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To my daughter, the Bernie fan
Dear Nora and Michael, I took my Bernie sign down today. The yard looks a little bare. He would have made a great president. But fair is fair. He just doesn’t have the votes. Do I think superdelegates are a bad idea? Absolutely. Do I wish the Republicans had them this year? Yes.

Pots and kettles
The squabble between Chicago and its suburbs is a family affair, and I won’t comment on it. As for Chicago and Downstate, well, there is no reason why they should get along. They are part of the same state only by a mapmaker’s whim, a cartographic prank.

Bringing back Bill
This year, despite the unnerving presidential freak show the Republicans are putting on, Hillary Clinton is the one who recently stunned me.

LETTERS
Bruce Rushton’s analysis of the ongoing crisis at the Papers of Abraham Lincoln was well-written and informative (“Shredding Lincoln,” June 9). If government mismanagement of the Papers Project continues on its present course, we can expect the entire project to move out of state, as did the Grant papers after John Y.

Good news and bad news for Dems
The poll of 1,231 registered Illinois voters found presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton leading presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump by twelve points, 47-35. Another 7 percent said they were voting for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and 12 percent were undecided.

REMEMBERING ORLANDO
Emotions fi lled the conference room in the lower level of the PAC building at the University of Illinois Springfi eld as Kerry Poynter, director of the UIS LGBTQA resource offi ce and his staff read the names of the 49 victims who lost their lives to the actions of a terrorist-affi liated gunman.

Empowered and employed
Shareese Tinsey, a Springfield mother of five children, had been struggling to find a job that would provide a steady income. That changed when Rev. Margaret Ann Jessup offered Tinsey a job at Wooden It Be Lovely, a nonprofit in Springfield centered on helping single mothers heal from lives of abuse and poverty.

AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
One of the best things about working in journalism is getting to learn new things nearly every day. On June 10, we had a chance to look over our work from the past year at the Illinois Press Association’s annual awards convention, and it’s incredible how many different topics we covered in 2015.

Short of breath
Within months of receiving a 2014 report that members of the Williamsfield Fire Protection District near Peoria were filling ambulance oxygen tanks with plain room air, the department had identified culprits and leveled charges.

Lender forecloses on downtown hotel
The hotel’s owners in court documents say that they’ve never missed a payment on a $17.3 million 10-year mortgage taken out in 2007. More than $15 million is still owing on the loan.

After the atom
Illinois has a long history with the atom. The world’s first nuclear reactor began operating in 1942 beneath a football field at the University of Chicago, where scientists with the secret Manhattan Project were developing the atomic bomb.

The story of Shoeless Joe Jackson
Writer Nelson Algren once observed that “Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring.” Fans of Chicago’s baseball teams would certainly disagree since October is the month of baseball’s World Series and in the past 100 years the city has celebrated only two baseball world championships.

Mixing up the color palette
The Pharmacy has been presenting quarterly group shows featuring work by its member artists since November 2011. Through the ensuing five years, a change of location and many members joining and leaving (and sometimes rejoining), the spirit of the Pharmacy has always been one of camaraderie and mutual support.

Hearty grain salads for summer
Not only are these salads delicious and satisfying, they pack a hefty nutritional punch and are a great vehicle for getting fresh, seasonal vegetables into the weekly meal rotation. Chewy, nutty wheat berries have as much protein as quinoa and are an excellent source of fiber.

Magical Dory helps us find ourselves
There’s no question that Pixar Animation radically changed the way big-screen cartoons were created, as well as what audiences should expect from them. These brightly told morality tales weren’t just for kids, as they spoke to concerns that touched upon not only childhood issues and trauma but also the difficulties of reconciling them as an adult.

June jams
Here comes the Sangamon County Fair with plenty of hot, modern country in the grandstand lineup that should appeal to fairgoers in tune with contemporary countrypop music. I think we can safely say that live music saved the fair.

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

BAND SPOTLIGHT | New City Road
Named after a blacktop south of town heading out to the country through New City, this band is like family to each other and plays to the crowd with the dedication and closeness of relatives.

THE CALENDAR
Directed by John Sivak. Tickets: $12-14 reserved, $6-10 lawn. themuni.org. The Muni, 815 E. Lake Dr., 793-MUNI. Music: General Events An Evening with Savion Glover and Jack DeJohnette.

BULLETIN BOARD | LGBT love
On Saturday, June 18, join the Coalition of Rainbow Alliances for the 35 th Annual Pride Picnic. This summery gathering provides an opportunity for the LGBT community and its supporters to come together for fellowship, a picnic meal and a pleasant evening in the park.

SPORTS & RECREATION | Shellin’ out family fun
A busy weekend lies ahead for Springfield’s very own Prospect League collegiate baseball team. The Springfield Sliders play in Lisle on Thursday, travel to Quincy on Friday, and then swing back to the capital city for Saturday’s 6:35 p.m. start time against the Quincy Gems.

BULLETIN BOARD | Leadership through Adlai’s lens
Join former U.S. Senator Adlai Stevenson III on Thursday, June 16, as he discusses modern politics through the multi-generational lens of his family’s political leadership. In additional to serving as a U.S. senator for 11 years, Adlai Stevenson III ran for governor of Illinois twice.