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How will LGBT issues affect the election?
We’ve come to a precarious moment where the American people overwhelmingly support nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people, but we’ve seen no new protections for the full LGBT community since 2008.

Men in power
Donald Trump has run for the presidency before. He ran in 1968 disguised as George Wallace and again in 1996 as Patrick Buchanan. He also ran in 1992, as my excerpted column from Oct. 29 of that year recalls. Perot’s defeat – by a Clinton – did not still the authoritarian impulse among our countrymen, it only discouraged it for a while.

Donnie is a Trumpist, not a populist
To many hard-working people, this is a time of economic uncertainty. Thus, it is important to point out that America’s superrich are intentionally and brazenly knocking down the middle class and poor to further enrich themselves. They are aided by clueless, corrupt politicians who don’t care about the future of ordinary Americans or of America itself.

THIS WEEK
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LETTERS
What to do with radioactive waste has long been the Achilles heel of nuclear energy. Plans for storing all waste in Nevada seemed good by all the states except Nevada. The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository site has been canceled. Now the waste sits mainly at the plants in “temporary” storage.

The transformation is almost complete
Since his inauguration, Gov. Bruce Rauner has consciously aped Washington, D.C.’s notoriously noxious battle to “win” the daily media spin cycle. Rauner has a set base of talking points based on tried and true poll-tested topics, and he rarely, if ever, deviates.

THIS MODERN WORLD
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Why voters are so angry
Edgar, a Republican who served as Illinois governor from 1991 to 1999, said Clinton was more prepared and more “presidential” in the debate. One of the first prominent Republicans to say he wouldn’t support Trump, Edgar has made no secret of his opposition to Trump.

OH DEER
the best use of Bambi in ad campaigns. Each fall, as local deer prepare to get stupid and start wandering on roadways, especially after dark, Zara’s comes up with the cleverest billboards this side of the ever-changing chalkboard outside the Grab-A-Java on South Sixth Street.

SPRINGFIELD DEL SOL
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From green to well-being
It was the late ’90s, and Terrell owned a Denny’s restaurant franchise in Mokena, Illinois. When one of the light bulbs at the restaurant failed, Terrell wanted to replace it with a compact fluorescent light bulb he had recently picked up at a home show.

Wanna drive drunk? Borrow a Bentley
“That’s, essentially, the policy that’s being espoused by the Fifth District (Appellate Court),” said David Robinson, a state appellate prosecutor who came out on the losing end of a case in which the court reversed a trial judge and ordered a pricey motorcycle returned to its owner.

WATER WARS
Grubs are a new twist, but Hall and other members of the South Sangamon Water Commission have grown accustomed to complaints about water that began four years ago, when a new water plant went live and produced a flow of complaints from Chatham residents who say that municipal water is corroding pipes, appliances and hot water tanks.

Not your mother’s sauerkraut
I’ve long been a lover of kimchi, though in my early days it was a social liability. There were few others for me to share my enthusiasm with. Nothing would clear a room faster than opening a jar of kimchi. Now kimchi has penetrated American pop culture and is showing up in Korean tacos on menus of chain restaurants such as TGI Fridays.

INSPIRING QUEEN AVOIDS PITFALLS
Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) is a 9-yearold girl living in the slums of Kampala, the capital of Uganda, when missionary Robert Katende (David Oyelowo) introduces her to chess at a local activity center.

Folk fall findings
As we welcome October 2016 to the world, the weather couldn’t be any nicer. The music ain’t bad either, with the folkies finding fall familiar. Friday gives us Dana Cooper and Sally Barris at the Paris-Belle House Concert series in Williamsville (parisbelleconcerts@outlook.

PUB CRAWL
Open Mic with Roger Whitsell and Bob Jemison.

BAND SPOTLIGHT
Raised in Kentucky with side trips to Denmark and Montana, this one-woman band of gypsies landed in Cincinnati where she established herself as a potent force in the local kinda-country scene. Based out of Covington, Ky.

THE CALENDAR
Oct 7-8, 9am-4pm Fri-Sat. Local artisans with a large display of fall, winter and Christmas decorations and home-crafted Santas, snowmen, angels, hand painted gourds, slates and signs. Free. Craft Studio - Salisbury, 5889 Grigsby Lane, Pleasant Plains, 626-1738.

ART | World’s largest photography event
Spend your Saturday morning shooting and sharing photos of historic central Illinois during the Ninth Annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk. The Springfield walk will be lead by Robert Fox, a local photographer with more than 65 years of photography experience.

ENVIROMENT | Solar energy at work
See solar energy hard at work in Springfield during the 10th annual Illinois Solar Tour, hosted by the Illinois Energy Association. The free, open-house-style event takes place on Saturday, Oct. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

SPORTS | Historical medieval battle
See a different type of historical reenactment this weekend. Witness medieval fighters from around the world compete in full-contact medieval steel combat during the Battle of the Nations on Saturday, Oct. 1, 1 p.m., at the Prairie Capital Convention Center.