Close the Illinois State Museum, cut our collective hearts out
My little son loves the Illinois State Museum. For him, it’s a place of exploration and discovery. He routinely clamors to be taken to the Mary Ann MacLean Play Museum, located on the lower floor of the museum’s main building on Spring Street.

Editor’s note
Amid all the other calamities threatened from the Statehouse, the governor’s proposed closure of the Illinois State Museum may seem like just one more thing that probably won’t happen. Maybe that’s why there has been no public outcry from Springfi eld’s mayor or the city council or anybody else.

Doing development right
They could just put trailers on it, I suppose. An Iowa firm, Bluffstone LLC, hoped to build a five-story, 70-unit apartment complex on a downtown Springfield parking lot. Because the apartments would be marketed to older local college students, the town’s two public universities wanted it.

How the grassroots derailed the TPP train
The “it” was the stunning June 12 vote last week in the House of Representatives that wrecked that high-balling freight train called the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

LETTERS
Surely there are thousands of redundant, out-of-favor, past their usefulness or outright useless corners to sweep out of government to save the same money without destroying something that is genuinely respected, enlightening and available to all. How sad and shortsighted.

Rauner’s TV ad is all bark, no bite
At the nineteen-second mark, Gov. Rauner appears in the ad. “Change in Springfield isn’t easy,” Rauner says in voiceover as he’s seen on the screen talking with a couple of male workers. “But you didn’t send me here to do what’s easy,” he says as he’s seen talking to a woman standing at a counter near some flowers.

Cop stands trial for DUI
James Stewart was initially placed on administrative leave, then put on desk duty after crashing his car into a concrete median on the 1600 block of Stevenson Drive on April 12, 2014. Stewart, who was off duty at the time, refused to perform roadside sobriety tests or submit to a breath test.

STATE FARM HELPS COMPASS KIDS
First there were 4,000 causes from across the nation submitted to the State Farm Insurance Neighborhood Assist program, then a youth advisory board narrowed the list to 200 community causes.

SPRINGFIELD HOUSING: BUY!
Does renting or buying a home make more fi nancial sense in the Land of Lincoln? Nerdwallet, a consumer advocacy website based in San Francisco, recently published a study entitled “Should you rent vs. buy in Illinois?” The company crunched the numbers in 327 Illinois cities with populations over 5,000.

The high cost of higher education
The Illinois Senate met June 16 to discuss the cost of college in Illinois in anticipation of sending the higher education funding bill to Gov. Bruce Rauner, who included a 30 percent cut to colleges and universities in his proposed budget – a larger cut than any other department received.

Horrific health care
When Rubin Watts arrived at the Dixon Correctional Center infirmary in 2007, his legs and feet were red and swollen, with stinking open wounds that were oozing pus and a bloody discharge. He had a skin infection called cellulitis and a history of mental illness.

Visit Oak Park, home of Wright and Hemingway
Oak Park attracts thousands of visitors every year to view the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed houses in the world and to tour the birthplace of writer Ernest Hemingway. A summer weekend is the perfect time to explore this charming suburb, about 10 miles west of Chicago’s Loop.

The many benefits of buying locally
Buying locally is a great way for consumers to find the products and services they’re looking for and help their local economy along the way. The small businesses in your community may be owned by your next door neighbor, who relies on his or her fellow townspeople to keep the business going strong.

Buying local benefits the environment, too
Buying local has many benefits. But while consumers may know that buying local helps grow the local economy by supporting local business owners and creating jobs, they may not realize the positive impact that buying local can have on the environment as well.

Staying local when gift buying has its benefits
The average adult must shop for gifts for friends or family members several times over the course of a typical year. Birthdays, holidays and anniversaries are often the driving force behind such excursions, but some people will buy a gift for a loved one even if there is no special occasion attached.

How shopping locally can help you and your community
Today’s consumers have more shopping options at their disposal than they did in years past. Though the Internet may put the world at one’s fingertips, more and more shoppers are discovering that buying locally makes for a superior shopping experience..

Brothers and coconut candy
My mind was on Jamaica when writing last week’s column for reasons that had nothing to do with its most famous dish: my new grandson, Peter. Although Peter was born in the United States, his birth mother is Jamaican. Like his four-year-old brother Robbie, he is adopted and African- American.

Cuisine Scene
Chadito’s Mexican American Grill.

Inside the mind universal
From the very first moment, you know you’re witnessing something special as Docter and company vividly create their own world replete with common touchstones. The arena of action is the mind of a young girl named Riley.

June in
Check out the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for Sala, an interactive website set to host a non-profit, professional association intended to connect independent artists everywhere to “make creative work a viable living.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | New City Road
Named after a well-traveled country blacktop south of Springfield, New City Road likes to mix it up with the audience, combining showmanship and comradeship of the band to reach listeners and bring the music home. They stay current on the scene, constantly learning new top 40 country songs to mix in with the modern classics.

PUB CRAWL
Dates, times and locations are subject to change, so we suggest calling before attending an event..

FAIRS & FESTIVALS | Pageants, pet shows, a parade and more
Assumption Fest is a three-day, family-fun festival that has been going and growing for more than 80 years, and is proud to offer big-city entertainment in a small-town setting. Two new attractions for 2015 are the look-alike contest ($5 entry fee) and Woody’s Menagerie, a traveling wildlife exhibit.

THE CALENDAR
celebration with parade, concessions, children’s activities, live entertainment, fi reworks and more. Free. jacksonvilleil.org. 217-243- 5678. Nichols Park, 319 Holken Brink Drive, Jacksonville..

CHILDREN’S CORNER | Play it safe
This Saturday, Freedom Chevrolet-Chrysler-Dodge- Jeep-Ram in Virden joins with Operation Kidsafe to offer the number one child safety event in America. Operation Kidsafe will fingerprint both hands and take a digital head and shoulder photograph of each child.

THEATER | Talented teens perform Peach
This weekend, join the Hoogland Teens for a brand-new musical version of the classic children’s book by Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach..