DeKalb podcast host Terry "TD" Ryan joins WNIJ Morning Edition host Jason Cregier to discuss Illinois legislation and DeKalb County high school sports.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Opinions expressed by TD Ryan are solely his and may not reflect those of WNIJ.
Jason Cregier: Joining us today is Terry "TD Ryan" of the TD Ryan Unleashed podcast. Thanks for being here today TD.
TD Ryan: Thank you, Jason, always a pleasure to be here.
I just turned 65, and I do leave my vehicles left blinker on occasionally, but should I have to take a driver's test every year?
Under state law, drivers 79 years of age and older in Illinois need to show up to the DMV in person and take a vision test. Drivers 79 and older must also complete a road test, while drivers 81-86 years of age must complete a road test every other year.
Illinois is the only state in the country that does this to our older drivers. Did you know, Jason, that senior drivers are the safest drivers? The senior age group has the fewest fatal vehicular accidents.
I spoke with Illinois State Representative Jeff Keicher (R-IL 70) about the matter. He said people that are speeding down Sycamore Rd., have speeding tickets and DUI's on their records, that's who should be tested every year. Not because you've turned 79 years old.
Another topic you & Representative Keicher had discussed was the recent legislation to ban the use of Native American mascot names in the state of Illinois (mascot).
I looked it up Jason, and there are over 90 schools in Illinois that have a Native American mascot. The bill that passed in the Illinois House would ban K-12 schools from using Native American names, which includes logos and mascots and addressing stereotypes associated with the names and mascots.
We talked with Keicher about this, and there are some schools that have talked with local tribes that are exempt from this rule. But a school like the Sandwich Indians, they will have to change their logo, uniforms and displays in the school itself. That's quite an expense. There is a "grandfather" period on this legislation until 2027, but as Keicher said to me, there are no repercussions if you don't make any of the changes.
The state won't withdraw any money from your or anything, so Keicher and I both figure that each school district will deal with this issue on their own.
We're going to stick to sports "ish" I guess. Shifting gears a little bit, who's playing well in the DeKalb County area in terms of high school sports?
Well, the DeKalb softball team is much improved. The Sycamore Spartans softball team won the Illinois Class 3A State Championship back in 2019 and they continue to have sustaining success on the field.
Sycamore baseball is always consistently good, and DeKalb baseball came out with a hot start to the season with twelve wins in a row.
DeKalb Coach Josh Latimer's son, Cole Latimer, recently had three home runs in a single game and is an outstanding player. Often times there is pressure for a coach's child to play well, and Cole has certainly done that.
Who do you have coming up as the next guest on your podcast?
We have DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd as our next guest. I started the podcast by saying "commands respect", and that's what Chief Byrd does, he commands respect. Like him or not, you have to respect what he does, and he has done a great job of keeping things safe here in DeKalb.
TD lets chat again soon.
Thank you so much for the time, Jason, I appreciate it.
