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Homeless have nowhere else
None have anything thicker than cardboard to cushion them from pavement beneath. Half don’t have even that. They are easy to spot, given abundant lighting that surrounds the building a shout away from police headquarters.

Common-sense gun laws down under
Recently my brother, who has lived in Australia since the 1980s, came to Illinois for my son’s wedding. One of the topics for discussion was the different directions gun violence and mass shootings have taken in our two countries.

Cowboys for Liberty
Two of the most notorious practitioners are common crooks and corporate front groups, which often are one and the same. For example, Restaurant Workers of America is not made up of waiters and cooks. It’s a front group of chain-store owners who oppose raising the subminimum wage of their actual workers.

LETTERS
Firearm-related deaths for 2016 were 38,658. Of this total, 22,938 or 59 percent were due to suicide, 14,415 or 37 percent were due to homicide, 510 or 1 percent were due to legal intervention, 495 or 1 percent were accidental or preventable, and 300 were of undetermined origin.

Dems try to rebuild state party
The Warren County Democratic Central Committee is not exactly a campaign powerhouse. The organization officially opened its PAC with $923.72 in June of 2016. By June 30th of this year, the county party reported having $917.72 in the bank. I couldn’t find any records showing how that $6 was spent.

A way forward
Throughout July, three prominent Illinois politicians working together as the Anti- Harassment, Equality and Access Panel (AHEA) has been holding meetings across the state in order to engage women in conversation about their experiences of sexual...

ARMORED ANGELS FIGHT VIOLENCE
Springfi eld-based Armored Angels, Inc. will host the “Fighting for Women Medieval Sword Workshop” on Saturday morning, July 28. The fundraising workshop will include training from Chicago martial arts studio Forteza Fitness, with practice swords and other equipment provided.

OBAMA, LINCOLN AND SAM
State Sen. Sam McCann, R/CP/AFL- CIO/?-Plainview, caused quite a stir this week by announcing that he’s sponsoring legislation that would yank $180 million in state road funds that’s slated to help build a presidential library for Barack Obama in Chicago.

The fourth kind of corruption
The gathering, which attracted around 50 people with very little advance publicity and was part of a national vigil to “confront corruption and demand democracy,” doubled as a de facto showcase for Junius Rodriguez, LaHood’s Democratic challenger in the upcoming election.

Ultra-high-speed rail
Springfield may not be a suburb of Chicago, but efforts are afoot to make practical, daily commuting between the two cities – and other Illinois cities – a reality. And it would only take a rail system almost three times as fast as current high-speed trains, at a cost nearly equal to the entire fiscal year 2019 state of Illinois budget.

Make tracks to Galesburg for a daytrip adventure
Stenander, a retiree and tour attendant at the Galesburg Railroad Museum, loves to walk visitors through the restored mail car, engine, caboose and Pullman sleeper car on display outside the building. He points to original blankets on beds, dining car place settings and mailbags ready for delivery as a train passes through towns.

Sangria
Few beverages look more enticing at a summer soiree than a big pitcher of sangria. Ripe fruits suspended in a concoction of dry wine, seltzer, a bit of sugar and liqueur make up this traditional Spanish punch that is as beautiful to look at as it is delicious.

Stunning, spectacular Fallout delivers
There are double-crosses and switcheroos galore, all of which are part and parcel of the series. The plot, as clever and entertaining as it is, is inconsequential in these affairs.

Retro music fits
Let us first honor two local musicians we’ve lost too soon. John Brillhart, our singer-songwriter who passed last fall, played the Downhome Music & Beer Festival several times as a solo artist and with the Downhomies, a band he put together for the fest, so it is only fitting to host a tribute for Johnny B.

PUB CRAWL
Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Jimmy Riemer
As our young troubadour completes his “summer tour” of acoustic venues in central Illinois and heads back to college, we salute Jimmy Riemer in a job well-done of entertaining and performing for literally hundreds of listeners during the last couple of months.

THE CALENDAR
Springfi eld to Knights Action Park. Free. 553-5271. Knights Action Park, 1700 Knights Recreation Dr., 546-8881..

ART | Prizewinning photography
On Thursday, July 26, join Illinois Times,.

THEATER | A bride’s search for her father
This weekend, visit the Legacy Theatre and take in the regional premiere of Mamma Mia!,.

ART | Five decades of arts programming
Celebrate the 50 th birthday of the Decatur Area Arts Council with a birthday celebration titled “Half- Century Hullaballoo! A Birthday Bash” on Saturday, July 28.