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Criminal injustice
The feds want Bill Cellini to get at least six and a half years in a steel box when he is sentenced in October in Chicago. His lawyers have argued that the feds seem to forget that Cellini was not convicted of all the crimes they charged him with, only two minor ones.

The power of 37 words
It takes a lot to make Olympians like Candace Parker, Jordyn Wieber and Lolo Jones: talent, dedication, effective coaches, a bit of luck. But for female athletes representing the United States in London this summer, it also took the courage of women like Kathy Wagoner.

Publisher’s note
Since more than half of IT readers have school-aged kids at home and many more are aunts, uncles and grandparents who play an important part in those young lives, we tucked a new publication into your IT this week - Capital City Parent.

Protecting insiders from our First Amendment
This grand testimonial of our citizens’ rights and liberties will begin with the Republicans in Tampa, Fla.

LETTERS
I had a friend who got caught up in the ICE raids at the local restaurants. She was not illegal. She was a naturalized citizen who owns a business, employs several dozen people and pays taxes. It was a bad situation for her, but her personnel file at the restaurant contained inconsistencies that led police to believe she was also illegal.

Statehouse Dems dominate the dollar race
House Speaker Michael Madigan’s three committees raised a combined $591,000 in the quarter that ended June 30. Madigan had over $3.5 million cash on hand. Senate President John Cullerton’s two committees netted about $655,000 during the quarter. Cullerton finished with over $2.

Coroner candidates prepare for election
Edwards, the wife of Springfield Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards, was named to the post by the county board in 2011 after top county officials, including county board chairman Andy Van Meter, sheriff Neil Williamson and state’s attorney John Milhiser urged Boone to resign.

GET IN LINE
WGBH, the television station based in Boston, was back in federal court on Tuesday, saying that THR, which buys gold and silver at buying events nationwide, has reneged on an agreement to pay the station $215,000, most in monthly installments.

Kicking it
Springfield had 21 cobbler’s shops in 1957, when Vern’s Shoe Service started business at 314 West Laurel, taking over space that had been the province of a dry-cleanerand-furrier shop and, before that, a Kroger grocery store launched in 1925. Laurel Shoe Rebuilders was just a block away at 208 West Laurel.

FISCAL FIGHTERS
Rep. Tim Johnson’s office to protest tax breaks that they say benefit only the very wealthy. While Johnson’s current district doesn’t include Springfield, a new district redrawn last year will do just that. Action Now Springfield traveled to the Republican congressman’s office in Champaign ahead of a crucial vote in the U.

Shocking development
Tamara Skube, 32, says that Deputy Travis Koester used excessive force when he twice Tased her after she questioned his right to search her purse. After Tasing Skube, Koester arrested her on suspicion of resisting arrest, but prosecutors filed no charges.

Banning tanning for teens
Clocking in at three and a half hours, the July 17 Springfield City Council meeting was one of the longest on record. The majority of the meeting was devoted to one topic, and emotions ran high as aldermen interrupted and chided one another, while speaker after speaker took to the public podium in passionate appeals for wisdom and fairness.

Sister, a film with heart
There’s a lived-in quality about the central relationships that holds the film in good stead. Blunt and DeWitt interact as sisters should – embarrassing each other with old stories, engaging in a bit of passive aggressive behavior for Jack’s benefit, and hurting each other and ultimately reconciling as only siblings can.

Why and how to have family meals
That remark by Dr. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, a University of Minnesota professor who has conducted groundbreaking studies about healthy eating and the positive effects of family meals, is a clear message that moving towards routinely eating meals with your family isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition: it’s a process rather than an event.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Hot Bag O’ Donuts
There are many bands playing original music in the area, but few are more original in character and sound than Hot Bag O’ Donuts. The band describes themselves as “a classic wave combo” with others portraying the music as, “wave jazz, cornFusion, and acid lounge,” all very alternative classifications to begin with, easily avoiding common categories.

PUB CRAWL
The WhiteWall Gentlemen w/ Texas Trucker Speed Fiends.

Festival fun
The Decatur Celebration, now celebrating its 26th year of providing one of the largest and most interesting family street festivals in America, keeps rolling along.

FESTIVAL | Concrete fun
One-of-the-largest street festivals in our area, the Decatur Celebration has something for everyone Aug 3-5. It’s free and it’s downtown.

THE CALENDAR
Back to School Spoken Word Competition.

THE CALENDAR
outside event in the Kilbourne Fire Department Pavilion. Free. Kilbourne Community Center, Walnut and Fourth St , Kilbourne. James Armstrong Live.

THEATER | Home run
The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant,.

COMEDY | Ad-lib acting
The Portuguese Rodeo Clown Company performs two shows at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, Aug. 3-4. What is a Portuguese Rodeo Clown Company, what do they do and why see them? For those who missed their 2006 Springfield performance, they are an...

THE CALENDAR
Museum at Dickson Mounds, “Peoria and the War of 1812.”, Illinois State Museum Research & Collections Center, 1011 E. Ash St, 785-0037..

NATURE | Fine feathers
The Illinois Audubon Hummingbird Festival will be held at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site on Saturday, Aug. 4. Mary Hedrick of the Sangamon Audubon chapter will capture, band and release birds to record migration data. The public is invited to watch and come and go during the three hours.