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Over regulation
By lending their voices to the IPI’s antiregulatory agenda, the Conns have made themselves part of a larger policy debate about how and to what extent the public has an interest in private business decisions. The Conns have criticized permitting and licensing, two important regulatory matters that I might address at some future date.

Editor’s note
Here it is, the 52 nd issue of 2013, completing another year of publishing Illinois Times. This is a good time to remind us all that IT is a minor miracle, an unlikely business that somehow survives and sometimes thrives in the relatively small market that is Springfi eld.

Pension reform: An interview with U of I expert
In an interview with U of I News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora, finance professor Jeffrey R. Brown, who’s also the director of the Center for Business and Public Policy in the College of Business and was a senior economist with the President’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2001- 2002, discusses Illinois’ pension reform law.

Backscratching society
The Secretary of the Treasury in President Obama’s first term resigned early this year, and we lost track of him for months.

LETTERS
PENSION PLANNING I don’t know Mr. Krohe so there is nothing personal in this reply to his rant about state employee pensions (“Promises, promises,” Dec. 12). However, as someone who worked half a century in both the private and public sectors, I couldn’t resist responding.

The premier downstate political strategist
A host of prominent Illinois politicos attended the July 16 memorial service for Keith Taylor. Among them were Attorney General Lisa Madigan, former Attorney General Neil Hartigan, former Senate President Tom Hynes and his son, former Comptroller Dan Hynes.

Remembering the lives they lived
The daughter of Ann Elizabeth Sefcik Woolsey writes about her mother’s “goofy fearlessness” (p. 13). The rare quality of simplicity is celebrated in Tisha Rooney’s fine remembrance of her father (p. 12).

A genius in science, art and humor
A beautiful Parisian streetscape, a sailboat race on the North Carolina coast, and a peaceful snowfall on frozen Lake Springfield: Those picturesque scenes and many more were the subjects of David Sumner’s vibrant and detailed watercolor and oil paintings.

His knowledge took his class to places they’d never been
Ken Folks is missed by me, his coworker, and all the lives he touched in his classroom at Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries. He was the kind of guy that you only had to meet once, and from then on you were friends forever. It was like you’d known him for years.

She kept us all connected
Spending a lifetime as a devoted wife, mother and grandmother is a small snapshot into why my mom is special to me. We shared a special bond. I would start thinking of her and the phone would ring and it would be her calling. I would call her and she would say, “I was just thinking about you.

A sense of place
Carl Volkmann epitomizes the importance of a sense of place. For him, the place is Springfield, Ill., where he spent his entire professional career. It is a place he has enriched through his work as a librarian, a place he has celebrated through his writing, and a place he has made better through his involvement.

She was a volunteer from the word go
In eighth grade, Ning happened to be getting out of a car one day when she caught the eye of her classmate, Robert O’Keefe, who was patrolling the streets as a crossing guard. They started dating, and stayed together through all four years at Springfield High School.

The Stone that grew seeds and a company
Andy Stone spent his life working and living on and for the family farm, but he was not your stereotypical tractordriving, cap-wearing farmer.

A life of simple distinction
Henry Krug III was unique in many ways, but the most remarkable thing about him was the number of lives he touched while living, by his own choice, the simplest life he could. Born to a modest family, he married his high school sweetheart. Henry served in Vietnam as a member of the U.

‘It’s OK. Everything will be all right.’
Mark was a fearless voyager through life. He loved to take risks, learn and explore. The Big Kahuna led him through death’s door, but Mark would be the first to repeat his infamous words, “It’s OK. Everything will be all right.” He did not believe this is all there is.

She simply walked out and did what had to be done
Ann Elizabeth Sefcik Woolsey, 85, climbed over her last fence on Nov. 30, 2013. Though the climb wasn’t always easy or safe, she faced down the challenges of being an orphan, wife, mother, homemaker, working mom, grandmother and caregiver with boundless optimism and a goofy fearlessness.

Bill Shea was the man to see
Remember when the Nazis tried to take over the world? Mr. Shea was one of many who answered the call to prevent that from becoming a reality, as part of the D-day invasion. Remember when you needed gas in your car or the oil checked on your engine? Bill Shea was the man to see.

A kind and caring sidekick
“He was losing weight,” recalls Sam Madonia, the morning host on WFMB-AM who worked with Hofmann for 15 years. “People would say ‘What kind of diet are you on?’ And he’d say ‘Not the kind you want to be on.’ He never complained. He never, ever felt he got shortchanged.

A pioneer of sustainability
Richard Roger Morse was born Feb. 24, 1944, in Pampa, Texas, and grew up in Marion, Kan. He earned his bachelor’s degree in art history from Amherst College in Amherst, Mass., then went on to earn his Master of Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Mass.

She fought like a girl but lost
She fought like a girl but lost. My beautiful daughter, Vivian Edna (Raridon) McGinnis, was born June 26, 1959 to Richard and Evelyn (Bumgardner) Raridon of Middletown. She went to school at Middletown for two years, then attended Chester East Lincoln for seven years.

As war escalated in Liberia, life became increasingly difficult
Sisters Gifty Smith and Yarvo Roberts say their childhood home in Liberia was so full of familiar faces that they didn’t know which people were actual relatives. “Those in need came to our house and my parents would find a way to get them whatever they lacked.

‘I’m down but I’m not out!’
My mother was born in Vicksburg, Miss., but she had been a resident of Springfield since the age of 2. Most people old enough may remember her as the daughter of the Hay Homes Legend “Virgin Mary Hamilton” (and yes that was her mother’s real name),...

The Pied Piper of kids
Beloved son of Richard and Dana Severns of Rochester, Riley Severns, from the moment he set foot on this earthly blue sphere on Nov. 3, 1997, until his departure for his heavenly palace on Aug. 10, 2013, this young man lived life on his own terms. That generally meant full speed ahead.

A law-and-order woman
When her husband, Russell, became sheriff of Mercer County in 1946, he deputized his wife, who looked more movie star than cop. She didn’t patrol the mean streets of Aledo, the Mercer County seat – at least so far as her son, Mitchell, knows – but she did hold sway at the county jail, which was attached to the family home.

Mitty a magical tribute to the possible
Much like the hero in James Thurber’s classic short story and the 1947 film version, Mitty (Stiller) is a daydreamer, a modest man prone to flights of fancy in which he sees himself as an erstwhile hero dispatching bad guys, saving pets from burning buildings or sweeping a beautiful woman off her feet.

What to eat for a lucky New Year
“Ushers hurriedly passed tiny baskets of yellow grapes. A loud solemn gong began booming. Each head bent, gobbling their grapes. All around me I heard sputtering and choking. [Edmundo] was frantically consumed in the effort, swallowing even pits and stems.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | This Must Be the Band
Coming from Chicago and claiming to be best, and incidentally, the only Talking Heads tribute band from the Windy City, This Must Be the Band likes being faux T-Heads a lot. How they best like to display this like comes in two formats. The first is a “note-for-note and prop-for-prop” recreation of the 1984 concert film, Stop Making Sense.

PUB CRAWL
A Very Springfield Christmas – Nil8 and The Station.

First Night puts the art in party
First, the party kicks off early this year, two days early, on Sunday, Dec. 29, with something new and different. A familyfriendly 5K walk, run and stroll, the SAAC calls “the stART of something new,” takes place beginning at 11 a.m. at Scheels, 3810 South MacArthur Boulevard.

So much for 2013
From what I can recollect, we had a good season of outdoor events. Not only did we produce a whole bunch of righteously rocking music, the weather allowed us to actually enjoy it. I feel like I see more acoustic guitars than ever these days and more venues hosting live music by solo and duo acoustic acts.

THE CALENDAR
Through Jan. 2, walk through decorated neighborhood. Free and ticket not needed Guided tours (except on Christmas and New Years Day) check in at visitor center. Lincoln Home National Historic Site, 413 S. Eighth St, 217-391-3221..

HOLIDAY | Rocking in 2014
Make sure to phone ahead for reservations to Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

COMEDY | Mesmerizing merriment
Nationally known hypnotist and comedian Doug Thompson brings two hilarious shows to the Hilton Springfield’s Grand Ballroom on New Years Eve. Don’t miss this chance to see Doug mesmerize audience members into outrageously entertaining situations. Must be 21years of age.

NATURE | Communal pot
Start the New Year with nature and friends. Join the Sangamon Valley Sierra Club at its annual Stone Soup Hike, Wed., Jan. 1, at Carpenter Park Nature Preserve. Bring something to throw in the soup pot, your own drink (something hot is recommended) and your own table service.