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Parking smartly
Attorneys in their sunset years dream of the day when they no longer have to start a day knotting a necktie, governors of when they can complain about bills without people expecting them to know what’s in them. A certain Springfield columnist of that age dreams of never again having to write about parking downtown.

Hurricanes blow in hypocrisy
Every Democrat in Congress saw the needs and voted accordingly. On the majority Republican side, a mash-up of these two issues did free members loudly opposed to deficit spending to vote “yes” and then bemoan that they just had to do it for the sake of all those Hurricane Harvey victims, or at least the legal ones.

The gaping hole in Trump’s border wall
The big-businessman-turned-president insists that costs be damned – just build it! That seems to be a very un-businesslike approach – but then, it’s not his money, is it? For those of you who do care, one measure of what the total tab might be is that he’s now demanding $1.

LETTERS
The regulations he despises are there to prevent pollution, not just carbon dioxide. Coal is the dirtiest, nastiest form of energy production there is. He is correct that we need varied sources of energy production, but we already have that. Besides coal we have natural gas and nuclear.

Despite the process, they passed a decent law
While this legislation is far from perfect and doesn’t provide an immediate fix, it finally puts the state on a path to equitable school funding based on the concept of actual local need.

Pro-DACA rally recalls Springfield’s immigrant history
The Trump administration’s Sept. 5 announcement rescinding the U.S. government’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which provided protections for illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, resulted in protests across the country last week, including one on the steps of the State Capitol on Sunday, Sept.

ILLINOIS HISTORY
History will take place Oct. 5-6 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Featured speakers will be Stuart Layne, executive director of the Illinois Bicentennial Commission, and Louise Bernard, director of the Museum of the Obama Presidential Center.

FARMERS MARKET FREEDOM
variety beginning Jan. 1, 2018, thanks to a pair of local food bills that have now both been signed into law by Gov. Rauner. The Local Food Business Opportunities Act (House Bill 2820), sponsored by state Rep. Steven Andersson, R-Geneva, and state Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, was signed by Gov.

Mixed bag on MacArthur
Determined to turn around MacArthur Boulevard, the city commissioned a master plan, then appointed a committee to help make it happen. With trees and hidden parking and spacious sidewalks and stately brick buildings, the drawings were pretty.

Downtown church renovation moves ahead
Economic Growth Corporation, a company based in Rock Island that is renovating the former First United Methodist Church at the intersection of South Fifth Street and Capitol Avenue, won approval Tuesday from both an advisory commission and the city council to increase TIF financing from $985,000 to nearly $1.

Panic and interconnection
DEMO Project – a small gallery space dedicated to contemporary art from across the country, located on the Springfield Art Association campus – opened its doors in September 2013 and will finally realize its titular fate of being demolished in early 2018.

Gardening with your senses
“Horticultural therapy is about people, not the plants,” says University of Wisconsin Extension Master Gardener program director, Mike Maddox. Maddox has spent the latter part of his career teaching people how to connect to each other using gardens as their medium.

What to do with all the leaves
The fall foliage show of reds, yellows and golds will be beginning shortly in many parts of Illinois, and then will be finishing up before we know it. One good freeze up north will take care of any more fall color as the leaves come down, left in the landscape and on the lawn.

Nature journaling
Many people journal. In its most basic form, journaling is a daily record of news and events that happen in a person’s life. Writing down our day-to-day happenings saves that information in an organized manner and helps us remember it later.

Fall establishment of prairie habitat
Driving across Illinois in 2017, it can be difficult to imagine what the landscape looked like when Illinois was nicknamed the “Prairie State.” With the plight of pollinators in the public mind, many are looking for ways to reestablish prairies as a habitat for pollinators.

Preparing your home for fall and winter weather
C. Dwight Barnett is a certified master inspector with the American Society of Home Inspectors. Write to him with home improvement questions at C. Dwight Barnett,.

The fall colors we are already obsessed with
The changing of the leaves has us daydreaming over new home hues. From jewel tones to oversaturated oranges, autumnal tones bring a burst of drama and natural allure to any space. As interior revamps go, switching up paint colors via a bold accent wall or fullblown makeover is a cost-effective and wildly transformative design project.

Try these fall outdoor redesign projects
Fall is a popular time to enjoy the outdoors, especially with the magic of the change of seasons. The summer is a time when many homeowners may wish to start thinking about fall improvements, especially while the weather is still warm..

Make a splash
Fountains have been around since Roman times. In the ancient world, they were purely functional, employing springs or aqueducts to provide water for drinking, bathing and cleaning to even the smallest villages. Modest, centrally located and fed by gravity, public fountains were the focus of a simple communal existence.

Getting back into the kitchen
Our society is experiencing an epidemic of obesity and diabetes with the root cause of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance develops when we bombard our body all day long with sugar-containing substances. It’s hard to find processed foods that don’t have sugar or high-fructose corn syrup in the ingredient list.

Uneven It still effective, unnerving
Derry, Maine, is a town in which evil is allowed to thrive due to the indifference of those who live there and a tragedy in its past that’s cursed the community.

September songs
First, let’s think some good thoughts for friends, family and everyone touched by Hurricane Irma. Fellow musicians Ken Carlyle, Joshua Reilly and Patrick Hagerman, all formerly from central Illinois, live in the central Florida region. Josh came up here to ride the storm out and played a gig at the Butternut Hut last night (Sept.

PUB CRAWL
Groove Daddies, Big Daddy Jasper, Kapital Sound, Mike Burnett and The Blue Suns.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | The Blue G’s
Hey, these guys were good when they started and just keep getting better and better in live performance and on record. The celebration on Sunday presents both sides of the band with a live performance of the latest CD, Helpless, Hopeless, & Moving On,.

THEATER & COMEDY | Art and music gone wild
On Friday, Sept. 15, join The Legacy Theatre and the Artrageous troupe for an interactive explosion of the visual and performing arts.

THE CALENDAR
More events, more details in our online calendar at illinoistimes.com..

THEATER & COMEDY | Local podcast goes live
Join local comedians Jeremy Hughes and Larry Smith on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 8 p.m., for a live performance and recording session of their popular podcast, “Comedians with Day Jobs.