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How much federal debt can we afford?
According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, annual federal deficits over the next decade – the deficit is the annual figure for how much more Congress and the president opt to spend than the government takes in as revenue – are expected to average $1.

Iron-mess
As colored latex crusts, you say, “Looky there,” then cook up another toasted-cheeseand-bacon sandwich, which I’m told is to paint-drying as strawberries-and-cream are to Wimbledon, pimento cheese sandwiches to The Masters and mint juleps to the Kentucky Derby.

Where was the lieutenant governor?
But a former House colleague was overheard telling Stratton at a bill-signing ceremony the next day how much she’d missed her. Indeed, Stratton’s absence from the legislative arena was the subject of much speculation in the waning days of the spring session.

LETTERS
CRISIS AT THE BORDER Every day we learn more about the appalling conditions facing children, women and men in detention centers along our southern border. The situation is unconscionable.

CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN
The legislature has adjourned, but a different type of entertainment is hitting Springfield this weekend with the arrival of Paranormal Cirque, a Europeanstyle circus with acrobats but no animals that is pitching its tent at White Oaks Mall.

HOTEL UPDATE
Aldermen in March approved a $7.65 million subsidy, with $450,000 set aside for land acquisition costs and the bulk of the money to be paid out over time. Corporation counsel Jim Zerkle has said that money for land would be released only after the developer has secured financing for construction.

Lawmakers pass taxes on parking, car trade-ins
In addition to doubling the gas tax from 19 cents to 38 cents per gallon and raising vehicle registration fees from $101 to $151, lawmakers during the recently concluded legislative session passed other tax hikes aimed at motorists that haven’t gotten as much attention.

Sex, lies and political power
As the audience arrives, the stage is bare save for a portrait of Evita. It is the perfect choice, an empty canvas for projecting illusions and fabricating political fairy tales.

At the confluence MONEY AND THE MISSISSIPPI
But there’s too much water. Flooding is forcing boats and barges to wait for the river to drop. In the Quad Cities, bordering Illinois and Iowa, the Mississippi recently dropped below flood stage for the first time in 96 consecutive days, crushing the prior 42-day record.

Optimal flavor starts with superior seeds
Today’s cucumbers bear little resemblance to the cucumbers of our forebears. The cucumbers we have today are the result of what Dutch breeders did to them. They bred for sweetness, size and water content. In the process the complexity of flavor was lost.

Besson's Anna: Old-school action done right
Possessing an untapped special skill set, Anna is a former prostitute plucked by the KGB to become a stealth assassin after applying to be a member of their armed forces. She’s a quick study and under the cover of being a jet-setting fashion model, she’s able to travel the world, dispatching Russia’s most wanted.

Toodle-loo to June
Plenty of local folks went to the recent Rolling Stones concerts in Chicago and I bet even more wanted to and couldn’t, or just didn’t.

LIVE MUSIC
Jack Flash with The Rick Mari Band.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | JukeRox
Calling themselves a “party rock cover band,” JukeRox indeed lives up to that calling with a striking set list of your favorite hits covering the genres of “rock, pop, hip-hop, country or heavy metal” with incredible musicality and stunning showmanship.

THE CALENDAR
Annual Independence Day celebration.

THEATER | A musical romantic comedy
The Legacy Theatre heats up the stage once again with the smash Broadway musical Hairspray..

ART | Stuck in that awkward space between birth and death
Urgent Care is a 50-year survey celebrating Thomas Skomski’s career as one of Illinois’ finest sculptors. Many area residents have already experienced Thomas Skomski’s work. His Impermanent Column, the stone column sculpture on the campus of the University of Illinois Springfield is hard to miss.