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Historic omissions
For some time I have been working on a history of mid-Illinois. One might ask – several potential publishers did – how one can make an interesting book of even modest size with facts and stories about such a dull place. After all, you can read a hundred county histories whose highlight was that time Rev.

How to handle the Russia mess
There are really two questions at hand. The first involves Russian meddling in our election and their attempts to manipulate the outcome. They clearly have the ability to affect the public debate and public perceptions – and maybe hack the election itself.

A clueless dealmaker’s deal goes down
With the GOP now in control of the whole national government, they’d bragged that they’d quickly knock Obama’s trademark reform out of the park. And their star slugger was on deck – Donald Trump, the selfproclaimed dealmaker extraordinaire.

LETTERS
WORKING WITH DEMS Trump says he wants to work with the Democrats now. Good. Please start by apologizing to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, then, as a show of sincerity, withdraw Neil Gorsuch from consideration as our next Supreme Court judge and endorse and begin vesting of Merrick Garland.

Does Rauner really want a deal?
As the Senate’s two leaders tried again to find the votes to pass their “grand bargain” last week to end the state’s two-year governmental gridlock, Gov. Rauner began spending more than a million dollars on two new TV ads that portray him as an every-man “duct tape” hero in the fight for Illinois’ future.

Ka-ching!
While legislators consider banning the Illinois Department of Corrections from privatizing prison health care jobs, pay records show that prison workers earn substantially more than counterparts in the private sector as well as prison employees in other Midwestern states.

OPIOID RECOVERY CENTER
sshakir@rassik.net.

ILLINOIS WOMEN MARCH
Activists from Illinois prepare to rally to support a progressive legislative agenda, while they lobby lawmakers to pass a budget. The Illinois Women March on Springfi eld will be held on Tuesday, April 25, at the Capitol Building.

Protesters demand funding for adult ed
The event was organized by the Illinois Adult and Continuing Educators Association (IACEA). The IACEA promotes the education of adults by helping them achieve high school equivalency, improve their literacy skills and pursue career opportunities through various programs at adult centers and community colleges.

Lax procedures allow theft
When purchasers of surplus state property showed up with money orders at the Central Management Services warehouse on South 10 1/2 Street, Ashleigh E. Watson, office administrator, was eager to help. At least once, she even took over in mid-transaction for another employee without being asked.

The Zombies embark on a final Odessey
Over the past decade, a reformed lineup of The Zombies – featuring original members Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent – has garnered well-deserved accolades and a host of new fans. On the evening of Tuesday, April 11, Springfield will welcome The Zombies to the Sangamon Auditorium for a special program where the band will showcase the Odessey & Oracle.

Where history offers hope
On Monument Avenue, next to the main entrance of Oak Ridge Cemetery, the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum sits in view of the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site. The museum opened on March 3, 2016, and recently celebrated its anniversary by signing a three-year lease with the City of Springfield, owners of the building.

The healing power of chicken soup
Spring has sprung! Brightly colored bulb flowers are beginning to bloom and the cheeky chatter of songbirds fills the air. Winter is officially behind us. Unfortunately, the flu season has not completely melted away like the snow and ice. Everywhere I turn it seems another friend has been struck down with the virus.

Johansson’s humanity makes for rewarding Ghost
With last week’s announcement that Elon Musk and his team are working on developing implants that will be put in our brains so that we can interface wirelessly with computers, we were brought one step closer towards realizing all that the sci-fi genre promised us was possible.

Friday music making
If this falls on deaf ears, I suppose that we could turn a blind eye to it and move on. But let’s believe in all who listen and make the most of making music matter. Friday night’s “Pub Crawl” demonstrates a selection that really shows the collection of music in Springfield.

PUB CRAWL
Suns and Cats, Mike Burnett, Andon Davis, Joe T. Phegley, Dion Doss, Jeff Kornfeld.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | The Good Companions
Founded in 2014 “out of a mutual love of good songcraft and honest live performance,” bandmates Colin Helton (guitar, vocals) and Danny Kerwin (bass, vocals) started out, as all good musical experiences do, by making music in a jam session. The accomplished and experienced local musicians had played in other bands but not together before.

THE CALENDAR
Theater & Comedy Adam Trent: The Futurist.

ART | Lincoln lovers
For the 2017 edition of Capital City Visitor,.

FILM | Illinois Innocence Project
On April 12, join the Illinois Innocence Project at University of Illinois Springfield along with WSEC/Network Knowledge and the Hoogland Center for the Arts for a screening of The Central Park Five..