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Bishop Paprocki’s statement on Father Donovan
There have been many stories circulating in the media and on the Internet about the 911 call for assistance made on Nov. 28 by Father Thomas Donovan, pastor of St. Aloysius Parish in Springfield.

Hard times on Civvy Street
Illinois legislators and governors have a soft spot for heroes. I know that because they do so much to create them. The administrators of adoption agencies that find ways to keep going when the state doesn’t pay its bills are heroes.

Editor’s note
We’re moving. Illinois Times will be closed for business this Friday, Jan. 25, and open for business 8 a.m. Monday in our new location at 1240 S. Sixth St. In case we haven’t told you, that’s the new, green and super-cool offi ce building that the architect John Shafer, our friend, landlord and new next-door neighbor, built just for us.

Who’s behind “Fix the Debt”?
Top corporate chieftains and Wall Street gamblers want to tell Washington how to fix our national debt, so they’ve created a front group called “Fix the Debt” to push their agenda.

LETTERS
Three years ago, your Mr. Krohe cluck-clucked at local protestors after a joint announcement from Union Pacific and the state proclaimed train traffic along Third Street would multiply several fold.

Will Bill or won’t Bill run for governor
Going back to at least 2001, Daley, the brother and son of former Chicago mayors, has mulled a bid for governor. The last time was in 2009, when he publicly thought about challenging Pat Quinn in the Democratic primary. And now, he’s talking about it again.

She may be innocent
In the early morning hours of Dec. 3, 1986, Richard Harshbarger grabbed his .38 caliber revolver and a homemade bat, climbed into his Dodge Rampage truck, and departed from his home in Pana. His younger sister, Peggy Jo Jackson, lived in the southern Illinois town of Mt.

CASH AND CHEMICALS
The City of Springfield received a cash settlement last week in a class action lawsuit over a controversial chemical. The herbicide Atrazine, which may cause heart problems or birth defects in humans according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, found its way into Lake Springfield as early as 1994.

HAT TRICK
It’s that time of year again, and so the folks at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Museum are putting a stovepipe hat on display in honor of the 16th president’s 204th birthday. Whether Abe ever wore it or saw it is debatable, as the Chicago Sun-Times reported last spring.

Natural gas fracking is coming to Illinois
Hydraulic fracturing of shale rock – called “fracking” for short – has been used since the 1940s to free up deposits of oil and natural gas buried deep underground. The practice mostly died out in Illinois when many oilwells around the state dried up by the 1980s.

Mine, all mine
Testing in the spring of 2011 revealed excessive levels of manganese, chloride, sulfates and other potentially hazardous substances in groundwater near the mine operated by Macoupin Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Foresight Energy, which in recent years has become one of the state’s largest mining companies.

No room at the inn
Was he dangerous? Folks who knew Travis on his worst days don’t leap to his defense. Put it this way: When Travis was feeling ornery, it was obvious, and people gave him wide berth.

A century of service
From the Women’s Suffrage March of 1913 to serving in Congress, the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., have served both their communities and their nation.

Surprise!
For my first birthday after our wedding, for days ahead he’d get up after I’d fallen asleep, roll a towel against our bedroom door to keep any smells out, and begin cooking through the night, storing his efforts in a neighbor’s fridge. My grandmother sent the birthday cake to Champaign on a bus.

Linings Cooper, Lawrence shine
Pat Jr. (Bradley Cooper) has a lot on his mind. His mother Delores (Jacki Weaver) has just sprung him from a mental institution after an eight-month stay. Seems, at home he had walked in on his wife Nikki (Brea Bee) and a co-worker taking a shower and nearly beat the guy to death.

Hot music for cold times
I recently received a warming message from Marina V, our ever-moving and ever-loving music friend, that began with, “Hello from Moscow!” Current temps in the Russian capital are surprisingly close to ours for this week, with dips only 5 to 10 degrees lower than central Illinois.

PUB CRAWL
Caprice Sidener, Courtney Grimes, Eric Tinsley Acoustic.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Old School Dropouts
Look out world, here come the Old School Dropouts, a new band formed by Springfield music scene veterans to play “old school” rock.

THE CALENDAR
9:30pm Sat, Gentle recognition humor delivered in warm manner. $12.50. Mason City Limits Comedy Club, 114 E. Chestnut, Mason City, 482-5233..

ART | Winning spaces
exhibit through Feb. 21. A reception is planned for Thurs, Jan. 31 at 6:30 p.m., with a 2 p.m. performance by Chicago’s Industry of the Ordinary who created the installation..

MUSIC | Foot-stompin’ bluegrass
The Travelin’ McCourys bring their amazing pickin’ and foot-stompin’ bluegrass sounds to the Hoogland Center for the Arts. The group springs from the award-winning bluegrass Del McCoury Band. Legendary Del McCoury was Ronnie’s (mandolin) and Rob’s (banjo) father.

THEATER | Passion and fashion
Don’t miss attending one of three dinner-theater productions at the Hoogland Center for the Arts of Love, Loss and What I Wore..

MUSIC | Classical stirrings
The Illinois Chamber Orchestra’s next concert, Pure Passion, at First Presbyterian Church will warm you up for an approaching Valentine’s Day. Hear Elgar’s elegant and moving “Sospiri,” the pulsating tango of Osvaldo Golijov’s “Last Round” and the celebration of the American pioneer in Copland’s beloved and spritely “Appalachian Spring.