I sez: An issue for which you were wrong. You didn’t want the City to buy these vehicles because E-85 wasn’t worth it, all the while forgetting that were capable of running on straight gasoline, as well. So, in other words, you were wrong to criticize Spears and the other supporters.

Bill Sez: “I OCCASIONALLY do original reporting”

I sez: I can’t believe you even mentioned this. I happened to be someplace today, waiting. The only thing to read was a Community Word. I flip through it and find your column, in which the first THIRD of it is an apology for the previous column.
Remember the earth-shattering breaking news that Bill advertised that turned out to be simply a surplus FEMA trailer sold to a bargain-hunting resident of his trailer park?
You don’t need the bike trails, Bill. You get plenty of exercise jumping to conclusions and leaping before you look.

Bill Sez: “Let’s be fair, here. I quite often tell folks when I write about the Spears Schock campaign that I’m a friend of Spears and I want him to win.”

I sez: That doesn’t give you free license to depart from ore stretch the truth. “Is Bill Spear Still Beating His Wife?” “Is Bill Dennis Diverting Pundit Funds for Cocaine-Fueled Orgies in Las Vegas?” The answer is the same as to the question you posed in the headline for this article.

Bill Sez: “Hey, the JS is NOT a bad newspaper on most days. But they’ve got a few bad tendencies. One of which is that they run edits that mangle the truth and ignore facts that don’t support their editorial page positions. When that happens, I write about it.”

I sez: So here is us, on the raggedy edge.
You bird-dog the PJS and other local media. We bird-dog you.

Someone once told me you were “an idiot with a keyboard.” My reply was, “Aren’t we all?” I was very wrong about that. I have met some very intelligent folks on this board. Some of them I agree with, some I do not. They tend to back up their arguments with facts. They tend to acknowledge the facts presented by others. They concede points as well a make them. They agree to disagree. They admit when they are wrong or perhaps have gone too far. They apologize when they are wrong and accept apologies gracefully when they are in the right.
Yes, I have met some very intelligent folks on this board. Maybe some day I can add your name to that list.

The Journal Star has dozens of reporters and editors who can devote up to 40 hours a week to reporting and covering the news.

I am just one guy, who spends 8 hours a day working, 8 hours a day sleeping and other eight hours a day doing other things, one of which is keeping this and ogther blogs going. I OCCASIONALLY do original reporting, some of which does including pooring over documents.

Back when I was, shall we say, between assignments, I did a lot more original reporting. Not so much more.

The Journal Star is the newspaper of record for central Illinois. As such it sends out reporters who are supposed to maintain objectivity. The JS has an editorial page that is supposed to be seperate from the news side. For this most part, this is what happens. Hey, the JS is NOT a bad newspaper on most days.

But they’ve got a few bad tendencies. One of which is that they run edits that mangle the truth and ignore facts that don’t support their editorial page positions.

When that happens, I write about it. I’m not trying to replace the Journal Star, or try to compete with them. I am not. That’s foolish. When I pick up the JS, I really want to see some kick-ass reporting. I want to see honest commentary, whether I disagree with it or not. You cannot read this blog for any length of time and say that I do not toss out the praise when I think it’s warranted.

I used to work at the JS — as an intern — and once delivered the paper. I grew up reading it. My feelings for the paper are warmer than one might suspect.

As far as the Bill Spears thing is concerned, this is MY site and I’ll continue to lay into the JS when I feel my friend is being handed the dirty end of the stick. There’s no one else’s name on this blog but my own and I’ll stand by it. All I feel I owe my readers is honesty about the situation, in that Spears is a friend — not a close friend, but a “drinking buddy” sort of friend (there’s a joke there for those who know me).

As to Karrie Alms, more power to her. I wish I had her energy. I do not.

My opinion of Aaron Schock is this: He’s seems like a nice guy. The exactly one time we spoke personally, I expressed my regret at calling him “Little Aaron” all the time and said that as state rep seeking his second term, he doesn’t deserve to be treated like a child anymore. He invited me to visit his office should I visit Springfield. I might take him up on it, should he win re-election.

Do I think Rep. Schock has done a BAD job in Springfield? Eh. I strongly disagree with his support of SB 2477, and his innacurate statements in support of it. I think he’s likely to use his position to support the closing of one of Peoria’s high schools, a position I understand he supported while on the school board.

But do I think he’s EVIL, as someone earlier suggested was my opinion of him? God, no. I reserve that adjective for, well, really evil people. Aaron Schock is just a guy I’m not going to vote for.

Anyway, thanks for the input.

Please don’t take the defensive and take my points as all negative towards your actions. It’s fine that you support Spears personally and with your site, though it detracts from your self-professed view of what this site can be, but I find it hard to swallow your continued beating on the JS for doing the same thing. I just don’t see the difference between either of you other than the positions you take.

You and others have been critical of them for not reporting on actions taken by certain candidates, but then turn around and only report/blog/comment positively on your candidate and have a decidedly negative spin on anything related to the opposition. I don’t see what is setting you apart from them and the response “I’ll print ANY newsrelease sent to me by a candidate” doesn’t cut it with me — WHY would Schock or any other candidate you support feed your fire?

Why not take the Karrie Alms approach and send both candidates a questionannaire on some key issues and then post their responses. That would at least provide a balanced into to the likely lengthly and vehement discussion that will follow.

Enough on this topic for me and thanks for providing the forum for the discussion!

That is precisley the story whoever “Biased Media” is tried to portray regarding Ardis supporting Spears.