ARGUING FOR DEMOCRACY: Disagree Better initiative continues to call for ‘healthy conflict,’ especially at local level
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen December 6, 2024 Forget compromise. Forget finding common ground. Forget keeping your opinions to yourself. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox does not want Americans to shy away from disagreements and fierce debates. “Our system (of government) was d “...”
JUDICIAL RETENTION Q&A: Indiana voters will decide whether to keep Supreme Court or Court of Appeals jurists. Here’s how that works.
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen September 18, 2024 This November, three Indiana Supreme Court justices and two Court of Appeals of Indiana judges will be on the ballot for retention. Indiana voters do not elect the state justices or appellate judges. Instead, the justices “...”
SANCTUARY CITY DISPUTE: AG Rokita sues East Chicago over welcoming ordinance, says ‘stay tuned’ for more lawsuits
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen July 10, 2024 Making good on his threat, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed a lawsuit against the city of East Chicago Common Council for failing to rescind its welcoming ordinance. The lawsuit, – State of Indiana ex rel. Tod “...”
REGISTRATIONS RISE: Voter outreach, certain races credited for reported increase in eligible voters
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen May 7, 2024 The number of Hoosiers registering to vote in Indiana increased prior to the May primary, compared with previous years, according Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales’ office. New voter registrations rose in “...”
JUDICIAL QUANDARY: Amid Indiana’s ‘crazy quilt system’ for choosing judges, voters have few choices
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen May 1, 2024 Hoosiers have an adage: If you don’t like the weather in Indiana, wait a few minutes. It will change. The same could be said about the judiciary: If you don’t like how your county selects judges, drive a few miles and you’ “...”
CIVIL DISCOURSE: Disagree Better at Work campaign seeks to reduce political polarization in the workplace
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen April 26, 2024 The political fights that are dividing the country are seeping into the American workplace so, rather than complaining about management or discussing weekend plans in the break room, employees are increasingly confronting eac “...”
CHILD CREDIT: Expanding Child Tax Credit seen as helping low-income families, communities thrive
By Marilyn OdendahlThe Indiana Citizen April 24, 2024 Even though federal legislation that would expand the child tax credit appears stalled in the U.S. Senate, family advocates in Indiana remain hopeful the bill will pass and low-income households will gain some financial breathing room that can l “...”
‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’: AG Rokita sues PFAS manufacturers for money to test, treat and monitor drinking water
A study by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management found high levels of PFAS in the drinking water of 24 counties. (Photo/Pexels.com) By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen April 12, 2024 Indiana filed a lawsuit Wednesday against 22 manufacturers of so-called “forev “...”
TSF story: Indiana voters have until April 8 to register for May 7 primary
A voter enters a polling place at Scott Hall located at the Johnson County Fairgrounds in 2022. Johnson County is one of 59 vote center counties, meaning citizens can cast their vote at any polling location in the county. (Photo/Isaac Gleitz at TheStatehouseFile.com) By John Aspl “...”
JUDICIAL SELECTION: City of Hammond appeals to 7th U.S. Circuit Court in challenge to retention voting
(Pexels.com) By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen April 2, 2024 In its fight to let Lake County voters directly elect their superior court judges, the city of Hammond has turned to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to challenge the retention process and is citing th “...”