Statewide: The Weighty Side Of Political Criticism

There is a lot of incivility in the public sphere and that includes comments about politicians.  While their decisions are fair game for critiques, often it gets more personal.  That includes attacks on their appearance.  Take Gov. J.B. Pritzker for example.   Some have used derogatory terms to poke fun at his weight.  A newspaper columnist says it's no laughing matter.  

We also recall the violent and bloody era of prohibition-era gangsters in southern Illinois.  

That and more on this week's Statewide.

Our lineup:

* Sean Crawford speaks with columnist Scott Reeder, who says criticising the governor's weight is unfair.

* Eric Stock of WGLT finds out how climate change is also changing the insurance industry.

* Jerome Hightower of WBEZ reports on The Confess Project, which uses barber shops to help Black men manage their mental health.

* Tiffani Jackson talks to the winner of America's Best College Poet competition, a student at Illinois State University.

Credit Rich Egger

* Rich Egger with TriStates Public Radio visits with a Special Olympics athlete about the impact of the pandemic on the competition.

* Shahla Farzan with KWMU tells us how a new Missouri law allowing cameras to monitor care of nursing home patients is going.

* Sean Crawford interviews author Tara McClellan McAndrew about her article on prohbition-era violence in southern Illinois.

Listen to Statewide across Illinois in:

Bloomington/Normal – WGLT 89.1 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Carbondale – WSIU 91.9 (Fridays 2-3 p.m. and Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Mount Vernon - WVSI 88.9 (Fridays 2-3 p.m. and Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Olney - WUSI 90.3 (Fridays 2-3 p.m. and Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Rockford/DeKalb – WNIJ 89.5 (Saturdays 6-7 a.m., Sundays 2-3 p.m.)
Springfield/Decatur - WUIS 91.9 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, 11 p.m. - Midnight, Saturdays 9-10 a.m.)
Peoria – WCBU 89.9 (Fridays 11a.m. -12 noon, Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Pittsfield - WIPA 89.3 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, 11 p.m. - Midnight, Saturdays 9-10 a.m.)
Quad Cities - WVIK HD2 (Fridays 11 a.m. - 12 noon)
Urbana/Champaign – WILL 580 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, 7-8 p.m.)