Is daily fantasy sports illegal?
DFS places real-time gambling at every school desk, work desk, family TV, video game, and cellphone. People of all ages will be able to “click their phones, lose their homes.” Virtually all academic experts concur that DFS is designed to create ubiquitous real-time gambling without any effective consumer protection.

Why don’t we do it beside the road?
You wouldn’t ask a carpenter how to build a happy marriage. The residents and business owners along MacArthur Boulevard between South Grand and Wabash did something similar when they asked traffic engineers how to create a happy street.

Who says crime doesn’t pay?
Sure, they went belly-up and crashed our economy with their frauds, rigged casino games and raw greed. And, yes, the Bush and Obama regimes rushed to bail them out with trillions of dollars in our public funds while ignoring the plight of workaday people who lost jobs, homes, businesses, wealth and hope.

LETTERS
TOUGH CHOICES The 2016 election is going to be determined by whether Republicans who hate Trump outnumber Democrats who hate Hillary. Democracy is premised philosophically on voting for candidates, ideologies and ideas which will prevail by majority vote going forward.

Get out of the way
Another PPP poll of GOP state Rep. Terri Bryant’s southern Illinois district near Carbondale was even worse for the governor. Rauner won Rep. Bryant’s district 60-33, but 57 percent of voters in that district disapprove of Rauner’s job performance while only 33 percent approve.

Teaming up for environmental justice
The NAACP, which is the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, was founded in 1909 in response to the 1908 Springfield race riot. On May 5, the NAACP released its Illinois “Just Energy” report in Springfield, calling for environmental justice in the form of more renewable energy, better minority job representation and more.

A GOLD MEDAL GUY
Nicknamed the “Borinqueneers,” the 65th was instrumental in holding the North Korean and Chinese forces above the 38th Parallel as the battle-worn 1st Marine Division evacuated during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time, the Borinqueneers were a segregated unit, but Maras and some other non-Puerto Rican soldiers were assigned to the unit.

THE HEAT’S ON COLD CASES
From now until Sept. 30, CrimeStoppers of Sangamon and Menard county will be presenting information about 10 cold case homicides to the public on a biweekly basis. A cold case is an unsolved homicide case that has reached a point where investigators can go no further without additional information.

Prison phone bill targets pricing
The Illinois Department of Corrections benefits from a private contractor fleecing prisoners and their families by controlling phone services, according to three state lawmakers pushing legislation to limit what prisoners pay for phone calls. However, IDOC says the money it receives pays for certain inmate health care treatments.

Let’s celebrate: A cancer survivor’s tale
Floyd’s journey with this often terrifying disease started when her mother died from breast cancer at the age of 42, eight years earlier than the recommended age to start receiving mammograms. Her mother never smoked or drank and maintained a healthy diet.

One year, and counting
City council chambers in April bulged with people clutching signs: “Enough is enough: Protect our kids.” The signs were held high as speaker after speaker attacked a scheme to move a planned Salvation Army homeless shelter from Ninth Street, where construction unexpectedly stopped in February, to the bankrupt Gold’s Gym, which closed last fall.

Let the sparks fly
Some people are security seekers. I have friends who always drink the same brand of beer or wine and order the same familiar foods such as steak, fried chicken or cheeseburgers. Other people are thrill seekers. They are the ones who try out all the different microbrews or esoteric wines and order the grilled octopus or veal sweetbreads.

Comic inspiration aplenty in Keanu
Keegan-Michael Key is Clarence, a hardworking family man who’s so intent on pleasing his wife and children that he takes no time for himself and has lost his own identity in the process. His ultraconservative nature alienates him from his cousin Rell (Jordan Peele), who’s in a funk because his girlfriend has left him.

All that HS jazz
For a spectacular event of great beauty and also a very cool happening, join us for the first-ever coming together of three Springfieldarea high school jazz bands on Friday, May 13. The special concert, officially called the Springfield Area High School Jazz Festival, is presented at The Legacy Theatre (101 E.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Bob Zany
Not only is he not a band, Bob Zany isn’t even a musician. However, he is one of the funniest guys on the planet, and he’s coming to a comedy club near you (about 43 minutes away in Mason City).

PUB CRAWL
Open Mic with Roger Whitsell and Bob Jemison.

THE CALENDAR
Sun. Two-day outdoor art fair features jewelry, sculpture, photography, glass, pottery, wood, metal, oils, watercolors, more. Affordable children’s tent for ages 2-15. Free admission. socaf. org. 217-415-5518. Old State Capitol Plaza, Between Sixth and Fifth streets at Adams.

THEATER | Broadway and the Beast
Experience the classic love story of Belle, a young woman stuck in a provincial town, and the Beast, a young prince trapped under an enchantress’ spell, when the touring Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast.

FOOD | A delicious comeback
On Thursday, May 12, the Illinois Products Farmers Market returns for a ninth year of food and fun. The three-hour night market takes place 4-7 p.m. every Thursday now through October 13.