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God lets Ingersoll off
Atheists don’t expect to rise from the dead, but one famous dead agnostic came up, as it were, when I was reflecting last week on the fear and loathing that atheists excite among some Illinoisans. Attorney Robert G. Ingersoll, blasphemer and Bible skeptic, was Peoria’s gift to the lecture circuit in the latter 1800s.

Editor’s note
Finally, millions who have been denied health insurance are now getting coverage. But when the bills for Obamacare start coming due, it will become more obvious than ever that policy needs to shift from reaction to prevention, from treating disease and obesity to persuading more of us to eat good food and move more.

Farm Bill is no place for poison pills
As chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Stabenow has shown extraordinary skill in trying to bring together two drastically different versions of the House and Senate farm bills. Farm bill negotiators are expected to unveil a compromise bill..

Minimum wage woes on campaign trail
According to a new Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll, the idea is absolutely hated in Illinois. Asked if they would be “more likely or less likely to vote for a gubernatorial candidate who supports lowering the state’s minimum wage to the national rate of $7.

LETTERS
HELP THE HOMELESS Last week we experienced bonechilling sub-zero weather. Those who suffer the most when the thermometer drops below zero are our homeless brothers and sisters. This month, there’s an easy way we can help them. Check your CWLP bill for the Round Up insert.

BIG GIFTS
Alignlife, a new chiropractic clinic in Springfi eld, announced on Jan. 8 that its patients collected 61 toys during the holidays to donate to the Mini O’Beirne Crisis Nursery, located at 1011 N. Seventh St. in Springfi eld. The nursery aims to prevent child abuse by offering free, temporary child care for families in crisis.

MORE HOUSING NEEDED DOWNTOWN
A study completed by the Bowen National Research Group shows the downtown housing market is in demand for more residential projects. The .81-square mile area the study looked at could use at least 160 units developed for graduate students and housing that ranges in price from affordable living units to condominiums above $200,000.

Keep on trucking
But consequences could have been more serious for Jesse Bushnell, who tested positive for marijuana metabolites after his driverless truck rolled backward down a hill in Washington Park on Oct. 7 and plowed into parked cars, causing, all told, nearly $35,000 in damage, with the park district picking up a $1,000 deductible.

A new sheriff in town?
A veteran of the Marine Corps, Barr emphasizes his military service and service to the community. He’s been active in charities ranging from Toys For Tots to Habitat for Humanity and was named Springfield’s First Citizen in 2007 by the State Journal-Register.

Concealed carry firing up
The Illinois State Police began accepting applications for concealed carry licenses on Jan. 5 as a part of the state’s new concealed carry law. While it could take months before some applicants are granted licenses, in the meantime citizens can look out for concealed carry policies at businesses and colleges.

Third Street rail crossing closures in the works
Leaders of the city’s rail consolidation and the state’s high-speed rail projects met with members of the public on Jan. 9 for an update on the status of renovations and the consolidation of Springfield’s railroad corridors.

The innovators
As kids grow and develop, caring parents try to fill their brains with the best art, morals and ideals to mold them into the best person possible. So why would parents fill their children’s bellies with junk food? Dr.

Dr. David Steward:
In order to help someone become healthier, it’s helpful to know everything about that person. The same holds true with communities. That’s why SIU School of Medicine in Springfield in 2013 created a new Office of Community Health and Service. Although the medical school has long been involved in serving the community, Dr.

Bill Stokes:
“A lot of people run to lose weight or get in shape, but distance running breaks down the body instead of building it up,” Stokes said. “Running is something you do after you get in shape; it’s not something you do to get in shape. The repetitive stress accentuates your weaknesses.

Mike Suhadolnik:
When was the last time you met a 77-yearold man who could lay on the ground and touch his toes behind his head? He’s one of Mike Suhadolnik’s fitness pupils, and before he joined Suhadolnik’s Crossfit Instincts program, he couldn’t even touch his toes.

Cindy Kropid and Angie Sowle:
In many ways, the Springfield YMCA is simply doing what it has always done: offering a safe, fun place to develop your body, mind and spirit. But part of the reason it has stayed relevant is that the organization knows how to keep up with the times.

Dr. Craig Backs:
Dr. Craig Backs was one of Mike Suhadolnik’s first “experiments.” Under Suhadolnik’s guidance, Backs went from weighing almost 240 lbs. to a much healthier weight of around 185 lbs. in 2012. Now, Backs has integrated what he learned into his private medical practice.

Spinning out of control
But last year I decided to try SpinZone, Springfield’s first and only indoor cycling studio. Imagine my surprise when I started looking forward to exercise sessions. I would climb into the saddle of a stationary bicycle eagerly anticipating the first trickle of sweat rolling down my forehead.

Not your mother’s Jazzercise
Like almost everyone else I know, I have long struggled against my sofa’s seductiveness as well as my upbringing of bedtime snacks. But the thought of facing down an army of cold, grey ellipticals sucks the life – and any desire to exercise – right out of me.

Help stroke survivors and you’ll sleep well
The network, a nonprofit group made up of stroke survivors and caregivers across about 12 counties, opened its store, Dream Suitezzz, 16 months ago on the southwest edge of Springfield. Its purpose is to raise money for the organization, which in turn aims to improve the lives of members and their families.

Visit Galena, the winter wonderland of Illinois
One of the most scenic towns in Illinois, Galena is a picturesque wonderland in the winter, with its snow-covered hills, valleys and charming 19 th century architecture.

Slow Food Film Festival
Have you ever seen a film so powerful, so mind-boggling, so eye-opening that you had the urge to rush out and grab total strangers off the street and insist they see it, too? To think that it should be a required topic of study in high schools? That was my reaction when I saw The Future of Food,.

Dysfunction at a gallop
Violet Weston (the incomparable Meryl Streep) is the harpy at the center of all of this. She’s suffering from mouth cancer (an effective, if obvious bit of symbolism) and has completely alienated her family. Her husband Beverly (Sam Shepard) has stuck by her, aided by much drink, but finally reaches his limit and goes missing.

January heats up
First on the list comes the Road to Memphis benefit (Boondocks, Sunday, 7 p.m.) for all blues travelers heading next week to the International Blues Challenge. For the first time ever, we (I am including all of you in this momentous occasion) are sending a femalefronted contingency representing our local group, Illinois Central Blues Club.

PUB CRAWL
Danny Rabin, Crimes Against the Moonlight, Deadwood Boys, The Station.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Ras Kass and Copywrite
On the road for their Writer’s Block Tour, national rap stars Ras Kass and Copywrite started in Yuma, Ariz., last week and continue to travel the country making a stop at Bar None during Torch Tuesday’s weekly hip-hop night.

THE CALENDAR
Jan 22, 7:30pm Wed. Tony-award winning musical starring Sally Struthers. Sangamon Auditorium, UIS, 1 University Plaza, 217-206-6160..

HOLIDAY | Soul force
Here are a few Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in Jacksonville and Springfield taking place on Monday, Jan. 20. Illinois College and the city of Jacksonville will celebrate with critically acclaimed author and NAACP Image-Award recipient Sheyann Webb-Christburg (pictured left) who will speak at 11 a.

THEATER | Rock out
Roxy Theatricals presents eight performances of the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch..

COMEDY | Multitalented funnyman
Yep, that Tom Arnold. Multitalented comedian, actor and producer Tom Arnold comes to Springfield’s Donnie B’s Comedy Club.