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Making America toxic again
That includes parts of Illinois. Ivanka should explain to her father – a man who doesn’t seem to have read a newspaper since 1979 – that it is not Barack Obama who is killing coal in our southern counties but Adam Smith.

Welcome to Washington, Donald Trump
As hard as the campaign might have been and the transition is proving to be, Donald Trump’s challenges are really just beginning.

The new founder
This past January, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the multimillionaire protege of the Koch brothers’ plutocratic kingdom and American Legislative Exchange Council darling, revealed to a startled nation that he has penned not one but nine new amendments to the Constitution of the USA.

THE WEEK
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LETTERS
“A house divided against itself cannot stand,” said Abraham Lincoln, quoting the Bible. Mr. Lincoln was speaking of the truth that as a country, we need to be united in love and patriotism, one nation, under God. The “rural white underclass” Mr.

Rauner was looking for any excuse to veto CPS bill
As Senate President John Cullerton sees it, Gov. Bruce Rauner “needed an excuse” to veto a bill last week that would’ve given the Chicago Public Schools $215 million for its June 30th pension payment. And Cullerton believes he turned out to be that excuse.

THIS MODERN WORLD
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ABE’S IN THE MONEY
After months of uncertainty, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a division of the National Archives, has awarded a grant of more than $106,000 to the Papers of Abraham Lincoln Project based at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.

KIDS LEARN CODE
Last week Springfi eld public school students took part in “The Hour of Code,” a 60-minute program designed as an introduction to developing computer skills.

Exit interview
As Statehouse bureau chief for Illinois Public Radio, Amanda Vinicky has been a familiar, authoritative voice on WUIS for a decade, providing excellent coverage of state politics and government. That is all about to change when, starting Jan.

The faces of Jennifer Watkins
Watkins moved from Florida to Massachusetts last summer. Wanted in Illinois for refusing to allow visits between her nineyear-old daughter and the girl’s paternal grandparents, Watkins had seemed safe in the Sunshine State, where she’d moved after...

A CASE LIKE NO OTHER
The battle over Sidney Watkins dates to 2008, when her father, Steven, fi led for divorce from Jennifer Watkins after less than two years of marriage.

Fashionable Pharmacy
Since first opening in the summer of 2011, the Pharmacy Gallery and Art Space has transformed from a group of scrappy upstarts to something of an area institution – all without losing a combined sense of fun and exploration along with a self-evident belief in the intrinsic value of local, independently produced art.

Holiday happenings
Dec 17, 2-5pm Sat. Springfi eld Figure Skating Club exhibition features festive costumes, fun choreography and great entertainment. Free admission with donation of two canned or dry goods. 217-753-2800. Nelson Center Ice Arena, Lincoln Park, 1601 N. Fifth St.

How to pick the right toys
While it might ring true that everyone feels like a kid at Christmastime, nothing beats the excitement of actually being a kid at Christmas. Few annual traditions are more anticipated and toiled over than the creation of a child’s holiday wish list.

Have yourself a Vintage Little Christmas
He might not have known it then, but maybe Charles Dickens had it right when he wanted us to look back at our Christmases past. Only today, those memories of Christmases past have become front and center in our celebrations.

Braising, the slowcooking solution
’Tis the season for braising! This hands-off cooking method, in which foods are covered and slow-cooked at a lower temperature with a small amount of liquid, transforms tough, cheaper cuts of meat and hard, fiberrich vegetables into sumptuous one-pot meals.

Ford’s Animals a haunting, tantilizing mystery
Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) is a curator lost in the art world of Los Angeles. While her gallery is a success, she knows full well that what she displays is disposable work with little substance, much a reflection of her own life.

December’s rocking
Welcome to the holiday season with all the trimmings as we slide headfirst through December headlong toward the new year of 2017. Jam-packed hardly seems a generous enough word to describe all the stuff going on around us this time of year. Besides keeping your eyes on Illinois Times’.

PUB CRAWL
Connor’s Corner Pub, Tallula, 9pm-1am..

BAND SPOTLIGHT | The Trip Daddys
For more than 20 years Craig Straubinger (aka Craig Daddy) has led The Trip Daddys of St. Louis on a musical adventure blending rockabilly, hard country, blues and real rock ‘n’ roll to create a synthesis of American roots music as performed by a simple, rocking trio.

THE CALENDAR
Dec 9-11, 8pm Fri-Sat, 2pm. Hilarious comedy where two actors play all of the residents in the tiny town of Tuna, Texas. In association with Playhouse on the Square. $18 adults, $16 seniors and students. hcfta.org. Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. Sixth St.

THEATER & COMEDY | A grand holiday tradition
Join the Springfield Ballet Company for three performances of The Nutcracker.

THEATER & COMEDY | A small-town Christmas
This weekend, travel to the zany town of Tuna, Texas, for an unforgettable Christmas play about the antics surrounding the citizens of small-town Texas.

HISTORY | Historic holidays
Take a step back in time this holiday season and learn how American soldiers celebrated the holidays during four major conflicts (Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I and World War II) at the Illinois State Military Museum’s “Christmas at the Front” event on Saturday, Dec.