The
Daily Egyptian SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916
dailyegyptian.com
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