for over 40 years at this point in my life, and I'm having trouble buying this one.