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Editor’s note
It was Election Day, Nov. 6, but there was no last-minute trip to Des Moines or pick-up basketball game in Chicago for Springfi eld’s presidential candidate. Abraham Lincoln’s Election Day, 1860, was exciting nevertheless, as Tara McClellan McAndrew relates in her history column on page 15.

Civil discourse and the clash of ideas
Congress, which ought to serve as the forum where politicians of diverse views find common ground, is instead riven by ideological disagreements. There’s no real discourse, just the two parties hammering at each other in a mean-spirited, strident tone.

They’re b-a-a-a-c-k
Everybody read about it – a high-tech hunter got video evidence that confirmed the presence in a Morgan County woods of an adult cougar, only the fourth known to have been sighted in Illinois since the 1870s, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

The corporate mad dogs of Citizens United
Likewise, Dave Robertson, president of the Koch brothers’ industrial empire, notified 30,000 workers that they would suffer assorted “ills” if they helped reelect Obama. In case that message was too subtle, Robertson helpfully included a slate-card of Koch-approved candidates for them to take into the polling booth.

LETTERS
SAVE ENOS SCHOOL Dankor Development Company is pleased with Ty Rees’ idea, for the school district to build the new Enos School on nearby contiguous lots and to preserve the present Enos School for adaptive reuse for creation of new apartments or other facilities (see “Letters,” Oct.

Madigan machine moves heaven and earth
The two men used to be allies, even friends. Saviano supported Madigan’s daughter when Lisa ran for state attorney general. But then Lisa turned against Saviano’s political mentor, the late Rosemont Mayor Don Stephens, blocking his dream of building a local casino because, she claimed, he was tied to the mob.

Illinois preparing health insurance exchange
The state plans to open a health insurance market at the start of 2014, offering coverage plans sold by private companies and vetted by state regulators.

PAY UP
In an Oct. 25 letter to village offi cials, an administrator from the U.S. Department of Justice gave the village 60 days to repay monies spent from a drug-seizure fund for telephone bills, “miscellaneous expenses” and “general bills” A federal review...

PIES FOR PEACE
You can’t pay a lawyer with pie…or can you? The Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association is holding a Thanksgiving pie sale, with proceeds funding their safety and security program in the neighborhood once called “The Jewel of Springfi eld.

Innocent, but still guilty
Murray’s case is the fifth in which the Illinois Innocence project, based at the University of Illinois Springfield, helped free a prisoner whom they believe to be actually innocent. But this case is different from most others the project handles.

Case dismissed
Charges against a physician accused of fraud and conspiracy have been dismissed after federal prosecutors admitted that an FBI agent violated the accused’s constitutional rights by gaining unfettered access to his email account, including communications between the doctor and his defense attorneys.

Star Bucks
Driving his pickup up a gravel road toward a built-in-a-weekend cabin on a 160-acre piece of land he calls a farm, Jack Robertson spots a pair of does munching on wheat that, along with oats and clover, is the only crop this place produces. That’s by design.

Lincoln’s Election Day in Springfield
Lincoln had no campaigning to do that day; it would have been unseemly. “Lincoln, over the last six months, had done next to nothing publicly, and precious little privately, either in person or in print, to advance his own cause,” Holzer wrote in his book.

Cook now, eat later. Skip the stress.
Question: If it takes four hours to cook a 15-pound turkey, and three of the side dishes need something done to them “just before serving,” how many times will the cook wish there were an easier way without resorting to boxed or “instant” imposters of traditional favorites?.

As easy as pie
I’m not primarily a baker, but luckily my grandmother and mother passed their expertise on to me (as I’ve done with my children). Throughout my childhood nobody’s pie equaled theirs. And they made pie frequently. Nana’s pie joke, something said frequently was, “I only like two kinds of pie – hot and cold.

Skyfall returns Bond to solid ground
in numerous international terrorist organizations. It becomes obvious early on that the man with the plan to create all sorts of havoc for MI-6 is Silva (Javier Bardem), a charming maniac who has the intention of shaking the agency to its very core. That he has a past with M (Judi Dench), the head of this espionage agency, only adds to the intrigue.

The Roys arrive
When thinking of bluegrass festivals nature and outdoor settings generally come to my mind, but one of the finest bluegrass fests in the country happens right here in Springfield at the Crowne Plaza.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Hospital Job
A self-described “melodic indie/punk band,” Hospital Job also says to, “think Superdrag meets The Ramones trying to play Jesus and Mary Chain covers” as a good way to understand where they’re coming from musically.

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

THE CALENDAR
and craft items created by Springfi eld Civic Garden Club members. Lincoln Memorial Garden, 2301 E. Lake Shore Dr, 217-529-1111..

MUSIC | Country gold
Country music superstar Alan Jackson takes the Prairie Capital Convention Center stage this Saturday, Nov. 10. Admired for decades for his classic country sound and hunk-ofburning-lovely looks, Jackson has more than two dozen albums and numerous Grammy, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music awards.

THEATER | Marvelously mischievous
Springfield Theatre Centre presents its rendition of M*A*S*H at the Hoogland Center for the Arts Nov. 9-11 and 16-18. Produced by Jim Leach and directed by Kelly E. Bassett, the crazy comedy brings you your favorite silly surgeons Hawkeye and Duke serving in South Korea.

THE CALENDAR
Lectures & Meetings Chatham Kiwanis Club Meeting.

THE CALENDAR
Nov 08, 15, 6:30pm, Thursdays, 12-step support program for emotional, mental health issues, coping or addictions. Laurel United Methodist Church, 631 South Grand Ave W, 217-816- 1083. Memory Loss Conference.

MUSIC | Guitar genius
Guitar guru Stanley Jordan performs Nov. 9 at the Studio Theatre as part of the Kitchen Sink Series at the University of Illinois Springfield. The Chicago native and jazz fusion guitarist began studying music early in his childhood and received a Bachelor of Arts in digital music composition from Princeton University.