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Graduation exercise
Everyone who cares enough to have an opinion agrees that revenue is at the heart of the State of Illinois’ present distress. Some say that’s because the state doesn’t raise enough of it, others that it raises it inefficiently or unfairly, yet others that it spends what it raises foolishly.

Showing my heart to the world
My name is Thomas J. Bestudik and I am currently an inmate at Taylorville Correctional center serving three years. My world revolves around my nearly 9-year-old daughter, and I wrote a poem to express how I feel for her and if published, to show she does not have to worry what others think.

Panama Papers reveal hypocrisy
It’s always educational to observe the behavior of wildlife in their natural habitat. For example, we learn that there’s nothing more vicious than a wild animal that’s cornered. I would add that there’s nothing more devious than a top political or corporate official caught in a scandalous hypocrisy.

LETTERS
PHOTO ID I heard on the radio recently that our local housing authority was taking applications for subsidized housing. I was completely shocked that they were requiring a photo ID. I thought it was oppressing or disenfranchising to require the poor and minorities to require a photo ID.

insect thoughts #4
on my kitchen fl oor in a bowl of water lives a live tick I found it on my neck after burning charlie’s prairie last week don’t think it had time to bite isn’t swollen has its mouth parts six appendages I have studied it several times with a...

Blog post temporarily breaks stalemate
Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago) wrote up a story and I posted it on my blog (http:// CapitolFax.com) last Monday about a way to provide some funding for higher education. Universities and community colleges haven’t received a dollar from the state since June of last year because the government has no budget.

Why are they still in prison?
Harrison Chancy has spent the last 38 years behind bars for a murder and armed robbery that took place in 1977. Now age 57, he still maintains he didn’t commit those crimes, and despite evidence that he would pose no criminal threat if released, he has been denied parole 14 times since 1991.

BEAUTIFUL BIRDS
Spring means the return of migratory birds which headed south for winter, and the Lincoln Land Association of Bird Banders is asking for help tracking two particularly pretty species. The nonprofi t group focuses on monitoring, protecting and enhancing the population of Illinois’ native birds and their environments.

IT’S ONLY MONEY
Just how much money has been spent – some might say wasted – on the Salvation Army’s fl edgling homeless shelter on Ninth Street is becoming clear as Evans Construction this month fi led a $340,000 lien against the property, which records in the Sangamon County recorder’s offi ce show was purchased in 2009 for $3.

County quirk
Despite the criticism he encountered as a result of running out of ballots during the presidential primary election in March, Gray, a Republican, still has no Democratic opposition in the upcoming general election.

State settles minority contracting case
The company remains a state contractor. In addition, Berjaya, Inc., a separate Chatham-based company, has agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and surrender certifications as a business that can meet goals in contracts that set aside work for small businesses and firms owned or controlled by minorities, women or people with disabilities.

MacArthur makeover
The historic thoroughfare, originally called West Grand Boulevard, once marked the western boundary of Springfield. It was built as a two-lane road in 1919, and by the 1930s it had become a hotspot for commerce.

Making Springfield look cool
What started as just an excuse for a group of friends to hang out has turned into a Springfield-focused, biweekly web series generating a strong buzz and garnering increasing numbers of viewers. “The Studio Show,” which has uploaded 10 half-hour episodes to YouTube.

Cheadle salvages Miles Ahead
Making a film biography is fraught with hazards, even more so when tackling the life of an artist. Unless the movie is based on the subject’s autobiography, who can truly say where their inspiration comes from, especially if the artist themself can’t say for sure what muse speaks to them or why?.

Conner’s new Springfield film
The film tells the story of a Midwestern firefighter named Caleb Abrams, portrayed by Jensen Atwood, who finds himself on a path to discover his true calling. “It’s about pursuing your true passion versus what society deems as practical,” Conner says.

Simply, asparagus
Nana was a farm cook. She did not study cooking magazines in search of new and exotic recipes from far-away lands or experiment with different preparations (if it was too weird, Papa wouldn’t eat it anyway). Her cooking was pragmatic.

Come, creative spirit
The Liturgical Arts Festival of Springfield is a weeklong interfaith arts festival presented every two years by a nonprofit, interfaith organization of the same name. The festival highlights excellence in the fields of music, dance, visual arts, drama, lecture and architecture.

April into May music
Things start on Thursday night when The Curve Inn hosts Black Queen, Springfield’s very own Queen tribute band, along with Chicago Loud 9, last year’s SOHO headliner and scheduled again for the expanded downtown festival held the first weekend in June.

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

BAND SPOTLIGHT | The Mix
Back in January of 2014 plans were made to develop a band capable of knocking out current and popular radio dance hits live, without tracks.

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

CIRCUS | Animal-free antics
Founded in 2011, Cirque Italia is the United States’ first traveling water circus. This magical Europeaninspired spectacle is the brainchild of Manuel Rebecchi, who spent his childhood traveling across Italy and Europe with his late aunt Moira Orfei, who ran one of Europe’s largest circus shows.

ART | New gallery, new show
Join local artists David Brodsky, Jed Leber and Corrin Smithson McWhirter for the opening reception for “Translations,” the first exhibition to be displayed at the newly established SAA Collective Gallery in the Hoogland Center for the Arts.