Local Commentaries

When the movie “Promised Land” came out this month, one was tempted to repeat the tagline from 1972’s horror flick “The Last House on the Left”: “It’s only a movie... It’s only a movie...”

But … it’s worse. People on both sides of the fracking debate cringe at “Promised Land,” the Matt Damon drama about fracking advocates trying to get a depressed rural area to sign over drilling rights. Fracking supporters say the film’s unfair; fracking opponents say it doesn’t go far enough.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, you are probably aware of the flu outbreak in the United States. Schools, offices and hospitals are all feeling the effects of the scourge. I know this well, as I work in a hospital which has been full for weeks. Even the nurses are calling in sick in record numbers.

When President Obama delivers his 2013 State of the Union address, remember a comment he made at last year’s State of the Union speech: "Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you: America will always win.”

Illinois has one of the strongest laws in the country with its Wage Payment and Collection Act, which helps workers recover pay withheld from them in so-called wage theft cases and discourages employers from breaking the law. The wage-theft law lets current or former employees file claims against employers for disputes ranging from a last paycheck, earned bonuses or commissions to illegal deductions or lack of compensation for required work.