You don’t need a Walmart front-door greeter to find the flaw in the company’s recently announced boost in worker wages: it’s not enough. Not enough to pull its lowest-paid workers out of poverty, and therefore not enough to get American taxpayers off the hook for subsidizing the giant retailer’s lowwage payroll.

Balancing a budget on the backs of poor people who are on their backs seems cold even for a member of the New Republican Party. In early April, Mr. Bruce Rauner suspended reimbursements paid by the state to funeral homes that bury dead public-aid recipients.

Congress had previously paid no attention to the ever-widening chasm between the rich and the rest of us, but that inequality has recently emerged as a top political topic in the race for such Republican presidential contenders as Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio.

MED SCHOOL MINORITIES Kudos to Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, which has extremely competitive admission requirements, for achieving a 15 percent minority medical student enrollment, which is much better than any other institution in our country with similarly competitive admission requirements.

The proposal would eliminate the sales tax on gasoline and diesel fuel, instead raising the separate motor fuel tax. A group of oil industry interests and gas station owners last week announced their opposition to any motor fuel tax increase ahead of the Illinois General Assembly returning from its spring recess this week.

The Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center once had such a paucity of prisoners that the county shut down a 24-bed wing in 2009, housed detainees from other counties and at one point considered converting space to house adult inmates. No longer.

Building a house with all volunteer labor is impressive, but building 100 houses that way is an accomplishment. Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County is planning its 100th building project this summer at 1252 Rutledge St. in Springfi eld.

Despite fibbing in court documents, violating a court order and stiffing debtors, embattled entrepreneur Jeffrey Parsons got a break last week from a judge who could have jailed him for making inconsistent statements in court and failing to pay former employees who have successfully sued him.

The actual language of the bill says that vehicles purchased by the state or local governments must have a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) that starts with 1, 2, 4 or 5. The first digit in a car’s VIN identifies its country of manufacture. The U.S. is identified with a 1, 4 or 5.

The city would provide $700,000 in tax increment financing under a proposal by the developer of a proposed complex for student housing that would be built on a parking lot at the intersection of Fourth and Madison streets, according to Michael Farmer, city economic development director.

Ani-Mall Mega Pet Expo and Adoption Event.

Like many cities, Springfield has a combined sewer system in some places, which means that rainwater is collected into the same underground pipes that carry sewage. During heavy rains, the volume of water can exceed the capacity of the sewers, causing the water level to rise and back up into homes – sometimes bringing along raw sewage.

Sustainable Springfield Incorporated has announced its newest sustainability program for area small businesses, The Greenest of Springfield Awards.

DON’T design just for today, but look to the future as well. Unless you are willing to spend $50,000 every five years, look for styles and materials that will last for the long haul. Older homeowners may want to make adjustments now that address potential mobility issues down the road.

Living in an historic home can be a labor of love. The history and the distinct architecture of historic homes draw buyers to such properties, but what historic homes have in regard to history they often lack in the conveniences of modern life, forcing many historic-home owners to make renovations to bring their homes into the 21st century.

The flowers are blooming, and the grass has begun to grow anew, making spring a great time for homeowners to once again turn their attention to landscaping. Those who aren’t looking forward to dusting off their lawnmowers and rethreading their string trimmers may want to hire professional landscapers to tend to their lawns and gardens.

Davidsan’s offers 400 different varieties, including unusual types of beeches, larches, ginkgos, oaks and other obscure cultivars. They have 6,000 trees in stock currently. “Our customers come from Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Kansas City, even California,’” David Myers said.

An alluring landscape can make a home that much more enjoyable. Many homeowners devote considerable time to their lawns and gardens, and that devotion can pay both instant and long-term dividends.

The frequency of severe storms is giving us one more reason to build with the strongest materials and the smartest technology available. Concrete walls, instead of wood, are a good start, but as it turns out, they are also far more energy efficient, healthier for residents, cost effective and ecofriendly.

As soon as they arrived, our grandsons Ryan and Evan headed straight to the Simple Machines, a colorful interactive exhibit of pulleys, inclined planes, levers, balls, screws, wheels and axles. They were hooked, and so were their parents, my husband and me.

Spring and morels. For mushroom aficionados the two are inseparable. For the last five years, morel mushrooms have also been linked locally to Springfield’s Slow Food chapter, thanks to their annual fundraising morel dinners at Maldaner’s Restaurant..

So you’ve never heard of a band called The Boxmasters? How about an actor known as Billy Bob Thornton? Ah, there we go. He’s in the band as singer and shaker, making the group an accessible entity to thousands of folks across the country. Teddy Andreadis, J.

James Armstrong Presents: Mary Jo Curry & Tombstone Bullet.

On Thursday, the Bedrock 66 Live! concert series hosts another show for the 2015 season at Homespun Republic (formerly Donnie’s Homespun). This event features Cory Branan and Tim Easton, two well known, singer-songwriter guys out on the roots-rock, Americana market.

In 1999, Maria Altmann filed suit against the Austrian government in an effort to regain ownership of five paintings done by Gustav Klimt that once belonged to her family but had been stolen by the Nazis and housed in that country’s museums. It was but the first step of a long, arduous process that would take her and her attorney E.

Sangamon Auditorium, UIS, 1 University Plaza, 217-206-6160..

University of Illinois Springfield announces the return of their annual Friday Night Star Parties, which will be held, weather permitting, every Friday night during April from 8 to 10 p.m., at UIS Observatory, located off the southeast corner of Brookens Library.

On Saturday, April 18, the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site hosts a publication event to celebrate A Net to Snare the Moonlight,.

On Saturday, April 18, join the Prairie Art Alliance and Springfield Audubon Society to paint, draw, photograph, create and explore the beautiful grounds of Adams Wildlife Sanctuary. The second installment of Art at Adams Wildlife Sanctuary is open to artists of all ages, abilities and mediums.