Returning to Springfield after a trip, even a local patriot sees as if for the first time what catches the eye of so many visitors. Pretend that the gaudy billboards do not exist. Look the other way when passing the prefab buildings that are more appropriate to house a disc harrow than a business in a thriving city. What you cannot not see are the parking lots.

Arizona, Alabama and Georgia have each enacted stringent laws aimed at curbing illegal immigration. Before saying more, let’s be clear about the alleged problem. What is an “illegal immigrant”? It’s simply a person – possessing natural rights, mind you – who comes to the United States without the permission of the U.

Here’s a surprise that the power elites really hate to see: Many members of the 1 percent are joining the “We are the 99 percent” movement in various Occupy Wall Street protests.

GOOD PEOPLE I am the aunt of Jade Ostermeier [see “How did Jade and her baby die?” by Bruce Rushton, Nov. 10]. I think there should be a retraction and an apology given to Marc Fagan and Brenda Fagan and their brother who is in prison in Iowa. They had nothing to do with the subject of the article.

But that is really beside the point. If we don’t want people living off the taxpayers – and this should apply to American citizens as well — we should transfer welfare services to private charity and the free market.

Simple. The lobbyist was absolutely convinced that Gov. Pat Quinn’s over-the-top media antics had helped pass the so-called “Smart Grid trailer bill” by a huge margin and provided the extra oomph needed to override Quinn’s own veto of the original Smart Grid bill.

Rachel Ralston, of Rochester, is a deputy coroner in Bureau and Madison counties and said that her interest in death investigations dates to her teen years, when she job-shadowed the Bureau County coroner.

While authorities in New York and CITY elsewhere this week shut down Occupy Fill-In-Your-City-Here protests, Springfield occupiers who had planned a round-the-clock presence at the Old State Capitol Plaza faded away before their city permit expired on Tuesday.

Another whistle blows and two low-slung skaters – called jammers – with stars on their helmets break into a rolling charge toward the pack, fists gouging the air to grab chunks of speed. The pair hit the pack, quad wheels loudly scraping the floor.

“Next, we actually walk slowly through a game of roller derby, so everyone can see how it works. We don’t do any hitting at this point, to show everybody the mechanics of it. Then the last part of the night, we actually play roller derby with some bumping and minor blocking.” Moore pauses, chuckles. “Some girls get a little more zealous than the others.

“Bank track roller derby was an entertainment venture, controlled by an elite few business individuals on both coasts, who took advantage of the players,” said Moore. “They owned the teams, they owned the venue, they owned the concessions.

“I’m Foxy Bruiser,” said 21-year-old hair stylist and full-time mom Jade Deanne Ebert. “I put a lot of thought into my name; it took me a couple of weeks. I liked Rocky Bruiser, then Punky Bruiser, then it finally came to me. Foxy, because I’m a blonde, and Bruiser, ’cause we get out there and play hard.

“It gives women an opportunity for radical reassessment of their bodies. This opinion is based on seeing a group of really awesome women go from ‘fresh meat’ to seasoned skaters, and how much difference I heard in the way they talked about their...

“The resurgence of roller derby shows that women are seeking greater freedom of self-expression and greater opportunities to explore their full potential,” she said. “Most women have heard – at least once while growing up – that girls can’t or shouldn’t do things that roller derby girls do.

“I had a person recently ask me what I do here,” recalls Fred Jarosz, executive director of the Hoogland Center for the Arts. “And I told them, ‘I’m the beggar. I’m the one who goes out and begs for money. Gladly!’” The role of beggar has never been more important for the Hoogland.

The spirit of Vachel Lindsay was alive and well in Springfield Nov. 5 in the form of his granddaughter, Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse. She was visiting from Eugene, Ore., to promote creative writing in Springfield schools and to celebrate her grandfather’s 132nd birthday with the Vachel Lindsay Association at Maldaner’s Restaurant.

Check out our Holiday Calendar each week until January for holiday events and activities. Events are subject to last minute changes, so we suggest phoning prior to attending. Send your holiday events one week or more in advance to calendar@illinoistimes.

Holiday Bazaar Nov 20, 11am-4pm, Vendors for shopping. Benefits Whyvolunteer.org. Erin’s Pavilion, Southwind Park, 4965 S. Second St. 971-1597.

“I think the resurgence started with kids rummaging through thrift stores,” says Bonnie VanKeersblick of Blue Flower Vintage, an online shop that specializes in vintage items. “Old movies help fuel the trend, and then the economic downturn and people wanting to be green justified it.

Vintage glass, tableware and cookware have great legs in the gift-giving world. VanKeersblick, a lifelong fan of vintage style, showcases a 1950s line of striped and lotuspatterned bowls designed by Grete Prytz Kittelsen for the Cathrineholm factory in Norway.

If you still reach for a box of buttery-tasting crackers for the party cheese to rest on, you can find more appealing alternatives. Thanks to the cracker revival, you’re in for exciting new taste and texture sensations..

1. In an electric-mixer bowl stir together 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, sugar, salt, chile powder, cumin and paprika. Add oil and water and beat at medium speed for 30 seconds or until a soft dough comes together. Beat in sesame seeds and pistachio nuts.

Central Illinois Foodbank, established in 1982 by a coalition of churches, distributes over 8 million pounds of food annually to over 150 food pantries, soup kitchens, residential programs and after-school programs in a 21 county region.

You might be a PC, but there’s no doubt that they’re a Mac – and nothing else with suffice. If you need the perfect – and newest – peripheral to plug into their fruitful life, look no further. Here are the latest Apple gadgets they’re pining for..

But what about chefs? They spend their working lives in front of their stoves. Is Thanksgiving a “busman’s holiday” for them? Or do they kick back and let others handle the cooking? I talked to five local chefs to find out what they do – and don’t do – on Thanksgiving.

“Sentimental” would probably not be the first word one would use to describe famed FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. However, after seeing Clint Eastwood’s curious biography of this tenacious bulldog of a man, you can’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him, a sentiment that runs counter to most people’s opinion.

Looks like that time is here again, when the biggest party night of the year rolls around on next Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve. For the last several years I’ve been saying the night before Thanksgiving is now the number one night to go out and get real gone and party till the cows come home.

Self-described as “Great Rock and Roll!!!,” the Backliners certainly live up to their billing, getting better and better as proven by the growing list of 2012 bookings already in the works.

Looking for a little Christmas spirit in November? Memorial’s Festival of Trees at the Orr Building Nov. 19-27 is a must for pre-season holiday cheer. You can walk around and see more than 150 trees and wreaths decorated by organizations and individuals.

For those missing the downtown Farmers Market, the Holiday Farmers Market takes place Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Artisans Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds. All your Thanksgiving dinner needs can be found here: meats, eggs, cheeses, veggies, Illinois wine and more.

The Twice Giving Gift Shop on the campus of the Midwest Distribution Center in Chatham opens its doors Saturday, Nov. 19, offering unique, handcrafted items made by artisans from around the world including local artisans. Enjoy cookies and wassail while shopping for every one on your list.

Grab your hats for this Fast and Furious.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT SANGAMON COUNTY, ILLINOIS IN RE THE ESTATE OF: LEONARD R “BUD” MCTAGGART, Deceased. No.2011-P-565 CLAIM NOTICE NOTICE IS GIVEN of the death of LEONARD R. “BUD” MCTAGGART of Divernon, Sangamon County, Illinois.

fore, unless you, All Whom It May Concern, file your answer to the Petition in said suit or otherwise file your appearance therein in the said Circuit Court of Sangamon County, Springfield, Illinois, on or before the 22nd day of December 2011, a...

When a man entered a bank in New Castle, Del., and handed a teller a holdup note, she told him she couldn’t make out what it said and asked him to rewrite it. Instead, he left empty-handed. Police spotted a man fitting the suspect’s description and arrested Thomas J.

named, with your consent, as the child’s father on the child’s birth certificate. As the presumed father, you have certain legal rights with respect to the named child, including the right to notice of the filing of proceedings instituted for the...

I’ve been with my boyfriend for three years. The first year was rocky. He was selling drugs, got addicted, and went to prison. Three months after getting out, he relapsed. I persuaded his mother to send him to rehab, and afterward I found us an apartment, where we’ve been for six months.