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Targeting libraries and readers
Some Illinois students learned that their school’s library was selected by Target for a School Library Makeover. At Ryerson Elementary and Neil Elementary – both in Chicago – students will soon see their library renovated, updated and outfitted with new computers, iPads, and thousands of new books.

Accidental sagacity
Grossman never used the word, but his paean to the encyclopedia was in fact an appreciation of serendipity as a means of discovery and delight, or perhaps I should say the delight in discovery.

Snarling banks
Very few Americans on this side of the ATM machine think that the biggest problem in Washington is that the moneychangers don’t have enough clout. But, incredibly, here they come with a SuperPAC intended to force lawmakers to bow even deeper to their needs.

LETTERS
TAX GAMBLING, NOT PEOPLE The Illinois budget would probably be balanced today, except for the $37.5 billion to $46 billion given away to Illinois gambling interests over the last two decades. Faced in 1990 with a choice between a continued consumer economy or a new casino/slot machines economy, Gov.

Cigarette taxes and the Republican right
A top House Republican said over a week ago that the roll call in favor of a dollar a pack cigarette tax hike was in the double digits within his caucus. The tax, which the General Assembly approved this week, would raise $700 million, including the federal match, to help close the Medicaid program’s gaping $2.

Targeting libraries and readers
Unfortunately, school libraries are increasingly targeted for budget cuts. Overall, school library budgets have fallen since 2009. And cutbacks tend to be more severe at schools serving high-poverty areas. Local and state officials must make literacy programs a high priority in budget plans and strategies.

A case of vodka
That basic fact of fire could prove key in the case of William Amor, a DuPage County man serving a 45-year sentence for murder. While not committed to representing Amor, the Illinois Innocence Project based at University of Illinois Springfield has requested documents from prosecutors, who have balked.

THIS STINKS
Sharon Cole of Springfield, whose husband, Billy Sprinkle, is a resident of Logan Correctional Center at Lincoln, called Wednesday to report that the dead raccoon in the attic of Nine House center-wing, discovered nearly a week ago, is still there.

Park district mulling Griffin Woods purchase
The warm summer breeze rushes through the dense underbrush of the second-growth forest known colloquially as Griffin Woods, filling the close space with the rustle and shimmer of thousands of leaves.

FREE SUMMER FOOD
In 2010, about 16.2 million children in the United States lived in households defined as “food insecure” – a term referring to a lack of consistent access to food. Research shows that hungry children struggle in school and score lower on academic achievement tests than children who get enough to eat.

Manure rules
The Clean Water Funding Fairness Act, which passed through the Illinois House and Senate on May 22, would force factory farms, commonly referred to as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), to pay an annual fee for permits involving the amount of pollution a farm’s animals produce.

More money, more problems
Illinois lawmakers are reacting to a controversial ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court with a bill that could take Illinois back to the days of unlimited campaign contributions. The bill’s sponsor says it’s necessary to counter independent groups that can already spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns.

Meet the maestro
“The power of music can unite a community,” says Alastair Willis, brand new music director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. “That’s what we all need to be striving towards.

Making music on the fly
On Saturday the Hoogland Center for the Arts hosts David Cain & Senses featuring percussionist Paul Wertico in a program called A Feast for the Senses. The dinner features Chef Shaun Moore with Arena Catering and the music puts Wertico, Cain and the other musicians in a creative place of on-the-spot music making.

The heat is on!
I’ve heard it over and over: People in the hottest places on the planet eat spicy-hot foods is because it makes them feel cooler. Really? For me, eating spicy-hot food on the high temperature/humidity days of central Illinois’ summertime doesn’t make me feel cooler.

PUB CRAWL
Frank T Quintet Jazz Etc. Happy Hour.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | The Sun and The Sea
From the ashes, rise again, goes the old saying, and with the 2011 demise of The Graduate, a local band done good, comes another group called The Sun and The Sea. Members Tim Moore (drums), Matt Kennedy (keyboards), Max Sauer (guitar), Jared Wuestenburg (bass) and Chris Rein (vocals) released a seven-song EP called Nightfalls.

Intelligence and wit make a winning MIB 3
While Will Smith’s on-screen counterparts have defeated aliens, zombies, robots and drug dealers, the actor himself faces a far more threatening foe, that of irrelevance. Having graced the big screen last four years ago in the well-meaning but horribly flawed Seven Pounds,.

THE CALENDAR
Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

MUSIC | World-class experience
Seven-time Grammy award winning drummer, Paul Wertico, formerly of the Pat Metheny Group, joins local musicians David Cain & Senses, including David Hoffman, formerly with the Ray Charles Orchestra, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts on June 2. You’re in for a genuine treat on many levels.

THE CALENDAR
at the bandstand Sundays, June through Aug (except June 17). 478-2015. Jacksonville Community Park, 1201 S. Main, Jacksonville..

THEATER | Wedding daze
Theatre in the Park at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site starts its summer season with the comedy Father of the Bride.

THE CALENDAR
More events, more details in our online calendar at illinoistimes.com..

PUBLICNOTICES
NOTICE UNDER ASSUMED BUSINESS NAME ACT STATE OF ILLINOIS COUNTY OF SANGAMON TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Notice is hereby given that on 11th day of May 2012, a Certificate of Ownership of business was filed in the Office of the County Clerk of Sangamon...