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Government needs to work better
Whoever wins next November’s presidential election, it’s a sure bet that at some point he or she will vow to set the federal government on the straight and narrow. Maybe the new president will even resort to the time-honored pledge to create a government “as good as the people.

Where corn is god
I grew up within a block of a corn field on the east end of Springfield. Nearly every weekend of those years we’d visit the relatives on their farm outside Beardstown; over the potholes and through the corn, to grandmother’s house we’d go, with me entranced by the corn rows, like the spokes of a spinning wheel.

Shameless in, shameless out: Running for president in 2016
It doesn’t take any great leap of imagination to look upon our current presidential campaign and say Mirabeau was correct. Great events swirl around us – we are mired in crises both foreign and domestic – and yet what little people we have to lead us..

LETTERS
INCOME TAX PROPOSALS Any tax proposal that includes a value-added tax or national sales tax has the potential to harm a consumer driven economy, which ours is. The tax calculation and enforcement would probably be very cumbersome. Sales taxes, by their nature, are regressive.

‘Governor 1.4 Percent’
I sat down for an interview last week with Gov. Rauner. As with just about every reporter, Rauner blamed House Speaker Michael Madigan for stifling his beloved Turnaround Agenda. The governor said he was “frustrated” with Madigan for saying that his anti-union, pro-business reforms were “unrelated to the budget.

CONGRATS FOR CAHOKIA
December was full of accomplishments for the Illinois State Archaeological Survey, a research offi ce which concentrates on the archaeological heritage of Illinois.

Rauner releases calendar
Under the state Freedom of Information Act, government bodies have five business days to respond to requests for public records. After five days, the governor’s office told me that it needed a five-day extension to respond to my request.

MUSEUM MOVE
The Springfi eld & Central Illinois African-American History Museum has a new home. Focused on chronicling the history and legacy of African-Americans in Springfi eld and central Illinois, the museum started out at 521 East Washington St., the former home of Robert’s Brothers Clothing Store.

Rail funding optimism
The project calls for moving the current Third Street rail corridor used by the Union Pacific railroad to the existing10 th Street rail corridor used by the Norfolk Southern railroad. While Hanson and others worked to establish a funding plan for the project, there was a measure of uncertainty about whether the money would actually be available.

Illinois’ first Raunerversary
Earlier this month, the governor’s office released a list of 14 accomplishments, which he said were done “despite intransigence from legislative Democrats who continue to block structural reforms that would grow jobs and deliver better value for taxpayers.

Pay up, please
The state is City Water, Light and Power’s largest customer, and there’s no end in sight to a budget impasse that is preventing the state from paying utility bills that are piling up at the rate of $1.7 million per month. The Secretary of State paid $1.

Statehouse preview: What’s ahead in 2016?
For Statehouse insiders, the start of a new legislative session can have a “back-toschool” feeling: a fresh start, with new lessons to learn and tests to tackle, emptied hallways once again filled with the sounds of shuffling feet and of acquaintances catching up after prolonged break.

Carol: A modern take on yesterday’s oppression
Carol (Cate Blanchett) is a woman far too opinionated and direct for the era she lives in. Dying a slow death in a stifling marriage to a possessive man (Kyle Chandler) who doesn’t understand her, she’s embarked on a dalliance or two in her past, most recently with her friend Abby (Sarah Paulson).

Oatmeal
I’ve written more than once about my longterm dislike of cold cereals. Well, not actually (some) cereals as such, but the concept of putting it into a bowl with milk. The first bites aren’t so bad, the ones wherein the cereal retains at least some of its crunch.

PUB CRAWL
Jeff Kornfeld and Mike Burnett Band.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Hipbone Sam
Together for over six years now, it’s hard to imagine a time when Hipbone Sam wasn’t on the scene. Bandmates Kevin Hawkins as Hipbone Sam (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick Mari (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals), Rob Ross (drums, vocals), Mark Riefler...

Musings on music
First, here are a couple reminders of upcoming concert and festival events that may need to be planted in your planner to ensure attendance. Friday, Jan. 22 puts internationally acclaimed Iowa folk singersongwriter Greg Brown and his good buddy slide guitarist Bo Ramsey in the Studio Theater at UIS.

BOOKS & AUTHORS | Details of Blagojevich’s impeachment
In 2008 the FBI arrested Rod Blagojevich, the then-governor of Illinois, and charged him with trying to sell a U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder. In A Just Cause: The Impeachment and Removal of Governor Rod Blagojevich,.

THE CALENDAR
Books & Authors All Came Home Book Signing.

FITNESS | Central Illinois’ biggest stair climb
Help the American Lung Association raise funds to help those affected by lung disease while participating in central Illinois’ biggest stair climb on Sunday, Feb. 21, at 9 a.m. Participants are invited to climb all 32 floors of the Wyndham Springfield City Centre once or as many times as possible in a one-hour time period.

FILM | Washington teens who overcame adversity
Enjoy a complimentary screening of Paper Tigers,.