Jim Dey | It's a little late for NYT's marijuana recriminations – The News-Gazette
Subscription Services
Areas of dense morning fog. Cloudy early with peeks of sunshine expected late. High near 60F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph..
Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 38F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.
Updated: February 16, 2026 @ 8:40 am
A bud and leaf of a strain of cannabis.
A giant pork tenderloin sandwich at Buford’s Pub in Sadorus.
A streetview image of 250 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, a building recently acquired by the University of Illinois for $23.7 million.
Specialists Tim Roby, left, and Chris Shepherd install Norman Rockwell’s painting ‘The Dugout’ featuring the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday at the Art Institute of Chicago. Former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and his wife, Diana, gifted the painting to the museum after hanging it in their home for the past 19 years.
Former Fighting Illini star Ayo Dosunmu was recently traded by the Chicago Bulls to the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he’s quickly been proving his worth.
Opinions Editor
A bud and leaf of a strain of cannabis.
A giant pork tenderloin sandwich at Buford’s Pub in Sadorus.
A streetview image of 250 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, a building recently acquired by the University of Illinois for $23.7 million.
Specialists Tim Roby, left, and Chris Shepherd install Norman Rockwell’s painting ‘The Dugout’ featuring the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday at the Art Institute of Chicago. Former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and his wife, Diana, gifted the painting to the museum after hanging it in their home for the past 19 years.
Former Fighting Illini star Ayo Dosunmu was recently traded by the Chicago Bulls to the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he’s quickly been proving his worth.
To submit a letter to the editor, click here.
To pitch a ‘My Turn’ guest column, email jdalessio@news-gazette.com.
It’s time once again to dive into another round of quick takes on the people, places and events that were being talked about over the past week:
Have the total party reptiles at The New York Times turned into a bunch of fuddy duddies?
That’s one possible explanation for the newspaper’s publication of a recent editorial headlined, “It’s Time for America to Admit It Has a Marijuana Problem.”
Once one of the nation’s leading cheerleaders for legal weed, The Times grudgingly admits that legalization’s impact is not nearly as benign as it anticipated.
It said legalization has “caused a rise in addiction.” Frequent use has resulted in “nearly 2.8 million people” suffering from “severe vomiting and stomach pain” caused by cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. There also are hospitalizations from marijuana-linked paranoia and chronic psychotic disorders.”
The Times even cited traffic fatalities caused by stoned drivers.
Naturally, the Times found a private-sector villain to blame — “Big Weed.” It seems purveyors of the evil weed are out to make a profit, so they grossly exaggerate relatively non-existent health benefits to naive customers.
They neglected to cite state officials — like Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Illinois’ leading dope sales cheerleader — who drool in anticipation of new revenue generated by taxes on marijuana sales.
Now that the cat is out of the bag, what’s to be done?
“Citing heavy users” as the source of the problem, The Times continues to support legalization. It argued, quite reasonably, that smoking an occasional joint is “no more a problem than drinking a glass of wine with dinner.”
What’s the Times’ solution? It offered nothing more than more and heavier government regulation, even higher state and federal taxes and pursuing a “better balance of personal freedom and public health.”
That’s music to the ears of private entrepreneurs, who already offer price discounts.
It looks like Pandora is out of her box, and she’s not going back in.
There’s big doings in the tiny Champaign County community of Sadorus after the Illinois Pork Producers named it the home of the best pork tenderloin sandwich in Illinois.
Jeff Buckler, the owner of Buford’s Pub, not only is selling them by the boatload at the restaurant, but laying the groundwork for shipping them to desperate customers “all over the United States.”
Buckler said his pub sold 338 pork tenderloin sandwiches in January 2025, but that number increased to “almost 900” (that’s 36 a day) in January 2026.
So what’s so special about this pork tenderloin sandwich?
“I don’t know,” said Buckler. “I guess it’s our seasoning and the way we prepare them.”
It’s a lengthy, complicated process, too long to detail here.
The tenderloins come in two sizes: big and mini. The big plus a side order costs $20 and weighs 2 pounds. Buckler said it can feed four people. The mini plus a side is $12 and weighs 12 ounces.
Not all the customers are eating tenderloin sandwiches. But business, open every day but Monday, is good.
“I, literally, have people standing all around me waiting for a table. So I think we’re doing OK,” said server Melissa Kochell about a recent weekday lunch crowd.
River’s Edge in Dixon came in at No. 2. Both received commemorative plaques, but Buford’s also was awarded an “outdoor banner recognizing its top finish.”
Buckler said he’s unclear how long pork tenderloin mania will run in Sadorus, “but I’ll ride this horse until it dies.”
The University of Illinois has purchased a new building in Chicago as part of its plan to “expand the Discovery Partners Institute,” The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week.
The new location — 250 S. Wacker Drive — cost a reported $23.7 million. The purchase comes in the aftermath of the UI’s decision to “back out of plans to build the research and technology hub” at The 78.
That’s the 62-acre site, located near downtown, that was once used as a rail yard and is reportedly ripe for development.
DPI is focused on technological advances involving artificial intelligence, computing and quantum technologies.
The Sun-Times said the UI got a relative bargain in the deal.
“The purchase represents another office building in Downtown that’s being sold at a fraction of its pre-pandemic price. The previous owner, Credit Suisse, purchased the Wacker Drive building in 2011, through an affiliate, for $90 million,” the newspaper reported.
The building is scheduled to undergo renovations aimed at accommodating the planned use. The Sun-Times said that will add another $36.2 million to the costs.
Former Gov. Bruce Rauner tried to give Illinois the gift of his leadership. That did not go so well; voters rejected his bid for second term.
Now he’s found a different way to help out.
Rauner and his wife, Diana, recently donated “The Dugout” from his personal collection to the Art Institute of Chicago. “The Dugout” shows dejected Chicago Cubs players after losing a doubleheader to the Boston Braves.
Described as a “famed piece of American art,” it will be a neighbor to Grant Wood’s “American Gothic,” a much-favored work at the art institute.
WBEZ in Chicago reports that it’s the first-ever Rockwell painting to be displayed at the institute.
“The Dugout,” Rockwell’s 1948 artwork, ran as a cover of the Saturday Evening Post magazine. Behind dismayed Cubs’ players, “The Dugout” shows opposing fans celebrating their team’s victory.
WBEZ said, according to an online listing from the auction house Christie’s, “The Dugout” last sold in 2009 for $662,500. The company estimates its present-day value to be between $700,000 and $1 million. Other Rockwell works have fetched as much as $46 million.
“We enjoyed the painting for a very long time, just in our home, and in our family,” Diana Rauner said. “But it’s really a painting for our community, and so we wanted to share it with the Chicago community.”
The Dugout shows “rookie pitcher Bob Rush; Cubs manager Charlie Grimm, who had also played for the Cubs as a first baseman; catcher Rube Walker, whose hat is pulled down over his eyes; and All-Star pitcher Johnny Schmitz with a furrowed brow.”
Rockwell’s paintings of everyday life were often distributed on magazine covers, mostly the Saturday Evening Post.
Former Fighting Illini basketball star Ayo Dosunmu got off to a fast start after he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves by the Chicago Bulls.
News accounts state that “two games into his Wolves tenure, Dosunmu is proving why trading for him was a no-brainer. Thus far, Dosunmu is averaging 27.5 minutes, 16 points, 2.0 assists, 2.0 stocks, and a rebound.”
They state, “the Illinois product is enjoying a career season, posting averages of 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists.”
The trade by the Bulls was part of a massive personnel shakeup that has left their fans scratching their heads in wonder.
They traded core players like Nikola Vucevic, Coby White and Dosunmu, acquiring younger talent and draft picks, including Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and Jaden Ive. Refusing to call the moves part of a rebuilding effort, the Bulls are shifting focus to building around Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey.
Illinoisans face another gas tax increase on July 1. But that won’t help the state gain its previous status as the state with the second-highest gas taxes in the nation.
Michigan recently raised its gas tax from 66 cents to 87 cents per gallon. That pushed Illinois from the No. 2 spot to a close No. 3. California is No. 1 at 89 cents per gallon.
Illinoisans are paying nearly 85 cents a gallon, well above the national average of 52 cents, according to the Illinois Policy Institute.
The high prices in Illinois are a big reason why so many Illinoisans who live near the state’s border travel to neighboring states, like Missouri and Indiana, to make their gasoline purchases.
Jim Dey is a staff writer for The News-Gazette. His email is jdey@news-gazette.com.
Opinions Editor
The News-Gazette mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the News-Gazette on your mobile device just as it appears in print.
Pick the brain of multimedia reporter Kathy Reiser.
Have a question for 25-year Vermilion County beat writer Jennifer Bailey? Submit them here and she’ll respond each Thursday.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
