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Honorable ancestors
Thomas Schwartz has been the Illinois State Historian since 1993. Asked how he got into the racket in a 2008 interview, Mr. Schwartz recalled that he grew up surrounded by an extended family whose members like to get together, eat, drink and tell stories.

A letter to a young worker
Sorry to rain on popular culture’s positive-thinking parade, but reality is composed of facts. Our wealthiest 1 percent already receives about 24 percent of our country’s annual income, but they asked for and received another $700 billion in tax cuts.

The Kochs are coming!
For more than three decades, Charles and David Koch have been quietly funneling tens of millions of dollars from their industrial fortune into the Cato Institute, Federalist Society, Heritage Foundation, Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks and...

LETTERS
Just like during the days of no flights immediately after 9/11, Amtrak has proven to be an invaluable resource of relief for thousands of traveling Americans during times of trouble. This is why rail expansion is important, among other reasons. Steven Black Springfield.

northfifthstreet poem #16
worst blizzard in years on tuesday that evening the school parking lot next door got plowed I thought prematurely left a mountain of snow between me and the curb then at eleven o’clock I heard laughter thought what are kids doing out in this weather...

A letter to a young worker
Start small if you like – join with nine friends in your town or city and begin to hammer the opinion pages of the local newspaper with factual accounts of the bleak picture from your perspective.

Quinn makes shameful cuts to child care
According to a participant in the meeting, Secretary Saddler said the state could freeze intake of new clients, “dramatically” increase parental co-pays, cut rates to providers and eliminate child care for parents who are in school or employment-related training.

COLD CASE: ILLINOIS
Skip the crime investigation shows on TV this week and come out for the real thing. Springfield’s FBI Citizen’s Academy Alumni Association promises an evening of mystery with former cold case investigator Paul Echols on Feb. 15.

Parking war
On Jan. 25, the council considered a measure to double Springfield’s fine for overtime parking, and although the proposal was tabled for more discussion, proponents say they will continue to push for its passage.

Planning a one-stop shop for health insurance
Flash forward to the future: The year is 2014, and Illinois residents are buying their health insurance in a new way. Instead of fumbling with numerous complex health insurance plans, they have the option of buying preapproved, comprehensive plans through a state-administered website.

Big Brothers and Sisters wanted
Wapniarski is the enrollment specialist for mentors who are called Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and who volunteer their lunch hour to spend quality time with a child. The regional nonprofit office serves Sangamon, Christian, Logan, Macoupin and Montgomery Counties.

All but married
As Susan Frain and Susan Faupel sit next to each other discussing civil unions, civil rights and the basic notions of partnership and commitment, they laugh, they listen and they remember the other’s part in past dialogues played out over the course of their 23-year relationship.

All but married
“We’re making available civil unions to gay and heterosexual couples, which we think is great,” says John Knight, director of American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois’ Lesbian and Gay Rights/AIDS Project. “But only different-sex couples are given access to the more esteemed recognition, the relationship of marriage.

All but married
Tadlock has since remarried. She and her partner, Kae Helstrom, both of Springfield, traveled to Iowa last June to take advantage of that state’s same-sex marriage law.

Now, how about equal rights for singles?
Illinois’ civil union law undeniably brings a greater sense of equality between same-sex couples and married couples. That’s a good thing – love is love, and if married couples get hundreds of benefits and protections, same-sex couples should have that opportunity too.

A rich season for local theater
Phil Funkenbusch is director of the Shows Division for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, a position he has held since the museum’s opening in 2005. He can be reached at phildeanf@yahoo.com.

Revisiting winter 1979
Sounds like you had some nasty weather back in Illinois last week. Here in New York City, that particular weather system wasn’t bad, although further north, New England was inundated again. Boston has been particularly hard-hit.

Sanctum cave is not as deep as it should be
As produced by James Cameron, this fact-based film is a showcase for the 3-D format and it’s utilized better here than in most movies. It plays an integral part in driving home how spectacular the film’s locale is as well as how terrifying the character’s predicament becomes.

Lincoln and love
I’m not really sure why, but let’s say the nearness of the dates drew me to attempt to vaguely tie the holidays of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and St. Valentine’s Day together. Our first connection concerns what’s commonly known as the Lincoln Love Couch in historic Edwards Place, home of the Springfield Art Association.

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

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Royal Pain
BAND SPOTLIGHT | Royal Pain.

Hi-Tek Redneck Karaoke
Acoustic Celtic Music Session w/ Paddy’s Bargain.

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

Chicano culture
Though March 23, view a series of large silk-screen prints by artist and writer Carlos Francisco Jackson, assistant professor of Chicana/Chicano Studies at the University of California at Davis, and director of Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer, a community art center in Woodland, Calif.

Modern Language Play Festival
5:30pm Mon-Sat, Featuring artist Laura Reyman’s useful objects, from hand knit sweaters and caps to quirky felted fish. The Blue Door Gallery, 214 South 6th St, 217-753-0262. February Gallery Hours.

THE CALENDAR
and won numerous awards. Anne Lloyd Gallery of the Madden Arts Center, 125 N. Water, Decatur. Photography Contest.

THEATER
Ever wonder what stories and thoughts run through the actors’ heads as you watch them on stage at the Hoogland? Just this curiosity ignited playwright Ken Bradbury to explore and capture the stories, memories, thoughts and desires of central Illinois’ acting community.

ENVIRONMENT
Stealing Away: Ingenuity and Strategy in the Paths from Slavery to Freedom.

PERFORMANCE |
Your family doesn’t need to be horse lovers to love the prancing, dancing, marching, leaps and maneuvers of the Lipizzans – a rare and unique breed of horse – made even more famous by the Walt Disney movie The Miracle of the White Stallions..

THE CALENDAR
mapped onto their own visage. Lincoln Land Community College, 5250 Shepherd Rd..

POLITICS
Lincoln’s Farewell Address National-Simultaneous Reading.

PUBLICNOTICES
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT SANGAMON COUNTY, SPRINGFIELD, ILLI- NOIS ESTATE OF: WANDA M. LOWE, Deceased. No.: 2010-P-663 DEATH NOTICE AND CLAIM NOTICE - *INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATOR Notice is given of the death of Wanda M. Lowe.

The following described real estate,...
THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE 10-033058 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 7TH JUDI- CIAL CIRCUIT SANGAMON COUNTY, SPRINGFIELD, ILLI- NOIS REGIONS BANK D/B/A REGIONS MORT- GAGE, PLAINTIFF, -vs- CAMALA A.

NEWSQUIRKS
William Pace said Johnnie Butts approached him at a grocery store in Randolph, Mass., and offered to sell him a bracelet and chain stamped as 14-karat gold for $100. Pace immediately recognized the gold was fake by its look and feel because he owns a jewelry store.

AMY ALKON
My girlfriend and I are planning to get married this year. Her finances are in perfect order (she’s frugal, with no debts, while I owe $8K on credit cards), so we agreed that she’d manage our money after marriage. But recently, something happened that has me worried.