The Daily Egyptian - Feb. 17, 2021

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Daily Egyptian SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916

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Vol. 104, Issue 5

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Milton McDaniel: life of a southern Illinois trailblazer Elizabeth Hamilton | ehamilton@dailyegyptian.com

Left: Photo courtesy of Milton McDaniel. Right: Retired railroad fireman and engineer, Milton McDaniel, poses with his train Feb. 10, 2021, in Carbondale, Ill. McDaniel began his 50 year long career in 1967 and became the first African American fireman and engineer north of the Ohio River. “It was a struggle, but I wanted to let other people know, other young men, know no matter what they wanted to do in life, don’t let nothing turn you around,” said McDaniel. Sophie Whitten | @swhittenphotography

When Milton McDaniel began his career in 1967 as the first Black fireman and engineer on the Illinois Central Railroad, Carbondale, and the rest of the nation was a different place for Black Americans than it is today.

McDaniel, 71, of Carbondale, started as a fireman, which has nothing to do with fire-fighting, but refers to the person in charge of shoveling coal into the train engine to keep it running.

“Being a fireman was a hard job, when it was a steam engine. And in the South they had Black firemen, but even in the North, they still did not allow [them],” McDaniel said.

Eventually, as steam engines gave way to diesel engines in the late ‘50s, the need for firemen steadily decreased, which is what led to McDaniel’s promotion to engineer. The switch came with difficulties.

During his first trip sitting in the engine, McDaniel said two elderly white women refused to ride the train. He wasn’t sitting in the same place as the passengers, but five feet away from them in a space traditionally reserved for engineers, but they refused to ride in the train because he was there.

“I wasn’t touching the throttle at all. I was just sitting there. I thought to myself ‘well if that’s the way it’s going to be that’s just the way it’s going to be because I get paid whether there is one person on this train or not,’” McDaniel said.

Despite the discrimination, McDaniel continued riding the rails.

Because he wasn’t allowed to sit in the regular passenger seating (those were considered “first class” seats), McDaniel would often ride in the baggage car.

Sometimes the car carried caskets home from the Vietnam War. “Almost every time I was on that train there was caskets, and [...] I was somewhat afraid, I’ll put it that way, but I had to ride back in the baggage car with the caskets,” McDaniel said.

McDaniel said despite discrimination by some passengers, he was always supported by then railroad superintendent, Harry Koonce. Once, when several railroad workers traveled down to Cairo, Illinois, McDaniel was denied service at a local motel.

Continued on page 3.

Illinois Representative Kinzinger questions the current direction of the GOP George Wiebe | gwiebe@dailyegyptian.com

Representative Adam Kinzinger (IL-16), has been a vocal detractor of former President Donald Trump.

Following the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6th, he was one of only ten Republicans to break party lines and vote in favor of impeachment.

Since then, the congressman has faced a mixture of praise and criticism from those inside and out of the GOP. On the first day of the Senate Impeachment trial Tuesday Jan 9th, Kinzinger held a press conference addressing the backlash, and what his plan is for the next two years in the house.

“I know if I voted against impeachment I would have regretted it forever,” Kinzinger said “I have zero regrets.”

Earlier this month Kinzinger was censured by the LaSalle County Republican Central Committee for his decision to join House Democrats.

“If you don’t totally tailor yourself to the feeling of the moment then you’re outside of the tribe,” Kinzinger said while explaining his thoughts on the censure, “we’re going to have to try to appeal to a larger base, not more Proud Boys and extremists.”

Kinzinger similarly broke ranks when the House of Representatives voted to strip newly elected Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of her congressional committee positions following outrage over her support of the QAnon conspiracy theory.

In a meeting between congressional Republicans Kinzinger described how “maybe twenty minutes were about Marjorie Taylor Greene, and about four hours

attacking Liz Chenney who did nothing but vote her conscience.”

Kinzinger described how the next few years are going to be a battle over the direction of the Republican party, whether it will go back to its roots as a platform of ideas, or a cult of personality surrounding the ex-president.

With the Senate impeachment trial wrapping up it seems almost inevitable that the last few days of testimony will have been for show as several Republican senators have been absent or actively ignore the proceedings.

“I’m doing something that should be a basic job as a member of congress,” Kinzinger said before turning the call over to questions from the local press.

Staff reporter George Wiebe can be reached at gwiebe@dailyegyptian.com

News

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Wednesday, February 17, 2021

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Carbondale police lend a hand by helping handout boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, outside the Banterra Center at SIU. Jared Treece | @bisalo

Farmers to Families ‘shotgun approach’ successful

Jason Flynn | @dejasonflynn

The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was a nearly a nightmare scenario for the food system in the United States.

Like many areas around the country, southern Illinois experienced acute shortages that left locals scrambling to find food access.

“We actually had individuals calling our office and warehouse saying they couldn’t buy food at the grocery stores,” said Lance Cusumano, coowner of Mt. Vernon, Ill. food distribution company Cusumano & Sons. “That’s usually something in our line as a wholesaler that sells to other wholesalers, grocery stores and restaurants that you don’t hear.”

At the same time, stories piled up about bottlenecks in the supply chain that led to producers pulping their agricultural products or euthanizing farm animals that wouldn’t make it to a market.

The combination of increased demand on the consumer side, and supply issues on the other, meant distributors from whom food banks would traditionally buy surplus food to distribute to pantries, had nothing left over.

“You went to the grocery store, people were hoarding food, and we were losing product from our retail recovery program,” said Teresa Schryver, advocacy manager for the St. Louis Area Food Bank.

The situation was especially dire for people who are seniors, have compromised immune systems, have disabilities and have little money, all of whom couldn’t go to the store either for fear of catching the virus or inability to make the trip.

“Early on during COVID when we were partnering with the fire

department, we really saw it because people were just so scared to leave their homes, and especially senior adults who, a lot of them have complicating medical conditions,” said Kendra Mitchell, serve director at Little Chapel Church in Harrisburg, Ill. “Really scary situations where I think if they hadn’t received food when they did, they literally would have starved to death, just because they were so scared to get out of their homes.”

Seeing an urgent need, organizations like the Little Chapel Church, Cusumano and Sons, Heaven’s Kitchen and many other groups attempted to step in to fill the gaps.

Cusumano began selling reducedcost produce boxes directly to customers. Little Chapel partnered with the fire department for a canned food drive. Heaven’s Kitchen, though temporarily closed to implement safety measures, served to-go meals from the curb.

It wasn’t until April 17 that the USDA announced they’d be implementing the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, or CFAP, which included the Farmers to Families Food Box program, to purchase tens of millions of tons of food from farms that would be packed and distributed to families across the country.

Because Cusumano & Sons had already been distributing produce boxes they co-organized a bid, along with Vermillion Valley Produce based in Danville, Ill, to distribute to central and southern Illinois.

“We started going to food pantries around and [talking] about this government program, and how all they have to do is tell us how many boxes [they need] and we get boxes of fresh food for them to distribute and

help them,” Cusumano said. “They didn’t believe it.”

Cusumano said he wasn’t surprised, given the situation, because organizations were stretched thin, and caught up with reacting to each new problem. It almost seemed too good to be true that anyone would show up offering thousands of boxes of free produce.

Natalie Wellan, the executive director of the United Way of South Central Illinois, helped Cusumano reach out to a series of churches, nonprofits and social service groups that could help get the food boxes to community members around the region, and Local Laborers 773 stepped up to help with distribution.

“Between those two groups it just created a buzz,” Cusumano said. “We just as fast as we could, started getting the food out there, buddy.”

The Farmers to Families program has gone through four rounds of renewed funding and started a fifth since its official start in mid-May. So far, over 132 million boxes of food have been distributed nationwide.

“Almost every phase has had a slightly different experience, and that’s mostly just from the fact that it was put together really quickly in order to just respond timely to what was going on,” Schryver said.

Distributors, food banks, pantries and the ad hoc network of volunteers and nonprofit workers had to work out systems for moving the massive amount of food both around the country and into the hands of people on the fly.

“It’s a little shotgun approach,” said Andy Sisulak, a board member at the Fowler-Bonan Foundation which operates Heaven’s Kitchen.

Please see FOOD | 3

News Page 3 Saluki snowball scuffle follows class cancellation

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Two SIU students, Marc Avery and Austin Kinsler, have a snowball fight Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Carbondale, Ill. According to a release sent out by the State of Illinois Executive Department, Illinois is expected to continue to face severe winter weather with wind chill temperatures of 20 to 30 below zero in some areas of the state. With severe weather in other areas of the country, natural gas prices have increased due to the freezing wells in these states. “We are in communication with local governments to ensure they have the support they need in disaster response and recovery operations. We are also working with our federal partners to pursue federal assistance to help communities recover and to do what we can to protect ratepayers from soaring utility bills. I urge all Illinoisans to take this extreme weather seriously, avoid all unnecessary travel and check in on your neighbors,” Governor JB Pritzker said in the release. According to the Weather Channel, Carbondale could be facing some more snow showers on Wednesday. Toward the end of the week, temperatures will slowly increase and reach 40 degrees on Sunday. Sophie Whitten | @swhittenphotography

Railroad 1Extension continued from

McDaniel was then forced to walk 12 miles to his then girlfriend (now wife’s) home so he had a place to spend the night. When word got back to superintendent Koonce, he called and told the proprietor of the hotel if he was going to deny service to a young Black man, then none of his railroaders could stay at the hotel. “[He said] I will pull every one of

Food continued from

them out of there and I’m sure your business will fall. [...] You can’t be supported if the railroad men don’t stay there,’” McDaniel said.

Today, McDaniel volunteers at the Carbondale Railroad Museum, where there are photographs that bring him back to those train rides in the late 1960s.

When he retired from the railroad

back in 2017, he remained involved as a volunteer for the museum.

He remains partial to one particular era of history that is highlighted at the museum.

“It’s just great to come in and look at the exhibits that they have, especially old photos from the roundhouse, where some of the men that were still there working whenever I hired out

and at that time, even in some of the photos there were a lot of people of color that worked for the railroad out in the roundhouse area,” McDaniel said.

The roundhouse is a building that is used to store and service the locomotives.

“They would get [their] wheels oiled and greased, make sure that there

was enough oil and grease on them,” McDaniel said.

Despite the fact that he still faced difficulties due to his race, McDaniel is incredibly proud to have lived his entire life (minus a single year in St. Louis) here in Carbondale, Illinois.

some glaring issues.”

Other difficulties arose from losing volunteers, generally seniors or retirees who could no longer offer their extra time for fear of contracting the virus.

Megan Austin, the director of the Murphysboro Food Pantry, said there used to be 40 to 45 volunteers that would assist with operations, but with the pandemic the numbers shrank to 6 or 7 regulars picking up multiple additional shifts to maintain operations.

When one senior volunteer in Heron died, the distribution of 150 food boxes a week they managed had to be passed off out of the county when there was nobody else available to take over the responsibility Sisulak said.

Those problems were compounded by the rural geography of the region, and the already existing poverty that plagued the southern Illinois region, which had eight of the ten most food insecure counties in the state even before the pandemic, Sisulak said.

(See More: Feeding America Interactive Map) The southern Illinois region, which Sisulak and others generally define

as the area south of Interstate 70, has 28 counties that combined had an estimated 108,480 food insecure individuals and a budget shortfall of $50.6 million according to Feeding America’s 2018 Map the Meal Gap annual study.

“In Cairo, you know, they’ve got two Dollar General stores. They don’t even have a gas station anymore,” Sisulak said. “That geography, I think, is somewhat unique.”

Feeding America also estimated the national food insecure population increased by 50.2 million people, or 13.4%, in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.

There aren’t yet figures that show a full picture of how southern Illinois was impacted in 2020, but from March 16, 2020 to January 31, 2021 the St. Louis area food bank distributed 13.4 million more meals than they did during the same period in 2019, a 39% increase.

Sisulak also works in the office of state senator Dale Fowler, a co-founder of the Fowler-Bonan foundation, and has been working to help address food issues in the region as they arise.

“Be mindful that all the groups

involved with Farmer to Family Program are really focusing efforts to get it to the people that need it, whether it’s shut-ins or seniors, or people that don’t have the capacity to go to a location to pick up a box of food,” Sisulak said. “Everybody, from top to bottom, is really working hard to make sure that some of those gaps are filled.”

Schryver said despite the challenges, the program has been largely successful.

“We’ve just sort of been reacting the best way we can to that to make this work,” Schryver said. “Everyone’s been in emergency mode for almost a year now, and it’s just kind of been a constant flux of grace and flexibility.”

The problem for the future, according to Sisulak and Schryver, will be securing and maintaining funding over a longer term to make sure the networks that have been built to address issues of hunger are maintained and expanded.

“There has been some additional funding that has been made available to the nonprofit sector to formalize some of these roles.” Schryver said.

“I don’t know how long that’s going to be. In a couple of years, when

everyone is vaccinated and the public health crisis is over, people might forget that [other] people are still going to be recovering.”

Some organizations have been able to expand operations despite the ongoing stress.

“At Feeding Illinois, we are actually pursuing what we’re calling the Farmers to Food banks program,” Schryver said. “We could petition essentially the Illinois government to establish a program with the Department of Agriculture to partner and fund a program that would get that [surplus food] product to the food banks.”

Individuals in Elgin were working on converting a warehouse into a meal production space according to Schryver, and spaces are being leased in Vienna and Harrisburg to address storage capacity issues according to Sisulak.

“We can solve hunger, but we have to do it together,” Schryver said.

“We’ve been really innovative in the last year.”

Staff reporter Elizabeth Hamilton can be reached at ehamilton@dailyegyptian.com

2

The program cast was effective at getting food to the public quickly, but also resulted in misunderstandings and miscommunications around the capacities of different parts of the distribution network.

“I can recall, when I was still at Northern Illinois Food Bank, there were instances where we would have someone come to drop off at a parking lot, and they didn’t have a lift gate. They didn’t have a forklift. So they literally couldn’t get the product off of the truck,” Schryver said.

Many of the issues were problems of facility where schools, nonprofits, social service groups and pantries didn’t have dry, cold, or frozen storage that would allow them to accept a variety of foods.

These places didn’t have a way to transport large quantities of food from one place to another and didn’t have the tools to accept the massive food loads at their facility.

“We are seeing where some of the inefficiencies, breakdowns or limitations of the current kind of distribution avenues are,” Sisulak said. “Whether it’s federal government or specifically the food banks to the food pantries, there are

Staff reporter Jason Flynn can be reached at jflynn@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @dejasonflynn.

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Wednesday, February 17, 2021 News International Student Feature: Pratyusa Das

Pratyusa Das, a Phd Student from India, collects samples on Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, in the Department of Molecular Cellulose and Systemic Physiology at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill. Her research is mainly focused on growth hormones. “Growth hormones that are secreted by pituitary regulates growth, metabolism, and other functions. Growth Hormone deficiency (GHD) causes an inability of somatotrophs to produce adequate amounts of growth hormones. GHD is the most common hormone deficiency of the pituitary gland, but the etiology is unknown in the majority of cases. Approximately 1/4000 children suffer from GHD causing reduced quality of life, osteoporosis and leads to increased cardiovascular disease due to metabolic dysfunction. Understanding the mechanism behind this disease is very important,” Das said.

Monica Sharma | @mscli_cks Editor’s note: The Daily Egyptian will be featuring an international student each week. Do you know someone doing interesting work at SIU? Email: lsutton@dailyegyptian.com

SIU international students open up about struggles due to COVID-19

Elena Schauwecker | eschauwecker@dailyegyptian.com

In the midst of a pandemic, a changing political climate and multiple civil rights movements, international students shared their experiences with travel, financial struggle and racism. They had praise for the ways SIU has helped them so far, and they also offered suggestions on how SIU could change to further help students in the future.

Tamás Hajtman, a senior engineering student from Hungary, said he could not go home to visit his family for a year and a half due to COVID restrictions. Considering that he has to quarantine for two weeks before traveling and that SIU holiday breaks are typically only four to five weeks long, he could not practically travel back and forth.

“Even now, after such a long time, I almost had to cancel my flights in the last second as I didn’t wanna be the cause to give this deadly disease to my family,” Hajtman said.

Hajtman was also very grateful to SIU for the help he has been provided during this difficult time.

“The international office is really

helpful in all ways. They help me to go home and make sure that I have all the documents required to be able to come back,” Hajman said.

Salim Almenshad, a PhD student of biomedical engineering who is from Saudi Arabia, has had a very different experience with SIU’s Center for International Education. Particularly in the midst of a pandemic, it has been extremely difficult for him to find a job, and he has had to stay in school just to maintain his legal status in the United States.

“I would like for them to have a program for international students for whenever they graduate,” Almenshad said. “A lot of people who are not U.S. citizens cannot find a job unless their school actually helps them out, and I don’t see that help from our school.”

The students also said they would like more scholarships from the school.

Laura Naharro, an MA student from Spain studying language, literature and culture who also teaches undergraduate Spanish, said it is a serious financial struggle to pay for school and travel, especially during the pandemic when

Sukantu Dev Nath, a graduate student in Mechanical Engineering from Bangladesh, performs an experiment for his research on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021 in the Material Investigation Lab at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Ill. “COVID19 has directly affected my research since I have to wait longer to get the ordered research materials delivered. The practical classes are done online which is not effective. I wish to hold labs by having students physically there,” Nath said. Subash Kharel | @pics.leaks jobs are scarce.

“I don’t know any international student who is not struggling to survive. People like me and people in my department aren’t here on scholarships. We pay everything

with our salary, and sometimes it’s difficult,” Naharro said.

Naharro also said it was extremely difficult to move to a new country during the pandemic because she did not know anyone and had no

way to meet people. She said it is her hope that the university will organize more social events for them.

Almenshad talked about the social issue of racism and said he often feels unwelcome among American students. Hajtman said he never experienced this and that he was always treated kindly by his classmates in school and by his teammates on the swimming and diving teams.

Almenshad said he believes this disparity is owing to their differences in appearance; while Hajtman has blue eyes and blonde hair, Almenshad has brown skin and dark features. Almenshad said racism has been the hardest thing for him to deal with in the U.S. “I’ve faced during my time in the United States a lot of racist people.

They really make you feel that you should not be here, just go back where you belong to,” Almenshad said. “They look at you like you’re nothing.”

Staff reporter Elena Schauwecker can be reached at eschauwecker@ dailyegyptian.com.

News

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Pritzker announces disaster proclamation

Keaton Yates | @keatsians

All 102 counties of Illinois have been issued a disaster proclamation due to the dangerous winter storm. With roughly 7,000 Illinois households suffering power outages as of Tuesday, Governor Pritzker said he has directed his administration to use all resources at their disposal.

“We are in communication with local governments to ensure they have the support they need in disaster response and recovery operations,” Pritzker said.

“We are also working with our federal partners to pursue federal assistance to help communities recover and to do what we can to protect ratepayers from soaring utility bills.”

Wells are currently frozen in key natural gas producing states, meaning gas prices will spike due to increased demand and decreased supply.

Utility companies have reported soaring wholesale prices and, without federal intervention, utility bills could rise for Illinois residents in the following weeks.

To protect homes, Pritzker advises residents to stay in heated

“We are in communication with local governments to ensure they have the support they need in disaster response and recovery operations.”

- J. B. Pritzker Governor of Illinois

rooms if possible. Homes without heat should keep doors and vents closed in unused rooms. Turn down thermostats a few degrees and stay bundled in layers.

When using fireplaces, wood stoves and space heaters, use safeguards and ensure proper ventilation to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

Water heaters should also be lowered a few degrees. Avoid using large appliances such as washers, dryers and dishwashers.

Walls and attics should be insulated and doors and windows should be caulked and weatherized.

Leave windows uncovered during the day, but place a blanket

over them at night. Cracks in doors and windows can be covered with blankets, towels, newspaper, rugs and other material.

Check on neighbors often, especially the elderly. If you are unable to contact a neighbor and are worried about them, contact law enforcement.

More tips for staying safe at home and on the road are available in a Winter Weather Preparedness Guide developed by IEMA and the National Weather Service. Other tips can be found on Ready Illinois.

Staff reporter Keaton Yates can be reached by email at kyates@ dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter @ keatsians.

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Congress set to form commission to probe Capitol attack

Dave Goldiner and Chris Sommerfeldt | New York Daily News

Congress will form a 9/11-style commission to investigate how farright attackers were able to storm the U.S. Capitol last month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday, ensuring continued scrutiny over former President Donald Trump’s role in the deadly insurrection despite his impeachment acquittal.

In a letter to Democratic colleagues, Pelosi, D-Calif., said the establishment of an independent commission is warranted because many questions remain unanswered about the Jan. 6 tragedy, including how much Trump knew about premeditated plots for the invasion.

“We must get to the truth of how this happened,” Pelosi wrote. “To protect our security, our security, our security, our next step will be to establish an outside, independent 9/11type commission to investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol.”

Pelosi hinted that the commission will focus on internal security protocols at the Capitol as well as any Trump actions “relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power.”

The commission is likely to be granted

power to subpoena testimony and other evidence.

Since Trump’s acquittal on Saturday, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have called for a Capitol attack commission, similar to the one Congress launched in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan.

“There should be a complete investigation about what happened,” said Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump during his trial Saturday. “What was known, who knew it and when they knew, all that, because that builds the basis so this never happens again.”

The Senate voted 57-43 on Saturday to hold Trump responsible for inciting the riot, falling 10 votes short of the two-thirds needed to convict. But the support of seven Republicans — and a blistering rebuke of Trump from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — suggests there’s enough bipartisan appetite for a commission that could likely shed more light on Trump’s actions before, during and after the Jan. 6 attack. ©2021 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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News

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Some Illinois media outlets push back against late night passage of major criminal justice reform bill Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in the Gateway Journalism Review Kallie Cox | @KallieECox

Some news media are smarting from the late night passage of a groundbreaking Illinois criminal justice bill last month that left them without a chance to report on the substance of sweeping legislation that is now before the governor awaiting his signature.

Police have launched a media campaign claiming the “dark of night” legislation endangers citizens. But members of the Black Caucus and civil rights activists who pushed for the passage of a bill said the criticisms are misleading.

The 764-page omnibus bill that packaged several other measures passed the Illinois Senate around 4 a.m. on Jan. 12, the last day of a lame duck session. The House approved the measure later that morning.

The bill would mandate the use of body cameras, implement strict use of force laws, eliminate the sworn affidavit currently required to make a complaint against an officer, reinvent the state’s law enforcement certification process and end gerrymandering that excludes prisoners.

Jeff Egbert, publisher and co-owner of the Pinckneyville Press in southern Illinois, said his newsroom of three people didn’t do a lot of coverage of the bill because of how it passed.

“You know we are a weekly newspaper, and it fell sort of in between our deadlines and again in the middle of the night,” Egbert said.

Egbert said he can guarantee passing the bill at this hour negatively impacted other small town papers like his own.

“Some of us may and some of us may not have web presences you know and you know some of us may rely on our Facebook pages, or on Twitter feeds or whatever to be able to get critical information out you know in between our deadlines,” Egbert said. “It’s still a situation where, how many of us have reporters at the statehouse and we simply don’t. We are not, we are in a position where we can barely get enough staff to cover what we have to do in our own communities and that’s a situation where I think a lot of people in Illinois didn’t realize what had happened until it was done and over.”

Egbert said because his publication can’t spare the resources to have reporters at the state capitol reporting on the legislature fulltime, he has to rely on the Capitol News Service with the Illinois Press Association.

He said he isn’t against police reform and is up to journalists to work to weed out bad cops, but the way the legislature passed the bill in the middle of the night, was wrong.

“They can say all day long all of this stuff was going on, and maybe that was on us as journalists that we weren’t on top of that.

But as you know in your role a lot of times we’re playing whack a mole and while we are working and focused on something over here, six other things are happening and we basically have to triage and prioritize what stories we’re going to do,” Egbert said.

In an editorial, the Chicago Tribune criticized the process by which the bill passed and urged Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker not to sign it, calling it “rushed” and “a slap to transparency.”

Raymon Troncoso, a reporter for Capitol News Illinois, said he was one of the only reporters focusing on the reform bill when it passed on the last day of the lame duck session. Overall, he said there were just a handful of journalists reporting on the entire session.

“Newspapers can’t afford to send someone full time to Springfield to cover everything that’s going on in the State House. You know they barely have the resources to cover what’s going on in their communities,” Troncoso said.

Most of the news organizations that were at the State House during the lame duck session were focused on covering the race to replace House Speaker Mike Madigan and the session as a whole, he said.

“I don’t think people really had the resources unless you’re a really big paper like the Tribune or the Chicago Sun-Times to devote looking at individual pieces of legislation in the night,” Troncoso said. “I think a lot of people covered it afterward.”

Sen. Kimberly Lightford, the leader of the Black Caucus, said the Caucus intentionally left the media out of the process before passing the bill.

“We had to leave the media out of it because we needed to control our own narrative, which is very important because if we would have let loose earlier and let the media start talking about what it is we were working on, then it would have gotten too far out of our control in terms of what knew we needed for our community,” Lightford said in an interview.

Reformers say the late night passage resulted in part from their willingness to compromise with law enforcement. And the elimination of cash bail does not free dangerous prisoners, as police claim.

Illinois Sen. Jason Plummer who opposed the bill, wrote on Facebook the night it was passed, noting that legislators received the bill at 3:04 a.m., and debate started at 4:01 a.m. “Who could’ve possibly read and reviewed this bill in less than an hour?” he wrote in the post. “This issue deserves a thorough and serious discussion. Sadly, it was instead jammed through the legislature during the early morning hours of this lame duck session.

“This is not how our system of government is supposed to work. These types of shenanigans do not lead to a healthy democracy and, in this instance, they make our law enforcement personnel, our families, and our communities less safe.”

The Illinois Law Enforcement Coalition, made up of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge, FOP Labor Council, FOP Chicago Lodge 7, Illinois Sheriffs’ Association and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, issued a statement criticizing the late night passage of the legislation. “We had been working in good faith with the Attorney General on a bill

that would make great strides to modernize law enforcement, but that legislation was dumped into this monster bill and the result is a betrayal of the public trust that gives many more advantages to criminals than the police. It ties the hands of police officers while pursuing suspects and making arrests, and allows criminals to run free while out on bail.”

The leaders of the Black Caucus, including Lightford, Sen. Elgie Sims and Rep. Justin Slaughter said this narrative is false.

Lightford said they began holding subject matter hearings about the bill in September and spent over 30 hours bringing in experts and researchers to discuss the things that came out in the legislation.

“There were recommendations from advocacy groups and civil right activist groups, and groups that have been just working in the space of law enforcement,” Lightford said “And actually there were some recommendations from the law enforcement side of it as well. They had a lot of input.”

Sims said even before the subject matter hearings, they were participating in marches and protests and having conversations with their colleagues. He said the first committee hearing was Sept. 1 and the bill was introduced on Jan. 5, 126 days of ongoing conversations and negotiations.

“Even after the bill was introduced I continued to negotiate,” Sims said in an interview. “There’s another narrative that’s been created that this bill was introduced or passed in the dead of night, well it was passed in the middle of the night because we continued to negotiate. And even though we continued to negotiate, if we were negotiating this bill, the goal line kept getting moved.”

Ultimately it came to a point where Sims said he and Leader Lightford decided to pull the trigger and call the bill to a vote.

“It’s harmful to say that this process was rushed, or that it excluded the opinions of law enforcement intentionally because that’s not so,” Lightford said. “We listened, we negotiated with police groups, and they won quite a few key concessions. So you can’t sit at the table and negotiate and win concessions and then say you were not part of any negotiations of the process. So I cannot comprehend how they can complain at all that they were shut out when their lobbyists were getting things changed on their behalf.”

According to polling data from the ACLU, nine out of 10 Illinois voters were strongly supportive last fall of legislative efforts to hold police accountable for misconduct.

Opponents of the bill, including Republican House Leader Rep. Jim Durkin, said its passage will put public safety at risk by eliminating cash bail.

“The elimination of cash bail basically says that we respect the honor system for violent criminals and gang members,” Durkin said in a press conference about the bill.

Durkin said the Democrats who worked on this bill and advocates have said over and over again that this bill was fully vetted and

everyone was aware of what was in the bill, but that’s not accurate.

“Over the past summer and fall leading up to the lame duck session, advocates only revealed talking points, bullet points, but not the actual language,” Durkin said. “All we heard about were concepts. The first time we saw the bill in its final form was at the 11th hour of a lame duck session, at the end of a lame duck session.”

Durkin said the new bill is especially troubling for victims of violent crime because it can compel victims to testify at bond hearings.Rape victims of all ages, domestic violence victims, family members of a murdered loved one are all considered complaining witnesses, he said.

“A defendant must appear before a judge within 72 hours of arrest for a bond hearing and often that arrest of the attacker happens not only days but hours or minutes after the offense,” Durkin said. “So imagine this, a bond hearing is ordered for a person who has been charged with rape and the court orders that rape victim to appear at that bond hearing which could have been hours or days after the attack to stand in front of the judge and also within a few feet of her attacker. This is not how we should treat victims of crime in Illinois. It is morally wrong and it also is in direct conflict with the rights of crime victims and witnesses under our Illinois constitution.”

Amanda Pyron, who serves as the executive director of The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, said the bill actually protects survivors.

“Safety looks like listening to survivors during a bond hearing. It looks like listening to survivors when they have a difficult interaction with local law enforcement and this bill absolutely does not in any way give extensive rights that go to cause harm in our communities, it protects survivors. It gives survivors the opportunity to meet with the state’s attorney to get an order of protection at a bond hearing,” Pyron said at a town hall about the bill.

Lightford said the Black Caucus created a transformative piece of legislation and they didn’t need anyone’s permission to do it.

“The thing here that I witness is that you know they want us to allow them to tell us it’s ok when it’s our communities that have received poor treatment for generations,” Lightford said. “This is nothing new, and we’ve waited far too long for meaningful change to happen and we know that uplifting Black and marginalized communities will ultimately benefit the entire state and any opposition is nothing more than a desperate attempt to halt the progress and continue the legacy of systemic racism and oppression in this year and beyond and we aren’t willing to settle for that.”

Editor-in-Chief Kallie Cox can be reached at kcox@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @KallieECox. This story is part of a project on police accountability funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Features

Page 7

COVID-19 won’t stop local florists for Valentine’s Day

Jerry Brooks, owner of Jerry’s Flower Shoppe, and Dean McKinnies, head assistant, prepare for one of the busiest days of the year for the shop on Thursday Feb. 11, 2021, in Carbondale Ill. McKinnies has been working in the shop since she was 15. “We’ve always worked so well together. I always say we’re like a well oiled team,” Mckinnies said. Madison Taylor | @the.madisontaylor

Dean McKinnies sprays leaves with leaf shine for a customer. McKinnies has been working for the shop since she was 15. “We’ve always worked so well together. I always say we’re like a well oiled team,” Mckinnies said. She said that even though this is their busiest time of the year it’s still a fun job. Madison Taylor | @the.madisontaylor Madison Taylor | @mtaylor08

For 57 years Jerry’s Flower Shoppe has been serving Southern Illinois residents since 1964.

Owner Jerry Brooks said Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest times of the year for the shop.

Brooks said he first opened the shop when he was only 21 when the shopping center was brand new at 216 W Freeman St. “We’re the only store front florist left in Carbondale, I never thought I would see the day we’re the only florist shoppe in town” Brooks said.

The shop has survived over the years but had a little

Jerry Brooks, 77, arranges a vase of flowers for a customer. Madison Taylor | @the.madisontaylor

disruption at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Brooks said at the start of the pandemic he didn’t know if the business would survive but now they are going strong.

“It was horrible at first from last February into May and then it gradually picked back up. Now it’s doing pretty good.” Brooks said.

Deann McKinnies, head assistant of the flower shop said she first started working there when she was 15.

McKinnies said she enjoys working at the shop and couldn’t imagine not working there.

“We’ve always worked so well together. I always say we’re like a well oiled team” Mckinnies said.

Brooks said since the shop has customers online and over the phone the business has expanded to all over the country.

“Most of our customers are in Southern Illinois but we offer them personalized delivery. We even call most customers by name. We’re like one big happy family more or less” Brooks said.

Staff photographer Madison Taylor can be reached at mtaylor@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at mtaylor08.

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Chloe Schobert | @chlo_scho_art

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Features

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Redefining empowerment with boudoir photography Sophie Whitten | Swhitten@dailyegyptian.com

As Valentine’s Day nears, many men and women are gifting their significant others with boudoir images.

Jennifer Fortune, a photographer in Carterville, Ill. began photographing twelve years ago and found a niche for boudoir photography. She said that she most enjoyed helping women feel bold and beautiful during the entire photo shoot experience, and giving women strength through their images.

“There’s nothing more vulnerable than a woman in boudoir and with that, when I’m taking their photo, I hold their self esteem in my hands, so I have to do a good job, taking their photo, making them feel gorgeous, making them feel empowered, making them feel sexy and it’s very rewarding when we’re done,” Fortune said.

Boudoir photography is an intimate art form that features romantic and sensual images, often in a bedroom environment.

Fortune said that she strives to make her clients feel comfortable and said it’s all about helping women find their beauty and “making their soul shine forth.”

Fortune also added that, while many men and women schedule boudoir sessions as a gift to their significant others, there has been a recent increase in the art form as a way to discover and express self confidence.

“What’s beautiful now are most of my ladies that come to me are women who want to do it for themselves,” Fortune said. “They are comfortable in their skin and they want to own their body the way that it is.”

Staff Photographer Sophie Whitten can be reached at Swhitten@ dailyegyptian.com.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Fortune.

Photographer, Jennifer Fortune, poses for a portrait Feb. 9, 2021. Fortune specializes in boudoir photography and has been photographing for 12 years. “I know what a woman doesn’t want to see in herself and I also understand what a woman needs to see in herself,” said Fortune. “Every woman walking out of here should feel like a million bucks and when they see their photos, they’re so happy.” Sophie Whitten | @swhittenphotography

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Fortune.

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Opinion

Page 11

Rebooting Life: The brighter side of the pandemic Diksha Mittal | dmittal@dailyegyptian.com

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian from India mentioned that he recommended the world leaders to have a “planned lockdown” every year.

In his opinion, it is essential to give breathing space to nature and people.

Last year, all of our plans suddenly came tumbling down and the world was hit by something it was never prepared for.

Yet, by virtue of being an habitual optimist, I sat down and thought about the bright side of the pandemic.

To begin with, let’s face it. Nature got its long-pending sweet sabbatical from being eternally exploited. Many extinct species of wildlife around the world have come back to life. Maybe, they are thanking their stars for giving them a break from us!

“I am forced to step back and reflect on my life’s purpose with the emptiness that has dawned on with the departure of my friends. In a way, I have more time to devote to meaningful activities than wasting my time in campus parties and daily socializing,” Rakan Alshahrani, an Aviation undergraduate student SIU said.

As I hear about millions of lives being lost at the drop of a hat, I am forced to introspect. The countless hours we had spent mindlessly working towards a high-paying job and a life of our dreams became redundant as many people never woke up the next morning.

Has the endless pursuit of things and people made us forget to pause and be grateful for the gift of life?

As I read about the rise in daily death toll on the news, I sat down for a few minutes extra to be grateful for the presence of my friends and family around me, no matter how complicated the relationships get sometimes.

The rise in mental health issues around the world is only a glaring example of how unequipped we are for facing the ups and downs of life.

More and more people are resorting to non-traditional

therapies, alternative health practices, and meditations.

For example, the SKY Campus Happiness Retreat, an evidence-based meditation program offered in more than 60 universities around the U.S., reported doubled enrollments last year following COVID-19 outbreak.

The realization of the futility of life has made more people look for the deeper meaning of life as faith-based organizations have seen resurgence around the world. As a society, more people are going back to basics and eating healthier, homecooked meals instead of the junk.

Many online businesses came up and existing ventures increased their online visibility as a result of the crises.

Carbondale saw many eateries start delivery services and others introduced plastic pods for COVID dining.

At some level, the pandemic is showing the hidden resilience within and bringing out creativity of human beings who are determined to serve their customers in new and innovative ways.

Alternative health became a go-to solution as many Americans and people worldwide have started resorting to herbal and Ayurvedic ways of preparing meals to boost immunity.

Prachi Paharia, an international student from India at SIU, always wanted to learn Indian-style cooking. The extra hours at home during the pandemic gave her time to learn from her grandmother’s recipe book.

She said she noticed how the ancient science of cooking is laden with nutritional secrets that improved her health tremendously.

“The pandemic became an opportunity for me to explore new hobbies and interests that I was too overworked to pursue.

Anytime I feel tensed, I ask myself, ‘What is my current situation trying to teach me?’, ” Paharia said.

Fasting from coronavirus news and social media can be hard, especially if someone close to you contracted the virus.

In any case, spending too much time listening to depressing

news about the after effects of COVID can be a recipe for anxiety.

“We have been driving ourselves crazy with the job search as it is such a bad time to graduate during the pandemic for international students. Now, we have made a collective rule to go off all electronic devices after 6 P.M. We just talk, play and go on walks together when streets are empty. It takes our minds off the professional and home front anxieties and lets us breathe,” Muneeb Durrani, a recent Engineering graduate from Pakistan said.

Durrani also suggested turning negative thoughts into positive actions, this could take the form of helping a friend or even replacing criticism online with powerful quotes and poems.

We also saw many examples of humanity as individuals and organizations around the world came out to donate food and money to unknown people.

The Center for International Education, in collaboration with the SIU Foundation and the Carbondale community, have been putting on “international care package” events during the semester to support international students at SIU who are the hardest hit financially and emotionally by the pandemic.

The care packages featured international food favourites from five global regions –West Africa , Latin America, East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East.

Seeing the glass as half full during the pandemic can be a tough task as we’re being constantly overloaded with disappointing information, but momentarily unplugging from the online world and exercising gratitude are steps in the right direction and may even make the pandemic easier to deal with mentally.

Staff reporter Diksha Mittal can be reached at dmittal@ dailyegyptian.com.

News

Page 12

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Jackson County Health Department worker, Frank Saunders, administers the Pfizer-Moderna COVID-19 vaccination to Abigail Moberly, a Carbondale local, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Carbondale, Ill. “They said it’s not bad. They said it doesn’t even feel like you get a shot, ya know? That your arm is sore and that’s about it,” Moberly said. | James B Allen |@skyclopsphotojamboree

Students discuss their experience in the Moderna vaccine trial

George Wiebe | gwiebe@dailyegyptian.com

In human history, no vaccine has been developed, tried, and tested faster than the Pfizer, Moderna and Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

However, the speed at which the development went led to concern over the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines.

In a poll conducted by the Associated Press’ Center for Public Affairs Research, nearly a third of Americans said they would “definitely or probably” not get the COVID-19 vaccine shots.

Several major figures have publicly received vaccinations including President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence.

But for many, the word of their peers means more than politicians or celebrities.

In the race to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus thousands of individuals in the U.S. and overseas took part in early trials.

Vanderbilt University, in collaboration with the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), recruited 500 participants for Phase 3 of the Moderna trials.

Seth Reasoner, a PhD student at Vanderbilt, took part in the double blind trial receiving the placebo and later the actual vaccine.

“Participating in the trial gave me the ability to talk to my patients and family about the vaccine development process and gave credence to what I was saying,” Reasoner said.

Abigail Moberly takes a mandatory rest after receiving the Pfizer-Moderna COVID-19 vaccination. After vaccination, patients must sit and wait to ensure that there are no side-effects or poor reactions. “It was just like a shot, just a flu shot. Nothin’ bad. I’ve gotta talk with someone about my next shot which I come back for in four weeks, at least I think that’s what happens,” Moberly said. | James B Allen |@skyclopsphotojamboree One of the major concerns surrounding the speedy trials were side effects.

“I had minor arm soreness following my vaccinations,” Reasoner said, “Having predictable side effects--soreness, fatigue, aches, even fever--should be reassuring to us because it indicates that the vaccine is working.”

Another participant of the Moderna trial, Grace Morales, a PhD

candidate at Vanderbilt, received the actual vaccine during the testing.

Similar to Reasoner, Morales described minor side effects following inoculation, noting arm soreness upon her first injection.

“For the second […] I mostly had muscle pain, I was really tired and had a little bit of a headache, but nothing too bad, no fever,” Morales said.

Dr. Mark Denison, director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious

Diseases at Vanderbilt, shared his thoughts and research on the COVID-19 vaccine during a webinar in December.

“We have effective antivirals and treatments within six months, and we have vaccines within nine months, this is unbelievable, and yes, we should take them if we can,” Denison said.

The two trial candidates similarly urged individuals to receive the

vaccine if and when they are able.

For individuals who are skeptical of the vaccine, Reasoner recommended talking to a physician about worries and concerns as the medical field has been supportive of the vaccine.

“Trust the science and trust the professionals because they too want to get back to normal,” Morales said.

Staff reporter George Wiebe can be reached at gwiebe@dailyegyptian.com

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Samaritan of the Week

Page 13

USG starts program to waive portion of counseling copay

Sara Wangler | @sara_Wangler

This week’s Samaritan Saturday goes to the Black Affairs Council and Undergraduate Student Government for their efforts with the USG Cares program.

This new program waives half the normal copay for students with financial issues who sign up for appointments with Counseling and Psychological Services.

The Black Affairs Council brought up concerns of students’ mental health to USG given the state of the world and the challenges that come with being in college in general.

USG Senator Issac Ludington said with the COVID-19 pandemic, the executive board of USG and Senator Nathan Deatrick

worked to waive part of the copay for students at the Counseling and Psychological Services at SIU. During a normal school year, USG would host events for students, but with the pandemic those have been moved online.

The funding for those events wasn’t being used, so to meet the need, USG is partially funding the program.

“Many students are struggling right now, we didn’t want the pandemic to prevent students from getting necessary counseling,” Ludington said.

Ludington said each student gets 10 visits each semester at the Counseling and Psychological Services center.

“Each appointment is $10, with

“Many students are struggling right now, we didn’t want the pandemic to prevent students from getting necessary counseling.”

- Issac Ludington USG senator

this bill students have $50 waived,” Ludington said.

The program hasn’t been fully developed yet, said Ludington.

“It’s going to be run by the Office of Student Engagement, they will work with the USG executive board to fully develop and fund this program,” Ludington said.

The hope is to have the program available as soon as possible;

Snow and ice slowing students

Ludington said it will definitely be finalized this semester, said Ludington.

“It is set up in the bill that it will automatically be put before the USG every year to consider raising or lowering the dollar amount,” Ludington said. “As well as renewing it so that it’s a every year program and not just for right now.”

Given the importance of the

Matthew Coussens walks to the dining hall Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Carbondale, Ill. Sophie Whitten | @swhittenphotography

Staff reporter Sara Wangler can be reached at swangler@dailyegyptian. com or on Twitter at @sara_Wangler.

Warming center numbers up, temps down

Courtney Alexander | @___Courtney_alex23______

Cassandra Jett clears snow and ice off of her car Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Carbondale, Ill. Sophie Whitten | @swhittenphotography

matter, USG has welcomed other programs at SIU to donate.

“We’ve opened up funding to umbrella organizations and other programs, as well as RSO’s to donate so it’s not just USG funding it,” Ludington said.

Recently below freezing temperatures, as low as single-digit temps, and snow and ice storms have impacted the community of Carbondale. Additional guests came to stay at the Carbondale Warming Center due to freezing temperatures, the center is for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

Carmalita Cahill, the executive director of Carbondale Warming Center, said the freezing temperatures caused the center to use additional space upstairs to accommodate more guests.

“With the cold weather we’re having now [...] we decided to cut the space in half upstairs because we don’t have anyone up there now, so if we have more people wanting to come in, we’re able to accommodate that,” Cahill said.

Cahill said the center had enough space to accommodate every guest, despite the unexpected weather events.

“We still have room, we take in from the police station, various law enforcements in the area, and the hospital. We take in anytime day or night, we’re prepped and ready to go for however many more come in right now,” Cahill said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted the homeless population around the city, the center follows safety protocols to prevent spreading the virus, now they have a space to get tested and have shelter amidst the pandemic.

“Right now with COVID-19, we created a safe place for people who are experiencing homelessness, and they get the double whammy of crisis. Having to test for

COVID-19 due to symptoms, or having COVID-19 and no place to go, so we have space upstairs for those individuals,” Cahill said.

Daily meals are provided to the guests, local organizations from Carbondale donate food to the center to feed the guests.

“We have meals that come in from various safe groups, including Feed My Sheep, Heartland Catering [...] here in Carbondale, the sisters of the Mosque supply meals during the week also,” Cahill said. “We are able to supply breakfast which is usually some cereal, or some instant oatmeal that the guests are able to do themselves. And coffee, hot chocolate, tea, and fruit as we have it.”

The center also offers empowerment groups for both men and women and job programs that offer long-term employment.

“So we went 24 hours and with that same process we thought well, we’ll be spending a lot of time with our guests. So we established a men’s empowerment, a woman’s empowerment, a goal orientation program and a jobs program, which has all been very successful,” Cahill said. “We’ve also assisted 48 guests into getting into their own place, and 60 percent of those who’ve gone through the job program are still maintaining their jobs now.”

The Warming Center is located at 608 East College Street in Carbondale and can be contacted by calling 314-312-2539 or emailing coordinator@cwcentered.org.

Courtney Alexander can be reached at calexander@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at ___Courtney_ alex23______.

Sports

Page 14

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

CCHS Coach Jim Miller retires

Leaves legacy of hard work, mental toughness Adam Warfel | @warfel_adam Jim Miller, head coach of the Carbondale Community High School men’s basketball program, is retiring after this season.

On Feb. 2, Miller announced after this basketball season, which had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he will be retiring after 23 years.

“I think every year has been a challenge, we’ve had some really good athletes come through here,” Miller said.

“I have been so fortunate over the years to have those athletes and to have a great coaching staff that has been all-in for the kids.”

Across his 23 seasons in Carbondale, Miller has won 424 games, not including any from this season, and he has appreciated the athletes he has had the opportunity to coach.

“Here at Carbondale it seems like we always have athletes, that’s been a blessing,” Miller said. “The athletes that we have, they sacrifice they give of themselves for the betterment of the team.”

As far as what Miller has brought to Carbondale and coaching, the men’s program’s junior varsity coach Greg Storm said consistency played a part.

“He’s been a consistent individual in the school and the community part of the program,” Storm said. “He’s always helping kids out. He’s continued the culture, continued the tradition of coaches before him.”

Miller took two of his teams to state in 2004 and 2005, finishing fourth in 2004 and second in 2005; he said that what matters though is the kids in the program.

“I’ve had quality coaches and I have had great athletes,” Miller said. “It doesn’t matter how good or bad a coach you are if you have good kids that try to do the things you ask them to do and that work hard.”

Miller has been coaching at the high school and college level of basketball for 38 years and he will be retiring as a teacher after this year, so he said it was

time to step away.

“This is my [38th] year coaching basketball at the high school and college level; it’s time,” Miller said. “I’m retiring as a teacher and I thought it would be a great opportunity for the school to go out and get a coach that can actually commit long term.”

As far as what Miller plans on doing when he leaves the gym at Carbondale one last time, he looks forward to spending more time with his family.

“My wife and I, we have 11 grandkids now, they keep us busy,” Miller said. “I’ll still be in the area, I’m not going anywhere because this is our home.”

Miller is thankful that he’s been able to call Carbondale home for the last 23 years, watching his kids grow up here.

“We’ve spent 23 years of our life here, my kids grew up here at Carbondale high school,” Miller said. “I’m so grateful that they had the chance to go to Carbondale.”

Looking back on his early coaching days at Fairfield High School and Wilmington High School, Miller said he has more understanding now than he did.

“I think with age you get more understanding that kids respond to different things differently,” Miller said.

“Sometimes it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.”

Miller almost retired from coaching in Fairfield, because of the aspects of the community he was in.

“When I left Fairfield, I was ready to retire at Fairfield it was a small community,” Miller said.” It was a community that was family-oriented and we had some really good friends there.”

When former Carbondale athletic director Vicky King and former principal John Divley spoke with Miller he remembered his time in Charleston, Ill., and the aspects of a university town.

“When Vicky King and John Dively, who was the athletic director and principal at that time, when we talked,” Miller said.

“I come from Charleston, Illinois, it is a university town, I know what a university town has to offer for families.”

Bringing his family to a university town was a big part of why Miller came but he

also wanted to coach somewhere where basketball is important.

“Southern Illinois and Carbondale... you’re in the hot bed of basketball,” Miller said.”Everybody here in this part of the state they love their sport they love their athletics, I just wanted to be a part of that.”

With all the success Miller has had at Carbondale, what matters most to him is seeing the kids become men of character.

“It’s really nice to have kids from 20 years ago or 10, 15 years ago and they look you in the eye and they say coach I get it,” Miller said. “ I understand now why you did what you did for us.”

The sentiments of Miller and the expectations he has for the men in his program can be exemplified in one thing he shouted during practice.

“If you’re not going to do the easy things, the simple things, then what are you going to do when it becomes hard?,” Miller said.

In Miller, the Terriers have a man that wants to see not just the best for his players on the court but the best for them in life.

“Challenging them to be their very best, when you see a kid not working towards that it is frustrating,” Miller said.

“I want my kids to really strive to attain their absolute best position they can not only on the basketball court but in life in general.”

Assistant coach Jeff Hansen said that Miller expects the best out of all the men in his program.

“He demands the best out of his kids no matter what, sometimes it’s tough love,” Hansen said. “There are so many people that will come back and give him a handshake and say ‘I get it now.’”

Jim Miller might be remembered in Carbondale as a successful coach, but to him the kids in his program come first.

“He absolutely loves kids, sometimes he’s gruff [and] can be in your face at times,” Hansen said. “He really has an affection for the youth, and will do anything for a lot of these kids.”

Miller has won seven South 7 conference championships, 10 regional championships and two sectional championships but he said you don’t

Jim Miller, head coach of the Carbondale Terriers basketball team poses for a portrait Monday, Feb. 8, 2021 at Carbondale Community High School. Coach Miller is set to retire after this season. Chris Bishop | @quippedmediallc worry about the wins.

“You never worry about the wins. The wins are more of a secondary factor,” Miller said. “It is about the character of your kids, it’s about the challenges you put in front of your kids and how they respond and react to those challenges.”

Miller said long before he set foot in Carbondale, there was a line of great coaches and he just continued what they had started.

“Way before me there was a lot of great coaches here, John Cherry, Doug Woolard, Walt Moore, Tim Bleyer, DeWayne Kelly,” Miller said.”They all set the bar, it’s not the bar that I set it’s the bar that those guys have set for the program.”

As far as what Miller has meant for the Terriers in his time here, Storm said he has appreciated the way Miller approaches the game.

“To be around Jim and learn from him, to be around his style of going through practices and games,” Storm said. “It’s a

huge learning experience.”

Looking back across his 37 years of coaching, Miller remembered the 20042005 season with Carbondale when they finished fourth in the state in 2004 and second in 2005 in class 2A. “I would say the 2004-2005 season, we had some really good athletes, but we had a professional in Justin Dentmon,” Miller said.”The 2005 season we lost four starters, being able to get second following a fourth place finish in a season was I think pretty special.”

As successful as Miller has been in his time at Carbondale, Hansen said that what matters most to Miller is the kids.

“He leaves here as the all time winningest coach,” Hansen said. “He’ll be the first person to tell you that’s the kids, it’s the kids that win the games.”

Sports Reporter Adam Warfel can be reached at awarfel@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @warfel_adam.

Salukis lose in four sets against Valparaiso

Janae Mosby | @mosbyj

Coming off their first MVC win over Valparaiso University on Feb. 14, the first time SIU defeated Valparaiso on the road, the Saluki volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss on Feb. 15.

Southern (2-6, 1-5 MVC) started off strong, winning the first set 25-20, but Valpo rallied to win sets two, three, and four for a 3-1 defeat.

Valpo (3-4, 2-4 MVC) led the Salukis in kills (52-42), digs (89-72), blocks (96) and service aces (7-4).

Junior middle hitter Haley Hart and senior outside hitter Jaclyn Bulmahn led Valpo in kills with 14 and redshirt junior outside hitter Hannah Becker led the Salukis in kills with 11. Hart also led Valpo in blocks (6) and points (18.5).

The Salukis started the first set with an early 4-1 lead from two kills by freshman outside hitter Tatum Tornatta and errors from Valpo.

Valpo fought to decrease Southern’s lead with service aces from junior outside hitter Jillie Grant and Hart, a kill from Bulmahn and several errors by SIU making the score 10-8.

The Salukis continued to increase their lead, 14-9, after kills by Tornatta and redshirt freshman outside hitter Alex Washington and attack errors from Valpo.

Valpo decreased the score gap to 1615, after kills from Bulmahn and senior middle hitter Peyton McCarthy and service ace from Grant.

SIU was the first team to reach 20 points after two kills from Becker.

Southern ended the first set with a kill from Tornatta and service ace from Washington, winning the set 25-20.

Valpo started the second set with a 3-0 run, from kills by sophomore outside hitter Maddy Boyer and Hart and an attack error from SIU’s freshman outside hitter Taylor Morgan.

Valpo increased their lead, 6-2, after a few attack errors from Morgan and a kill by sophomore outside hitter Bella Ravotto.

Southern brought the gap down to two points, 8-6, from errors by Valpo, a service ace from junior defensive specialist Katy Kluge and a kill from freshman middle hitter Imani Hartfield.

Valpo’s lead increased to 12-6, after two kills from Bulmahn and a block by McCarthy and Boyer.

Valpo’s lead continued to increase late in the second set with kills from Grant, Boyer and Hart, making the score 18-12.

The Salukis fought back and decreased the lead to five points after kills from Becker and Hartfield, bringing the score to 23-18.

Despite SIU’s efforts, Valpo won the second set 25-19, after a kill from Hart tying the game 1-1.

Valpo began the third set early with a 4-1 lead with kills from Grant and Boyer

and a service ace from senior defensive specialist Melissa Flynders.

Both teams traded kills in the beginning of the third set, but Valpo kept the lead 9-6.

Kills from Boyer and Ravotto and a block from Hart and Grant increased Valpo’s lead to 12-7.

Valpo continued scoring near the end of the third set with kills from Bulmahn and a block by Hart.

The Salukis cut the score gap to three points, 18-15, with kills from Becker and redshirt freshman outside hitter Bailey Neuberger and a block by Becker and redshirt senior middle hitter Emma Baalman.

Valpo was the first to hit 20 points in this set with a kill by McCarthy, followed by a kill from Boyer.

A four-point run from Valpo sealed the victory 25-19, with scoring from Ravotto and Bulmahn. Giving them the lead in the game 2-1.

The Salukis took an early 3-1 lead in the fourth set from attack errors by Valpo and a kill from Neuberger.

Scoring went back-and-forth between the two teams, with neither gaining more than a one point lead. Then, a four-point run from the Salukis gave them the lead 9-6.

Valpo tied the score 10-10 after kills from Boyer and Bulmahn.

Two service aces from senior libero Rylee Cookerly, two kills by Hart and a kill by Bulmahn gave Valpo the lead 15-10.

A series of scoring runs from Valpo secured the 25-15 victory, winning the game 3-1.

The Salukis will take the court again on Feb. 21 against the University of Northern Iowa at 1 p.m.

Staff reporter Janae Mosby can be reached at jmosby@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @mosbyj.

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