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Bruce Rauner, progressive
Progressive reformers of this type were less interested in saving government for the people than saving it from the people. They were moved to act when massive immigration began to flood Illinois cities with dangerous Italians and Lithuanians and Poles and Russians.

Big bucks
The item is a cardboard and paper construct about five inches wide, seven inches high and about half an inch thick. There are 400 little round circles which can be poked out. Each contains a small rolled up piece of paper which indicates whether or not it is a winner.

Take the movement to the White House
At a recent dinner with my work team, I was reminded that I had said I wanted to travel less for work this year so I could focus on other projects. Instead, I find myself bouncing across the country campaigning for my friend who decided to run for president.

LETTERS
ILLINOIS RANKS HIGH The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, in partnership with the Equality Federation, has released its second annual national report assessing the status of state legislation affecting LGBT equality across America, including in Illinois.

Free to be Bruce
Rauner was educated at Ivy League schools, after all, and worked in some of the highest echelons in business. If you listen to any of his speeches in the years before he ran for governor, you’ll notice that he talked back then like an educated Midwesterner.

Burning issues
Louis-based Foresight Energy, has been shut down since Dec. 2, when high levels of carbon monoxide were detected, signaling combustion somewhere in the mine. It was the fourth time that the mine had been shut down due to a fire since the summer of 2014.

PUBLISHER ON FACEBOOK
Clarissa Williams, publisher of the State Journal-Register, believes in freedom of speech. Just check out her Facebook page.

Death of a statesman
Philip J. Rock, 78, former president of the Illinois Senate, died Friday, Jan. 29. Rock, a Democrat widely regarded on both sides of the political aisle as a statesman, was an effective senator for 22 years partially because he worked with members of...

SWEET SCHOLARSHIP
Seniors graduating from high school this spring should keep their eyes open for the Sherel Nutt Memorial Scholarship applications in their local schools. The Springfi eld Lake Shore Improvement Association is offering two $1,000 scholarships to any senior planning to attend a community college or a four-year university in the fall.

Impasse?
The Jan. 29 vote rejecting management’s contract offer was unanimous. According to the United Media Guild that represents newsroom workers, it is now up to management to decide whether to unilaterally install all or part of the contract proposal that has been rejected.

All pain, no gain
In the Statehouse, faith that Gov. Bruce Rauner and the legislature will get a budget passed for fiscal year 2016 continues to dwindle as providers and recipients of essential services across Illinois join together to protest, write letters and form coalitions.

Time for refleXions at Prairie Art Alliance
Prairie Art Alliance member artist Ginny Lee has come to terms with technology. “Even a year ago I was a little bit iffy about showing iPhone photos made with apps. But then it become such a phenomenon internationally, I thought - OK!” Lee is currently exhibiting a variety of photos as part of “refleXions,” the new exhibit at the H.

Black behind bars
That’s just one of the shocking facts illustrating the serious racial disparity in Illinois’ criminal justice system. About 60 percent of the state’s prison population is black, despite African-American people making up only about 15 percent of the general population.

Maple syrup time
Drip, drip, drip . . . It had been below freezing overnight, but by noon the sun was warm. I took my then-4-year-old daughter, Ashley, outside to enjoy the beautiful sunny day, the most extended outdoor excursion we’d had since we’d built a snowman a few weeks before.

Sincerity keeps Hours afloat
Gillespie does a fine job juggling the dual storylines, not only giving each equal time on screen but also generating dramatic heft in both.

Music losses and gains
Let’s begin with the life of Riley; Mark, to be exact. Area musician Mark Riley, 67, passed away on Jan. 15. Acclaimed by many pickers, players, listeners, friends and fans as one of the best guitarists of our age and area, Mark didn’t play out a lot in his later years but in the day he rocked our world well and often.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Dan Hubbard
Known to Springfield fans as a headline performer at SOHO festival pasts, as well as other venues with his band The Humadors, Dan Hubbard is on a brand new adventure and invites you to come along.

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

THE CALENDAR
Dates, times and locations are subject to last-minute changes, so we suggest calling before attending events..

LECTURES | Actress/author Amber Tamblyn
Actress/author/director Amber Tamblyn will present two Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows Lectures at Illinois College 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 8, in Rammelkamp Chapel and Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kirby Learning Center.

HISTORY | UIS New Voices on Racial Justice Series
Alison Bailey, director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Illinois State University, for a program focused on how “white talk” steers racially charged discussion toward the moral goodness of the speaker and away from white privilege, effectively defending the speaker from vulnerabilities such as feeling like a participant in privilege.

MUSIC | Mr. Lincoln’s favorite songs
Hear the songs enjoyed by Abraham Lincoln on the very instrument he used to listen to. On Saturday, Feb. 6, see the unveiling of the recently restored square grand piano made by Emilius N. Scherr of Philadelphia and dating to c. 1835-40. A costumed Mr. and Mrs.