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Illinois loses at the blackjack table
Hockey is a game. Chess is a game. Placing a $50 bet at the blackjack table is not a game. It is gambling, even though casinos insist that they’re part of a gaming industry. But mislabeling is not the industry’s only offense. In fact, it’s insignificant compared to the damage the industry inflicts on the communities it invades.

Death and dishonor
The motives people have for entering the public sphere often are murky. Their motives for leaving it prematurely are usually even more so. Tim Davlin is only the latest of several Illinois public men to have killed themselves recently.

Amazing stupidity syndrome in Texas
Another Texas politician has come down with the tragic disease known as “Amazing Stupidity Syndrome.” A.S.S. attacks the lobe of the brain that controls one’s ethical behavior, apparently causing the moral synapses in that region to go on the fritz, thus allowing the stupidity hormone to seep in and take charge.

LETTERS
This is a crucial week for the future of the Taylorville Energy Center, as a Senate vote to approve the project is expected. While our focus is on Springfield, the enormous forces against the project have attracted national attention.

Newyear’spoem #7
well now it’s new year’s again an occasional poem is written for an occasion: robert frost wrote one for JFK maya angelou wrote one for bill clinton but when wordsworth was england’s poet laureate he refused to write occasional poems; they are not usually the poet’s best work.

Illinois loses at the blackjack table
Paul Simon found that 80 percent of gambling revenue was derived from households earning less than $50,000 annually. Gamblers with annual incomes below $10,000 spent almost three times as much on gambling – in dollar amounts – than did those with incomes exceeding $50,000.

Plan to preserve Enos Elementary
Springfield School District 186 plans to demolish Enos Elementary School, built in 1915 and located in the northwest corner of Springfield’s medical district, in order to replace it with a brand new school using health/life safety bonds. Instead of demolishing the building, developer Dan Mulcahy, of Dankor Development Co.

HONORING VETS
Springfield veterans in need have a new ally looking out for them: an enthusiastic Filipino woman with a heart of gold. Rose Amon of Springfield is founder and chairman of HONVEE (HONoring VEts Event), a local nonprofit group that raises money for homeless veterans.

Prison advocates: Reinstate early release
The John Howard Association of Illinois (JHA), based in Chicago, says the state’s prisons are overcrowded and underfunded, creating dangerous and expensive conditions that could be remedied by reinstating the early prisoner release program that was suspended in December 2009.

State union accepts halved raises
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 signed an agreement with Gov. Pat Quinn in November to implement several money-saving measures meant to reduce state costs by at least $50 million, with possible savings of up to $100 million.

Historic Buffalo house still standing, for now
The owners of the house and the property on which it rests had donated the building to the Buffalo Fire Protection District to be destroyed in a live-fire training exercise, and last summer the department expected to burn it down in September. [See “Historic stagecoach stop to be burned down,” by Jackson Adams, July 29, 2010].

Just get started
From junior high through the beginning of college, I got fat. At just over six feet tall and weighing more than 270 pounds, I was positively obese – nearly 100 pounds over my ideal weight.

Breathe easy
Strong diaphragms aren’t the cause celebre of the fitness world, but becoming a better breather can enhance your life – and your appearance – as much as a firm backside and killer thighs..

Get back to basics
A peek inside the typical kitchen cupboard will give you a short history of American weightloss fads. Every promise for a skinnier life, from fat-free to high-protein to reduced-carbohydrate foods, is reflected in a product tucked in the back of the shelves gathering dust.

Get back to basics
of blocks from work, climbing the stairs instead of using the elevator, walking across the office to talk with a colleague rather than using email. Put activity into your life in small ways every day. “ If you can’t motivate yourself, grab colleagues or friends and take a walk or play a game of volleyball.

Sugar, sugar
According to the latest figures from the United States Department of Agriculture, the average American consumes around 140 pounds of added sugar (refined sugar, corn sweeteners, honey and edible syrups) each year. “This still equals almost half a cup of sugar per person per day,” says Dr.

How to talk weight
“If you decide your daughter truly has a weight problem, she’s going to know it, too,” says Dayle Hayes, a dietitian and mother. “It’s critical to help a child know that her weight is only one aspect of herself and her health.

The rest of the story 2010
Erickson is president of the Corn Refiners Association, an advocacy organization that includes among its members Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill. It’s headquartered at 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C., conveniently close to the White House..

Black’s enthusiasm makes Travels worth taking
Lemuel Gulliver (Black) is a man stuck in more ways than one. Paralyzed with fear whenever he’s around Darcy (Amanda Peet), the travel editor at the newspaper where he works, he’s also been a mail clerk for more than a decade. As his new boss Dan (T.J. Miller) points out, “You’re never going to get any bigger than this.

If you don’t have the blues, get some
Once upon a time the blues as a music art form, considered a depraved and morose way of expression by many in the mainstream, didn’t receive the universal respect it now holds.

BAND SPOTLIGHT
With a heartfelt love of music and a strong desire to entertain, Cabin Fever boasts an enthusiastic lineup of extraordinary musicians. Formed in 2006, the band plays regularly at local nightclubs and in the music festival market making it two years in a row at Springfest in Indianapolis and three years running at SOHO Fest in Springfield.

PUB CRAWL
Dates, times and locations are subject to change, so we suggest calling before attending an event..

Saturday January 8
Find more details and gigs in our online calendar at www.illinoistimes.com.

THE CALENDAR
Dates, times and locations are subject to last-minute changes, so we suggest calling before attending the event..

SCIENCE
The Paul Mickey Science Series Lecture Jan. 12 is the finale to the L. Brent Kington: Mythic Metalsmith.

Dance
Springfield Art Association’s Molly Schlich 2011 Film Series. Parkway Pointe Cinema, 3025 Lindbergh Boulevard..

RECREATION
The Springfield Figure Skating Club hosts a free skating clinic for the public on Jan. 8 as part of U.S. Figure Skating’s National Skating Month. The clinic includes a 30-minute skate lesson from professional coaches, an exhibition from skaters of various levels, demonstrations, refreshments, games and prizes.

THE CALENDAR
Greenview Community Building. RSVP 968-5808 or 636-7114 or lcwohler46@springnet1.com.

SPORTS
The legendary Harlem Globetrotters pass through Springfield Jan. 6 with a time out at the Prairie Capital Convention Center to play an amazing game of basketball. Full of all the skill and silly antics on court they are known for, there are no fouls here, just fun for the entire family.

Art
Several seldom-displayed collection pieces of art and artifacts from the early days of the Springfield Art Association will be on display in the Gallery of Art through Jan. 26. The new exhibit, Art are Not a Trifle: The Springfield Art Association and its Collections, 1914-1930,.

HEALTH
Open to all boys and girls in the community, ages 10 - 14. Proof of age required. 899-7157. Glenwood High School, 1501 Plummer Boulevard, Chatham..

PUBLIC NOTICES
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT SPRINGFIELD, SANGAMON COUNTY, ILLINOIS IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF: ERROL NEEL WORKMAN, Deceased. No. 2010-P-715 DEATH AND CLAIM NOTICE NOTICE IS GIVEN of the death of ERROL NEEL WORKMAN. Letters of Office were issued on the 28th day of December, A.