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Undercount
Forget one-person-one vote; we are moving toward a one election-one vote future. The turnout of registered voters in Peoria for April’s municipal elections — and remember that not all qualified voters are registered — was a bit more than 17 percent. In Chicago’s collar counties, turnout ranged from around 12 percent to 16.

Honor soldiers by supporting your local VFW
The history of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, like its members, is a noble one. The earliest organization can be traced back to 1899 in Ohio, where veterans, deriving from the Spanish-American War (1898), banded together to create a common voice.

Sacrificing teachers and firefighters to Hoovernomics
Were it not for them, many Americans — myself included — would still be thinking that today’s state budget messes are mainly the product of a national economic crash caused by the reckless greed of Wall Street banksters and rich speculators, as well...

wisconsin poem # 4
will the citizens who voted for that governor and his cohorts rejoice when their kids’ teachers are fired perhaps themselves if they are teachers? the most experienced going first, natch when class sizes are increased to sixty? when smart people...

LETTERS
We are living in a state of anxiety these days. One of the things that we have focused our fears on is crime, and the only help being offered in the public forum seems to be so-called concealed carry legislation. It has been said that “guns don’t kill people – people kill people.

Support your local VFW
The U.S. has been at war for more than 10 years now. And ever since America was acknowledged as a unified country, men and woman from every generation have been either directly or indirectly affected by war and soldiers’ sacrifices. America – city by city – must become engaged more actively in its support for servicemen during the time of war and after.

Quinn’s uphill battle to erase the deficit
“The tax increase is temporary,” Oberhelman told reporters, who wanted to know how he really felt about the recent tax hike. There’d been much media speculation that the Caterpillar CEO was so unhappy about the tax increase that he might move his company elsewhere.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Get ready, ‘cause as of June 1 everything changes, says Buff Carmichael, local LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) advocate who is helping to organize a legal information session for same-sex couples. On June 1, Illinois’ new law allowing civil unions for same- and opposite-sex couples becomes effective.

ART OF EXPANSION
As Springfield’s arts community grows, so must the amount work space available. Betsy Dollar, executive director of the Springfield Art Association, says Springfield currently lacks adequate studio space for artists working in ceramics, metals, glass and more.

Despite ‘fragile’ budget, Mayor Edwards relished ‘carrying the load’ for a while
But Houston called the state of the city “simply unacceptable,” after Edwards’ address and will redo the budget that Edwards and the city council have already approved after he takes office, Fri., April 29, at the Sangamon auditorium at University of Illinois Springfield.

WWII vets return from their big day
Shouts and cheers exploded throughout the terminal at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, April 5, when the first veterans emerged through the doors after a day at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C [see “Honor flight sends WW II vets to Washington, D.

Minorities press for representation in redistricting
At an Illinois Senate Redistricting Committee hearing April 4, groups representing African Americans, Asian Americans and Muslims shared concerns about “packing, cracking and stacking” – gerrymandering tactics that dilute minority voting power.

Advocates: States must prepare for Alzheimer’s boom
Springfield resident Tom Berkshire, 68, is married to a woman, 66-year-old Charlotte, who was diagnosed with dementia about five years ago. Suffering from frontotemporal dementia, Charlotte can no longer speak, has lost her ability to understand and, though now losing the ability to walk, was once at risk for wandering.

Cousteau son brings concern for oceans to Midwest
Cousteau used clips from a DVD to show footage of items like mascara and cigarette lighters washed up on the shores of beaches all over the world. He described finding some of the same items lodged inside of the bodies of birds because the mothers bring them back to their nests to regurgitate them into the mouths of their young.

Nine ways the rich get richer.
For three decades we have conducted a massive economic experiment, testing a theory known as supply-side economics. The theory goes like this: Lower tax rates will encourage more investment, which in turn will mean more jobs and greater prosperity – so much so that tax revenues will go up, despite lower rates.

About the article
Johnston has also been called the “de facto chief tax enforcement officer of the United States” because his reporting in the New York Times shut down many tax dodges and schemes, just two of them valued by Congress at $260 billion..

Nine ways the rich get richer. But you don’t.
When it comes to state and local taxes, the poor bear a heavier burden than the rich in every state except Vermont, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy calculated from official data. In Alabama, for example, the burden on the poor is more than twice that of the top 1 percent.

5. And (surprise!) since Reagan, only the wealthy have gained significant income.
“When tax rates are reduced, the economy’s growth rate improves and living standards increase,” according to Daniel J. Mitchell, an economist at Heritage until he joined Cato. He says that supply-side economics is “the simple notion that lower tax rates will boost work, saving, investment and entrepreneurship.

Nine ways the rich get richer. But you don’t.
Pfizer, the drug company, was the biggest beneficiary. It brought home $37 billion, saving $11 billion in taxes. Almost immediately it started firing people. Since the law took effect, it has let 40,000 workers go. In all, it appears that at least 100,000 jobs were destroyed.

Pioneer life here was hard on women and animals
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Sangamon County Historical Society is having an author of books about early American history, including one about our area, come to Springfield and speak on April 26. Dr. John Mack Faragher, an American history professor at Yale University, wrote the award-winning Sugar Creek: Life on the Illinois Prairie.

Researcher claims Sugar Creek is a little muddy
John Mack Faragher’s Sugar Creek: Life on the Illinois Prairie got Springfieldian and selftrained historian David Brady, a retired blacksmith and laborer, interested in history. He wanted to learn more, so he read the books and publications Faragher researched to write Sugar Creek, and then read others.

The fascinating anthropology of Midwestern food
Food anthropologists focus on peoples’ foods and agriculture past and present, how they’ve evolved and how they’ve influenced and been influenced by their cultures. As an academic discipline, food/culinary anthropology is relatively new and on the rise, with an increasing number of higher learning institutions offering post-graduate master’s or Ph.

Rio looks at life with a song and dance
Ah, but the best laid plans of macaws and men do go awry and before you know it, Blu and his reluctant paramour Jewel (Anne Hathaway) find themselves adrift on the streets of the city, having escaped from a group of smugglers who had stolen them.

The beat goes on
Laugh all you want, but drummers are essential to making the music that we are accustomed to enjoying happen. Even as the extended use of computerized machines seems bent on eliminating human-made rhythm from recorded music, drummers could very well be considered the original musicians.

BAND SPOTLIGHT
Best friends since 2003, young producer/musicians Matt Madonna and Ryan Anderson come from the Reno/Tahoe area. After years of producing sounds, the duo got serious about making music together in April of 2010 and collaborated to create Love and Light.

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

Saturday April 16
Acoustic Celtic Music Session w/ Paddy’s Bargain.

When Irish eyes are singing
International-powerhouse ensemble, Celtic Woman, stirs up life at Sangamon Auditorium at UIS on April 18. Featuring songs from their critically-acclaimed CD and Emmy-nominated DVD Songs from the Heart,.

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

THE CALENDAR
Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra.

Earth Day Events
Apr 22, 5:30-8pm, Reception for Artists Karen Bondarchuk and Terrence Campagna addressing sustainability and environmental conservation. (Art on display April 14-22, 11am-6pm Mon-Thu, 11am- 8pm Fri.) UIS Visual Arts Gallery, HSB 201, One University Plaza, 217-206-6506.

SALMA Save the Hoogland Concert
Springfield/Central Illinois Film Commission Meeting.

THE CALENDAR
Sangamon County Sheriff Honor Guard Pancake Breakfast and Easter Egg Hunt.

MAGIC | Enchanting entertainers
Six internationally-recognized performers make an appearance to captivate the entire family at the Hoogland Center for the Arts on April 16 thanks to the Springfield International Brotherhood of Magicians Ring 239.

THE CALENDAR
Association of Information Technology Professionals.

MUSIC | Best beat
A diverse group of percussionists and musicians will descend on the Firefighters Postal Lake Club for DrumFest, a day of drumming, entertainment and clinics that anyone can participate in for free. Ben Sesar headlines the lineup of music that begins at 2 p.

PUBLICNOTICES
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE SEV- ENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT SANGAMON COUNTY, ILLINOIS STATE BANK OF LINCOLN, an Illinois Banking Corporation, and STATE BANK OF LINCOLN as Successor to the JOHN WERNER BANK, Plaintiff, Vs. J.S.P. INVESTMENTS, INC., A/K/A JSP INVESTMENTS, INC.

PARCEL 20: Name of present owner of the...
PARCEL 20: Name of present owner of the real estate: JSP INVESTMENT, INC. The North Half of Lot Five (5) of Washington Iles’ Subdivision of Lot Twenty-five (25) of Washington Iles’ Subdivision of the Northeast part of the Northwest Fraction Quarter of Section 3, Township 15 North, Range 5 West of the Third Principal Meridian.

Common address: 1300 E. Stanford Avenue, Springfield, IL 62703
Sangamon County, Illinois, described as follows: Beginning at the Southeast corner of said Lot Three (3), thence Northwesterly on the Southwest line of said Lot 3, 140 feet; thence Northeasterly on the Northwest line of said Lot 3, 45 feet; thence Southeasterly parallel to the Southwest line of said Lot 3, 140.

PARCEL 131: Name of present owner of...
PARCEL 131: Name of present owner of the real estate: JSP INVESTMENTS Lot 53 in Clover Acres. Except the coal and other minerals underlying the surface of said land and all rights and easements in favor of the estate of said coal and minerals. Common address: 1609 North Grand Avenue West, Springfield, Illinois 62702 Tax I.

25 and part of the Southeast Quarter of...
25 and part of the Southeast Quarter of Section 26 in Township 17 North, Range 6 West of the Third Principal Meridian, more particularly described as follows: From the Southeast corner of the Northeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of said...

Public sale at 9:00 a.m. on May 10,...
(F) Title will be conveyed without warranties, subject to all general real estate taxes which are a lien upon the real estate, but have not yet become due and payable; special assessments, if any; other exceptions, if any, set forth in the title insurance company and easements, covenants and restrictions of record.

NEWSQUIRKS
Facing five years in prison for forging drug prescriptions, Michelle Elaine Astumian, 41, appeared for sentencing in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., with a doctor’s note requesting a postponement. Prosecutor Dave Pomeroy called the doctor, who declared the note was a forgery.

AMY ALKON
My boyfriend of 10 months asked me for my idea of a romantic evening, and I said I think it’s really romantic to make dinner together.