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Mental health budget cuts are insane
Their plan wouldn’t necessarily reduce government spending. At best, it would just shift the burden from federal taxpayers to state taxpayers. In fact, such cuts could increase overall government spending. That’s because Medicaid is the most important financing source of mental health services.

Missing links
If Mr. Rauner thinks that reforming workers’ comp is hard, wait until he tries to reform geology. It turns out that yet another reason Illinois Inc. is not economically competitive with neighbor states is that its landscape is too plain. We know that because golf course developer Mike Keiser said so to Crain’s.

Where does inequality come from?
Every now and then, we commoners get a glimpse of inequality in the making, as we did recently when the GOP Boss of the House, Rep. Paul Ryan, rammed the awful Trumpcare bill through that chamber.

LETTERS
DIVERSE AND PROUD I am an avid reader of your paper and generally look forward to your weekly editions. I was happy to see that you covered pride and put it on the cover of your May 18 edition (“The gayest day,” by Scott Faingold). However, I was disappointed to see all white people on the cover.

Is K-12 the key to getting this done?
Bills are routinely moved in the House for the sole purpose of creating TV ads or direct mail pieces or newspaper headlines. Madigan’s only real ideology is maintaining his majority, and he doesn’t consider that to be a bad thing. And maintaining that majority has been inextricably tied for two long years to stopping Gov.

Deputy under fire fibs
John Bartello, a 10-year veteran of the force, acknowledged steroid use dating back to high school, according to internal affairs files obtained under the state Freedom of Information Act. He was known within the ranks as being a weightlifter who would post photos of himself online to show off his physique, an internal affairs investigator wrote.

Carillon Festival concludes Friday
The carillon in Washington Park is not only a familiar icon to Springfield residents, it is also known internationally as one of the world’s largest and best carillons. The final two nights of the 56 th annual International Carillon Festival are Thursday and Friday.

Midwest motorcycle mecca
On Harleys and Hondas and BMWs they roar, or zip near-silent like the world’s fastest sewing machines, to a place that can’t be found via GPS for an event that isn’t advertised. Only the certifiable would brave rain and hail, even snow and ice, to gather in early spring for… hamburgers.

What makes the Magic Kitchen magic
Thirty-four years ago I heard about a little coffee shop in the parking lot of a shabby motel on Springfield’s north side that had unlikely pairing of corndogs and Thai food on the menu. Even though I had spent the last four years in Chicago and had dined in dozens of Asian restaurants, I had never experienced Thai food.

Wonder Woman a heroine for the ages
Jenkins and screenwriter Allan Heinberg waste little time taking us to the hidden island of Themyscira, where Princess Diana has been sheltered by her mother, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen).

Art music from the heartland
Over the past 12 months, he has self-released five full-length Forest Saints CDs, all of which are available for streaming at bandcamp.com, each boasting its own distinct mood and character. The most recent is an ambitious, two-disc set entitled In the Company of Wolves,.

Wise up to Dumb Fest
Welcome to Dumb Fest weekend, which covers three days worth of very cool and extremely expressive bands, based mostly in the world of what one might call various degrees of DIY (Do-It-Yourself) punk rock music. Categorizing the music is like saying Woodstock was just a rock concert festival and ignoring the grand diversity of the artists performing.

PUB CRAWL
Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Rays
Hailing from Oakland, California, bandmates Stanley Martinez (guitar, vocals, violin), Eve Hannan (bass, vocals), Alexa Pantalone (drums, synth) and Troy Hewitt (guitar, organ, piano, synth) are now on a month-long jaunt across America.

BULLETIN BOARD | Relive the golden age of aviation
Experience the golden age of aviation by flying on the Ford Tri-Motor, the plane that revolutionized luxury commercial airline travel. The Ford 4-AT-E aircraft, nicknamed the “Tin Goose,” is available for rides Thursday from 2-5 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, from 9 a.

THE CALENDAR
Chatham American Legion Homecoming.

SPORTS | Vehicles for artistic expression
On Saturday, June 10, join Our Vibrant Community in Enos Park for a free bike parade designed to increase visibility for cycling as participants inventively decorate their bikes into art bikes for a group ride. From 1-3 p.m.