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Coal economy a dead end for Illinois
Unions gradually improved conditions and pay for miners but the basic economic dynamics of coal haven’t changed. Mining communities get deadly jobs, poisoned water and stripmined land that can’t be used again, while most of the energy and wealth created by mining activity is sent far away.

Promises, promises
The headlines all say that the General Assembly has reformed Illinois’ public employee pension system. The headlines lie. Legislators didn’t reform what has become an unworkable system, although they did change it – or try to. Their ingenious fix is likely to prove futile; the courts will have the last word, if not the wisest one.

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Billionaires reap a cornucopia of farm subsidy cash
December is a time of many holiday feasts – which makes it a good time to remember family farmers and the tremendous contributions they make to our country, culture, taste buds and tummies. But not all farmers contribute equally, which is why I’m sending out this special holiday sentiment to one group of unique agriculturalists: Thbbllllttttt!.

LETTERS
AND ALL THAT JAZZ I couldn’t agree with you more on this week’s column on noise in public places. (“Foreground music,” James Krohe Jr., Dec. 5.) Being a person with some hearing loss, I find background music in restaurants particularly objectionable..

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Plays for governor
Gidwitz was with Sen. Kirk Dillard in the 2010 gubernatorial primary, but Gidwitz and Rauner have sucked up so many dollars – including over $250,000 from campaign fundraising committee member Griffin and lots more from Griffin’s friends – that Dillard hasn’t been able to raise any cash from rich people he’s known for years, even decades.

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Power plant giveaway wins pollution pass
One of Illinois’ largest energy companies has given away five power plants, following a decision by state regulators to give the new owners a temporary pass on pollution standards. Environmentalists are livid, claiming the divestment is a ruse to dodge pollution laws.

SURVIVAL OF THE FULLEST
The frigid temperatures of winter mean trouble for the homeless folks of Springfi eld. Although there is a temporary overfl ow shelter during winter for those who don’t get one of the limited spots at the yearround shelters, even the overfl ow shelter is often full, and people don’t always make it to the overfl ow shelter for various reasons.

GET OUT OF JAIL FREE
Springfield aldermen are not criminals, or at least not provably so. That’s the decision from the Sangamon County state’s attorney’s office, which has decided not to prosecute city council members for violating the state Open Meetings Act by discussing a proposal to privatize Oak Ridge Cemetery during a Nov.

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Bass in your face
Munoz called 911 three times about loud music coming from Marly’s Pub two stories below his bedroom. The first time, he declined to provide his name, saying that he simply wanted a record made of his complaint. He also said that he had called state police.

A poochy plan
The Hoelzers are pushing for a fenced-off leash area for dogs in Washington Park, and they are offering to put up as much as half of the estimated $100,000 cost. The 1.2-acre so-called dog park would be erected on a little-used grassy area that includes a few trees near the botanical gardens.

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Music matters at Lincoln Land
On Wednesday, Dec. 4, outside Room 2250 in Menard Hall on the campus of Lincoln Land Community College, well-dressed young adults pace nervously, awaiting the moment they enter to participate in the LLCC 2013 Honors Recital in progress.

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Holiday events
John AME Church, 1529 E. Capitol Ave, 217-533- 3969..

For Christmas and anytime, visit historic St. Charles, Mo.
This city on the Missouri River just west of St. Louis and 112 miles from Springfield offers a month-long Christmas Traditions festival, ending on Dec. 24. You can visit Santa, hear holiday music and do some gift shopping, but the emphasis is on how Christmas used to be celebrated – or at least how we imagine it was.

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Toy land, toy land …tablet, game and joy land
The VTech Inno Tab 3S ($99.99, ages 3 to 9) and the XO Learning Tablet ($149, ages 4 to 14) are two popular tablets for kids, as is the Disney Creativity Studio – Smart Stylus ($50), which works in conjunction with the Disney Creativity Studio iPad app ($4 in the Apple Store).

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Party 9-1-1!
Along with the holidays come many parties, but unfortunately, parties don’t always go the way you hope they will. We asked Susan Spungen, founding food editor at Martha Stewart Living.

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Gifts for mom and dad
There are only so many sweaters, necklaces and pocketknives a person can acquire before it gets to be a bit much. “At a certain age, we start to comprehend the sacrifices our parents have made for us,” says Shelley Hunter, the gift expert known as The Giftcard Girlfriend.

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Gifts for cooks
told me. On a vegetable-heavy diet –“2 cups a day!” – she wanted alternatives to stirfrying. My suggestions included puréeing vegetables like broccoli and carrots into thick, satisfying soups. But she didn’t have a blender or food processor and didn’t want to spend much.

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Bale and Harrelson formidable duo in Furnace
Bale is Russell Baze, a blue-collar worker at a steel mill in a town that’s on its deathbed. There’s little margin for error where survival is concerned. He lives in poverty, barely making ends meet while trying to pay off his brother Rodney’s (Casey Affleck) debt to John Petty (Willem Dafoe), a local businessman who’s more than a bit shady.

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Time for giving it up
Yes, the holiday season is upon us in full force with ads, snow, ads, parties, ads, lights, and did I mentions ads? One thing for sure, this time of year folks seem to not only unlock the pocketbook to purchase gifts, but they also reach in to give to those in need.

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PUB CRAWL
Captain Geech & The Shrimp Shack Shooters, Dueling Pianos.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Lowder and Manning
If there was ever a dynamic duo in the performing singer-songwriter world, these two seasoned performers and musicians could most certainly fit the bill.

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The Bears and the wild heart of football
The 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears are a cottage industry. In a city starved for winners and bereft of championship rings, players and coaches of “Da Bears” are recalled and revered with unrequited love. Mike Ditka, who coached the Bears in 1985, hawks every product imaginable from wine to pork chops.

THE CALENDAR
7:30pm Fri-Sat, 1:30pm Sun. Moving, award-winning 1950 British drama centers on recently widowed, aging country vicar who hosts a family Christmas. Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. Sixth St, 217-523-2787..

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DANCE | Dreamy dynamics
Springfield Ballet Company presents its 39th annual Nutcracker.

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MUSIC | Spritely seasonal sounds
Needing no introduction, this gold and platinum, No. 1-selling Christmas artist of all time, Mannheim Steamroller takes to the Sangamon Auditorium stage on Monday, Dec. 16. You won’t want to miss this lively, invigorating production of holiday sound with multimedia effects.

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THEATER | Naughty and nice
Wynyard Browne’s play, The Holly and the Ivy,.

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MUSIC | Classical repertoire
The Illinois Symphony Chamber Orchestra opens its season with two hour-long “Happy Hour” concerts on Friday, Dec. 13, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Springfield.

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