By BERNARD SCHOENBURG
The State Journal-Register, Springfield

Editor’s Note: This column from retiring reporter Bernard Schoenburg was published The State Journal-Register of Springfield on Nov. 27.

SPRINGFIELD – I had no plans to end up where I did – on the front page of The State Journal-Register in August 1985, when my future wife, Kim, and I were caught on top of the double Ferris Wheel at the State Fair.

The ride came to a jolting, shaking stop after being hit by a driverless crane. We weren't hurt, but while we were very thankful for the rescue, I don't recommend climbing down a fire truck ladder from about 10 stories in the air as a form of recreation.

Little did I know that 5 years later, I'd become a member of the staff of the SJ-R. And who could have guessed I would stay more than 30 years?

During my first 10 years in the business, at The Pantagraph of Bloomington, I got thrown into commuting to Springfield to cover some Statehouse session days starting in 1977. That newspaper moved me to the Statehouse full ­time in 1982, and I stayed through late 1986.

It was then a move north. Springfield native Kim did her family practice residency in Oak Park and I worked in downtown Chicago at The Associated Press. For me, it was close to where I grew up, in Evanston.

Then it was back to Springfield, where I was hired into one of multiple newsroom openings at the SJ-­R in 1990 and Kim started a dream-come-true practice of medicine alongside her dad, Dr. Stuart Yaffe, who retired in 2017.

Being the political columnist, in addition to regular reporting duties, was added to my job description in mid-1992.

Journalism was something I fell into while at the University of Illinois at Champaign, when a course piqued an interest that was reinforced by two years writing for The Daily Illini.

Journalism, indeed, has provided a stream of interesting experiences.

I got to ride in an RV with Gov. Jim Thompson up the old U.S. 51 north of Bloomington to mark the announcement of the construction of what would become Interstate 39 – built to bring speed and safety to travelers north to Rockford and into Wisconsin.

I got to go to Japan on The Pantagraph's dime – twice. Once was to visit Bloomington-Normal's Sister City, Asahikawa. On the second, with a delegation from Illinois, I took a side trip to visit a Mitsubishi plant like the one that was to be built in Normal.

I got to witness the pro- and anti-Equal Rights Amendment rallies at the Statehouse in what was at the time the deadline year of 1982.

Some people fighting for the amendment fasted for weeks in the Statehouse rotunda. Others, who had chained themselves to the brass rail outside the Senate chamber, returned after their arrest and release to spray animal blood on Statehouse floors.

I was still reporting in 2018 when Illinois became the 37th state to ratify the wording – 38 are needed to get it in the Constitution.

I saw the sweep of the state in a 1994 campaign day with Gov. Jim Edgar, going from a $500-a-plate breakfast in Chicago to a traditional Johnson County GOP gospel sing at Vienna High School.

I watched as an emotional Edgar told a hushed Governor's Mansion gathering in 1997 that he wouldn't seek a third term.

I got to watch George Ryan rise to speaker of the House, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and governor, then get sentenced to jail for corruption. I also interviewed him just this year about his engaging book on his moves toward halting the death penalty in Illinois as revelations of wrongful convictions mounted.

In Chicago with AP, I covered what was then a rare but horrible event – a school shooting – in 1988. Chicago Police Officer Irma Ruiz and a custodian were killed, as were two clerks at a nearby store. Another Chicago school is named for Ruiz.

On a lighter note, I got to cover the announcement that Michael Jordan would grace a Wheaties box. I asked what he was being paid for the honor. He wouldn't say.

I watched a super-charismatic campaigner – Democrat Rod Blagojevich – become a self-absorbed governor who was ultimately impeached and imprisoned – only to be let out by action of President Donald Trump.

It was just an indication of conflict to come when during his first veto session, in 2003, he accused lawmakers of spending "like a bunch of drunken sailors."

This was even as he used state planes to shuttle back and forth from Chicago each day of session. The flights, he said, made him "guilty" of wanting to "go home and see my 7-year-old and kiss my baby."

I was the only reporter to cover a 2003 news conference where an unlikely prospect for the U.S. Senate, state Sen. Barack Obama of Chicago, got the endorsement of the Illinois Federation of Teachers for the Democratic nomination to the post.

After he got that nomination, I interviewed him as he was working on a speech he would give at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. That speech, which I witnessed while covering the Illinois delegation, catapulted him not only to the Senate, but to national fame. With urging from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, of Springfield, his two terms as president would follow.

I saw Gov. Pat Quinn rise from an outsider agitating on behalf of consumers to state treasurer, lieutenant governor and, upon Blagojevichs's expulsion by the legislature, to governor.

I saw the rise of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who everyone assumed would be the richest Illinois governor ever.

I helped document the pain caused by a couple years with no state budget – a product of what seemed Rauner's never­ending fight with Democrats running the legislature. I challenged statements Rauner made, like his repeated obvious falsehood about the Mitsubishi plant that had closed in 2016.

"No one would even take the plant if we gave it to them, because our regulations are so hostile to business and our taxes are so high," he'd say.

That was a shocking proclamation, given that a smiling Rauner had been at the plant in early 2017 with RJ Scaringe, CEO of startup automaker Rivian, which purchased the plant with help of the Rauner administration.

That plant is now scheduled to produce, among other vehicles, 100,000 electric delivery vans for Amazon.

Then there was Gov. JB Pritzker. Who thought anyone could outspend Rauner? Pritzker did, and had a successful first legislative session.

He's also had the once-in-a-century pandemic to deal with, and he continues to try to navigate the state through the health and economic crisis it has brought.

I saw House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, rise to that office in 1983, using the handle of the gavel to gently tap the House to attention. He's had a long run that may soon end.

In my adopted home of Springfield, I've covered two Langfelders, Ossie and son Jim, as mayor.

I saw the amazing rise and tragic fall of Mayor Tim Davlin, whose smile and charm stormed the city, and whose death by his own hand was a shock that still resonates.

Former Mayors Karen Hasara and Mike Houston remain respected voices. And late Alderman and Mayor Frank Edwards and his wife, Sangamon County Coroner Cinda Edwards, left us too soon in a tragic plane crash.

Through it all, I've seen the media landscape change. I was sent to seven national political conventions – six when I was with central Illinois newspapers. That kind of investment by local papers has waned. And I've watched the number of reporters at the Statehouse shrink.

I've also seen the rise of non­traditional media operations, and I applaud one of the latest, Capitol News Illinois, for filling gaps by providing important coverage for papers across Illinois.

I've also used the platform of my column to raise questions about media outlets borne from groups with an agenda.

As everybody now knows in the age of the internet, not all printed words are the same. And with the outgoing president planting the idea that legitimate news organizations are "fake" if they report things he doesn't like, I've seen politicians and plenty of regular folks parrot those thoughts as they choose to read and watch sources that match their biases.

Getting conflicting sides in a story is often difficult. And readers should seek information from outlets where reporters do that work.

I am tremendously thankful for those who have helped with stories – by answering difficult questions, sharing thoughts and emotions, or merely returning phone calls.

It has been an honor to work with colleagues in the press who have amazed me with their good work.

After 44 post-college years on deadline, I took an offer from Gannett, which now owns The State Journal-Register, to exit as of Tuesday.

At 66, I'm looking forward to whatever the next phase holds. The 24/7 news cycle, mixed with the rise of social media with a pandemic thrown in, has made being a reporter trying to keep up with events not dissimilar from someone riding a roller coaster – or perhaps a double Ferris Wheel that takes a jolt.

Kim was beside me on that ride in 1985, and I've been blessed to be beside her all these years, raising son Sam and daughter Elly – who have great lives in Chicago and New York, respectively.

I hope, in the changing media landscape, that others can continue to have careers that provide such varied and wonderful experiences, as they work to inform people of important as well as fun things.

Thanksgiving is just passed, and I'm feeling it. For my family, for my colleagues, for my friends, and for all those sources who helped along the way, thank you.