Editor’s note

Summerguide signals the beginning of a world of possibilities. Spend any time with this week’s 68-page IT and you’ll know there’s a lot going on out there, waiting for you to join it. Summers always go too fast, so plan now or you won’t get to half of the events and excursions you’d like to experience before the kids go back to school. Maybe this is the year to try a triathlon or at least a 5k (p. 38). We tell you how to play in Peoria (p. 34) and ask you to check out the new Decatur (p. 32). There’s a full lineup of summer theater (p. 42). And our summerlong calendar is packed with hundreds of events and festivals to choose from. Enjoy!

On the serious side of things, at this writing the legislature seems bent on pushing ahead with environmentally dangerous fracking, although a moratorium to assess the damage in other states would be the wiser course. Patrick Yeagle, just back from a family trip to heavily fracked North Dakota, reports on the contentious Statehouse debate (p. 8). Our Bruce Rushton continues to plug away day after day at the Beason murder trial, offering IT readers the most comprehensive account anywhere of the trial of the man accused of bludgeoning fi ve to death with a tire iron. Go to illinoistimes.com to catch up on recent episodes, “The right to remain silent,” “Mistrial winds” and “A booty call after a blood bath.” And stay tuned for more. –Fletcher Farrar, editor and publisher