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Pay as you leave
I guess you could call it a roaming charge. State Sen. Chapin Rose, a Republican from over Mahomet way, has introduced a bill to reform the program that grants tuition aid at state colleges and universities to roughly 140,000 poor students. Mr.

Is the American business community racist?
In the past few months a rainbow of people has taken to protesting in cities throughout the country. Racial injustice brought to light by failures of grand juries to indict white police officers after the deaths of unarmed black men is moving citizens of all backgrounds to action.

The KBParty of Plutocratic Rule
Well don’t look now, but such a party has recently popped up, raring to roar into the 2016 presidential race. Called the KBParty, it has the funding, political network and expertise needed to bypass the establishment’s control of the election system. But don’t rush to sign up: KB stands for Koch Brothers.

LETTERS
In early February, the Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water (ICCAW) and other groups filed comments to the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) due to IEPA’s lack of an accurate inventory of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in Illinois.

Bruce’s budget address boo-boo
The current fiscal year’s outlook was so incredibly dire (by the Democrats’ own making), that the veteran Democratic leaders figured Rauner would want to first tackle that problem before moving on to the mess in next fiscal year’s budget, which begins July 1.

Modern family
The Illinois Family Law Study Committee, a legislative advisory group created to make recommendations for updating the state’s marriage law, is proposing a handful of changes the group has been finetuning for seven years. The changes attempt to incorporate modern cultural norms and values surrounding divorce and child custody.

Pension tension
The Illinois Supreme Court will hear arguments on a lawsuit over public pension benefits next week, bringing to a head fundamental disagreements over the rights conferred by Illinois’ constitution and whether an emergency justifies overriding the constitution.

BUILDING BETTER BRIDGES
How can a few fi le folders be used to support almost 70 pounds? Just ask Ben Thomas, Alex Harvatin and Tucker Schmidt from Sacred Heart-Griffi n High School in Springfi eld.

SHE’S BACK – MAYBE
Sherry Waldron, a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy fi red after being accused of stealing plants in 2012, has been ordered reinstated by an arbitrator who also ruled that she is entitled to back wages, which could cost the county six fi gures. The decision marked the second time that arbitrator Dennis McGilligan has ordered Waldron reinstated.

Researching reefer
Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, sponsors House Bill 2750, which would direct the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council (SPAC) to study the potential effects of taxing and regulating marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. She says the bill reflects a growing consensus that marijuana should be legalized.

County cop hit again
This time, Deputy Travis Koester is in the crosshairs of U.S. District Court Judge Sue Myerscough, who has signaled strongly that she will find that he needlessly tased and arrested a woman who posed no threat and had done nothing but question the deputy’s right to search her purse.

Rauner’s long shot: Right-to-work zones
Governor Bruce Rauner’s bid to establish statewide “right-to-work zones,” one of the major initiatives of his emerging state economic development plan, could become a rallying cry in Illinois’ city halls and county seats. But it’s a long way from becoming a reality, a BGA Rescuing Illinois examination finds.

One last request
When hospice patient Dorothy learned that her time on earth was coming to a close, she had a simple request: she just wanted one last margarita. Thanks to Memorial Medical Center Foundation’s Sharing Wishes Fund, the fund was able to foot the bill for one last “Girls’ Day Out” for Dorothy and her aide.

Triumph, tragedy and Torch Tuesday
Since 2010, Bar None in downtown Springfield has played host to Torch Tuesday, billed as “the longest running hip-hop open mic in central Illinois.

Sprout into spring
Sprouts. They are simply the first growth of seeds. There is actually very little difference – both nutritionally and flavorwise – between the first little peeps of green pushing through the earth in spring gardens and those grown indoors in colder months.

Second Exotic: Bland and familiar
Having successfully opened and sustained a hotel in Jaipur, India exclusively for retired British expatriates, Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel) has his eyes on expanding his slow but ever-burgeoning residence empire.

Music givers
So many times when benefits and fundraisers look for support in drawing attention to an event, live music is involved. Many times the musicians themselves originate the concept of playing for the proceeds of donations. Through it all, artists usually get the call to give of their talents and time to help out a good cause.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Dexter O’Neal and Funk Yard
Currently based out of Peoria, singer-guitarist-performer Dexter O’Neal was born in Ferriday, La. His earliest musical memories are from that area, singing in one room churches with his grandmother. When Dexter was five, his family moved to Bloomington, Ill.

PUB CRAWL
James Armstrong Presents: Kicked to the the Curb.

THE CALENDAR
Fairs & Festivals 17th Annual Illinois Products Expo.

ART | The art of text
The first portion of a new art exhibition spanning multiple Springfield venues opens this week at the Illinois State Museum. Pro-Text: When Words Enter Visual Art.

BOOKS & AUTHORS | Cultures and characters
The UIS ECCE Speaker Series continues on Friday, March 6, at 7 p.m., with a presentation and readings by fiction writer and poet Stuart Dybek. Dybek will read from his new collection of short stories about love, Paper Lantern,.

ART | Many artists, multiple mediums
This Saturday, join the Prairie Art Alliance for Mystic Harmony,.