While an Illinois state senator during the 1990s and thereafter as a U.S. Senator, Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., repeatedly joined with a legislative minority to complain about the billions of dollars which the gambling companies should have paid to Illinois.

Springfi eld arts organizations always have needs, with money at the top of the list. But their mood seems to be brighter this year, as Scott Faingold reports in his “State of the Arts” survey on the health of the arts and the groups that support them.

The honchos of America’s establishment media are quick to blame such external causes as the Internet for their problems. But if they looked internally, they might notice that they’re damn near eaten up with a bad case of conventional wisdomitis.

FREE SOCIETY IS GUN-FREE Our plague of semi-automatic gun massacres shows us that America faces a crucial conflict in how we have always interpreted the freedoms of assembly and personal expression with what a newer interpretation of “freedom to bear arms” means in today’s culture.

Before last Friday’s horrific school shooting in Connecticut, people on both sides of the concealed carry debate were saying privately that they did not expect Attorney General Lisa Madigan would appeal her major loss at the hands of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

When Springfi eld last saw Frederick George Celani, he was ’splaining to a federal judge the fl imfl am known as Kayport Package Express.

The study’s authors, it seems, have never seen an airport that they did not like. From O’Hare International in Chicago to Grandpa’s Farm just outside Mendota in LaSalle County, airports large and small are cash machines, according to the study.

When Illinois lawmakers return to Springfield early next year, they’ll face three issues more divisive than even the ongoing pension battle. But like the pension issue, these battles have been brewing for years, and conditions now seem ripe for big changes.

A police microphone captures officers Michael Brown and Chance Warnisher of the Springfield Police Department and Steven Stirmell, then an officer with the Village of Jerome, in a jovial mood immediately following the arrest of George Dawson, 73. One of the officers – it is not clear which one – describes the arrest as “fucking hilarious.

going, for the most part. We are down a little bit in terms of receipt of memberships and donations,” she says. “But I still think we’re moving forward.

The tale gets off to a slow start as the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the 13 dwarves who’ve met at the home of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), seem in no hurry to set off on their epic quest. They’re headed to the kingdom of Erebor, formerly the home of all dwarves, that’s been taken and controlled by the dragon Smaug for some years.

It was in the late fall of 1936. The Depression had lingered a little longer than expected in the South. It was no different for his family in Tennessee. Hoskins was finding a little farm work here and there among his neighbors and he was pretty good with carpenter tools.

Americans particularly seem to dislike holiday fruitcake, using it more often as fodder for jokes than food for feasting. A prime example is the Great Fruitcake Toss, which takes place on the first Saturday each January in Manitou Springs, Colo.

My father always used to say that he hated taking us to Disney animated films, yet I remember him being the one who laughed the most at what was happening on the screen. Of course, that’s the secret where making a full-length cartoon is concerned – you need to appeal not only to the kids in the audience but also to the ones who bought their tickets.

With nothing else worth discussing this week other than the much purported and often promulgated “end of the world” coming on Dec. 21, 2012, here we go.

In 2006 when “Springfield’s beloved indie pop band Resident Genius abruptly imploded at their peak,” The Seething Coast incarnated from the resulting tumult.

Porkpie & the Northend Allstars, Zack Fedor and the Backseat Drivers - End of World Party.

23, Walking tour of lights and displays. Santa visit. $3.25, $2 kids. Bring new, unwrapped toy, get in free. Henson Robinson Zoo, 1100 E. Lake Shore Dr, 217-585-1821. Holiday Meals.

The Hoogland Center for the Arts will present four performances of an old-fashioned Christmas revue, A Very Hoogland Christmas,.

Looking for that last-minute holiday activity to share with the family? The Springfield Park District’s Henson Robinson Zoo has been featuring its 17th annual Holiday Lights at the Zoo in December. There’s still time this weekend to take the walking tour to see thousands of lights and light displays.

One of Springfield’s most beloved sites at Christmastime is the Dana-Thomas House State Historic Site on Luminaria Evening, set for Saturday, Dec. 22, from 4-8 p.m. Approximately 1,000 luminaria will shine along the sidewalks and ledges of the 12,600 square-foot structure.