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Why Democrats will rule Illinois for the next 40 years
Republicans in the legislature have supported drug testing for welfare recipients, requiring I.D. to vote, cuts to education, cuts to low-income housing and cuts to foster care. These are examples of proposals that are deeply unpopular with Illinois voters.

The people’s art museum
Soon, the West Wing of the Illinois Capitol will emerge after two years inside a cocoon of plywood and tarps. The structure was closed off, paradoxically, to make that part of the building both newer – by upgrading the building’s mechanical systems and making access and safety improvements – and older, by restoring it to its 1888 appearance.

Editor’s note
It’s time for our annual campaign to get readers to tell us the good stuff about this town – the fun, the unusual, the local, the outstanding, the Best of Springfi eld 2013. Let the voting begin. This year there are three ways to vote. First, the website – go to illinoistimes.

Where Labor Day came from, and where it’s going
That’s nice, but “set aside” by whom? It certainly wasn’t the Wall Street corporate and political powers that be. They nearly swallowed their cigars when the idea of honoring labor’s importance to America’s economy and social well-being was first proposed in 1882.

LETTERS
REMEMBER THE ALAMO I have written letters to the editor on a variety of issues but have never written one appreciating food served by a local eatery. I am doing it the first time here. I just could not resist.

Back on the payroll
The plaintiff, Kenneth Shanoff, says that Riperton- Lewis, his supervisor at the Illinois Department of Human Services, made life so unpleasant while he worked at the John Madden Mental Health Center in Chicago that he became ill.

DELUXE DOCS
As if we need another reason to be proud of Springfi eld, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfi eld was just ranked 13th out of 161 medical schools in the U.S. for training primary care doctors. That’s especially important given the shortage of primary care doctors nationwide, especially in rural areas.

Obsolete, expensive, at risk
For years, the senior research fellow at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School has warned that nuclear energy doesn’t pencil out. In 2010, for example, he called nuclear energy a “dead-end technology” that could never survive without government subsidies.

ARMENIA CONNECTION
The intensive workshop, held last week, aims to develop political and economic reporting skills and contains ethics components focusing on fairness and accuracy. Armenia’s independent media, though plentiful, have had to work hard to develop a base of balanced, insightful coverage to match the country’s democratic aspirations.

Bankrupt GateHouse still bullish
Convincing GateHouse’s biggest creditor to agree to the deal wasn’t tough, given that the biggest creditor is Newcastle Investment Corp., a real estate investment company that is managed by Fortress Investment Group, a private equity firm that created GateHouse in 2006 and is its largest stockholder.

Mike Bell of Edinburg wants Scherer’s House seat
He’s on the boards of both the Edinburg and Christian County economic development groups, co-chairman of a highway expansion project on Illinois Route 29, and vice president of the Edinburg school board, among many other roles.

Fighting DCFS on how it takes children
Filed in Cook County Circuit Court, the class action lawsuit aims to stop DCFS from using the invalidated rule to “indicate” parents for neglect or abuse. The Chicagobased Family Defense Center, which filed the lawsuit Sept.

Crushed
Angela McGonigle tried to do everything right. Born and raised in Springfield, she had saved $5,000 to attend Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville but used the money to study abroad instead. Despite the slight indulgence, she still had a plan. McGonigle worked as a resident assistant to pay for her housing.

Risky business
The original Broadway production took the world by storm upon its opening in 1996, giving birth to a generation of “Rentheads,” encouraged to camp out in front of the theater all day to obtain $20 “rush” tickets for a seat in the first two rows.

It ain’t over till it’s over
It happens every year. Every vendor at every farmers market will tell you the same thing: business drops off after Labor Day. Maybe it’s because parents are preoccupied with getting their kids back in school.

Riddick: A bit of B-movie heaven
A bigger surprise, other than the fact that this film was made in the first place, is that it’s a well-made throwback to a more modest sort of action movie. With a fraction of the budget usually allotted to a summer blockbuster ($38 million), writer/director David Twohy revels in the cheapness of the production and the story reflects this as well.

Amazed all over town
I can’t help but be amazed at the incredible variety and substance of shows this week in a host of various venues. Along with the entertainment values acknowledged, many of the upcoming events contain a good deal of educational and even, spiritual, overtones and underpinnings.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Last Chance
A local private space since 1991, the Last Chance Bar and Lab hosted several outstanding musicians and concerts through the years, while also being a band practice place. The Last Chance Blues Band, a popular, area blues combo and another group, Touch of Grey, originated from the celebrated club/rehearsal spot to play on the town.

PUB CRAWL
Wick-It The Instigator, Spankalicious, FiLiBuStA, Brothers in Arms, Danny Grooves.

FESTIVAL | Must-go for gusto
St. Andrew Society of Central Illinois puts on the best parties. You are invited to its first ever World Tour Celtic Festival, Sat., Sept. 14, from noon until midnight held downtown outside Celtic Mist, the festival sponsor. Almost every area Celtic band and musician will play throughout the day including Celtic Cross Pipe and Drum Band, pictured.

THE CALENDAR
Sat, Catch all of his characters on The Bob & Tom show. $20-$21. Mason City Limits Comedy Club, 114 E. Chestnut, Mason City, 482-5233..

ART | Opening new doors
Springfield’s newest contemporary and experimental art gallery, DEMO Project, debuts with an exhibit by Chicago sculptor Betsy Odom. The opening reception is Friday, Sept. 13. Odom’s exhibit, Bulldog,.

THEATER | Fascinating physics
Dynamic Patterns Theatre is presenting QED: A Play,.

ART | Picture perfect
Art Spectacular at the Carillon takes place this weekend, Sept. 14-15, on the grounds around the carillon. The two day, juried art show features 50 regional artists, a number of participants that co-chair Barbara Walker calls a “full house.” (Walker’s co-chair is Sheila Albright.