My first full-time job in the news business was for a paper outside of Peoria covering the local farm beat. It was a long way from a glamorous life and had me spending most of my days traveling the lonely roads of west-Central Illinois looking for stories.
My wife and I moved to the suburbs in 2000 and I began working immediately at a community newspaper in Downers Grove. That's where I had been since I came to work for Patch. I did just about every job in the newsroom at one time or another, and loved every minute of it.
My Beliefs
At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. We also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. In the spirit of simple honesty, we encourage editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license to inject our beliefs into stories or dictate coverage according to them. Rather, we hope the knowledge our beliefs are on the record will cause us to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair and balanced manner. If you ever see evidence we failed in this mission, please let us know.
Politics
I suppose it's no great surprise to find a liberal journalist. I wish I could say I broke the mold, but I tend to take a pretty liberal view most of the time. I find the older I get, though, a little more likely I am to moderate on certain topics, especially those that affect my family.
Religion
Searching for faith.
Even when others were turned away by a summer storm, the Nocher Brothers showed off their restored VWs in the parking lot Thursday night at Shorewood's Towne Center Park.
Silver Cross Hospital offers free lecture on relief from vein pain on July 29
A Joliet man was severely burned when he allegedly blew up his house shortly after police questioned him about his missing girlfriend.
Weekly roundup of DUI arrests from around Will County.
Saturday event highlights need for uninterrupted 13-mile stretch of the Fox River. The leaders of Aurora, Montgomery, Oswego and Yorkville plan to kayak down the river from Aurora to Yorkville.
The program is the start of the identification process for National and Olympic soccer teams.
Ridge could open by the end of the month, while the timeline for repairs on the 111th street sinkhole remains unclear.
We asked our readers to tell us what they consider the most dangerous intersections in Montgomery. Here's what they said.
The Joliet Police Department is conducting a death investigation.
Want to be an extra in the mega-hit movie series? Open casting on July 19, 20.
Want to be an extra in the mega-hit movie series? Open casting on July 19, 20.
District 308 schools saw start time changes in the elementary level and the district is starting its school calendar a few days earlier.
Massive magnet will stop at Bolingbrook's Costco during the day Wednesday.
