Thursday February 22, 2018 Vol. 5, No. 50 Hot news tip? Want to advertise? Call (309) 741-9790
The Weekly Post
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PRSRT. STD. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Elmwood, Illinois Permit No. 13
“We Cover The News of West-Central Illinois With A Passion” Serving the fine communities of Brimfield, Dahinda, Douglas, Duncan, Edwards, Elmore, Elmwood, Farmington, Kickapoo, Laura, Monica, Oak Hill, Princeville, Williamsfield and Yates City
Illinois proud to be ‘Land of Lincoln’
Billtown shows big gains By BILL KNIGHT
By KATE SCHOTT
The home of Abraham Lincoln is shown in Springfield. The Greek Revival house the family lived in for 17 years still sits in Springfield today, with its homestead a popular place for tourists to visit when they come to the state’s capital. Photo by David Spencer.
eral legislator before being elected president in 1860. He served as the nation’s 16th president from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. The bullet fired by John Wilkes Booth prema-
turely took one of the nation’s greatest presidents from its citizens, but could not diminish his accomplishments – notably the abolishment of slavery – that have defined his Continued on Page 2
‘The Post’ recalls journalism favorites ELMWOOD – When The Weekly Post sponsors the first 100 patrons free admission to Sunday’s matinee showing of “The Post” at The Palace Theatre, the Oscar-nominated drama starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, it may remind filmgoers of some of the hundreds of motion pictures touching on journalism, and how important – and fun – journalism is. From the classic “Front Page” (1931) and its 1940 remake as “His Girl Friday” to 1994’s “The Paper” with Michael Keaton and 2016’s Academy Award-winning “Spotlight,” journalism shows have been popular and critical hits for decades. Along the way, there have been comedies (“Broadcast News,” “Anchorman”), muFor The Weekly Post
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) last Wednesday (Feb. 14) released the school-, district- and state-level scores for the 2017 Illinois Science Assessment (ISA), and it offers data to help educators and administrators identify local successes in implementing the new Illinois Learning Standards for science. In The Weekly Post area, Williamsfield showed the most dramatic gains from 2016, and all five area districts performed at Proficiency levels. “Last spring’s 5th grade, our current 6th graders, ranked 16th statewide out of 713 districts taking the assessment,” noted Williamsfield superintendent Tim Farquer. The science tests are relatively new. “The standards took effect in February 2014 and signaled a new era of science instruction,” said ISBE spokeswoman Jackie Matthews. “They encourage students to see science all around them. Students in classrooms today use scientific methods and tools to ask questions For The Weekly Post
For the Illinois Press Association
By BILL KNIGHT
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ISBE releases science scores
HAPPY HOME OF ABE
Abraham Lincoln may not have been born in Illinois but he clearly is among the state’s favorite sons. Lincoln came into the world on Feb. 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky, but eventually spent several decades living in Illinois, and departed for the presidency as a resident of Springfield. He was a shopkeeper, postmaster, lawyer, and state and fed-
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sicals (“Newsies,” Broadway’s “Woman of the Year”), plus unscrupulous reporters (“Five Star Final” and “Ace in the Hole”), behind-the-scenes dramas (“-30-” and “The Mean Season”), and newsroom heroics (“True Crime” and “Foreign Correspondent”). “The Post” features such heroism, as 1971 Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks) and publisher Kay Graham (Streep) grapple with getting some 7,000 pages of government secrets about the Vietnam War – showing that five administrations (of both political parties) had lied. It turns out the actual rationale for continuing the war was 10 percent to help the South Vietnamese, 20 percent to stop Communism and 70 percent to avoid a humiliating loss.
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However, “The Post” also shows the journalistic and business factors that weigh on newsrooms’ decisions. Here, Bradlee is gung-ho but Graham is hesitant since she’s still adapting to being the first woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company after the death of her husband, and measuring the “The Post,” featuring Meryl Streep, Bob Odenkirk impact of such a controversial (left) and Tom Hanks (right), starts Friday at the story and likely First Amend- Palace Theatre in Elmwood, with The Weekly Post ment fight when the company offering free admission to the first 100 people at is about to offer public stock in Sunday’s 2:30 p.m. matinee. the corporation. journalism movies. Although current at a time when “fake Here are favorite journalism movies news” accusations seem to threaten First Amendment rights, “The Post” also may picked by area active and former newsoffer a renewed appreciation for timeless Continued on Page 7