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Can Durbin multiply Rebuild Illinois funds?
The Illinois General Assembly swooned, as Pritzker lined up not only suburban Republicans, but also 12 of 16 conservative west-central Illinois Republicans. Of these 16 Republican legislators, all but four supported at least one of his three key Rebuild Illinois bills.

Goodbye, green card
Minutes earlier, I’d put my dad on a plane headed to the United States after a week together in Zihuatanejo. He’d insisted, before going south of the border, that he didn’t need his green card, no matter what I said. I figured he’d been lucky to get as far as he had, and, now that his plane had left the gate, I saw no point in finding out why Mr.

Sterigenics reopening causes consternation
A month after taking office, Pritzker made good on the first part of that campaign promise. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued a “seal order” which closed the company’s doors. Sterigenics sterilizes medical instruments at its plant in suburban Willowbrook using the cancer-causing gas ethylene oxide.

LETTERS
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT When President Trump said, “Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” he was not referring to migrants on the southern border. He was referring to four duly and fairly elected senators of the United States.

Is the first slave freed by Lincoln under a parking lot?
Legins-Costley was an indentured servant in the eyes of the law, but, by all rights, she was a slave. She’d never been free. Neither she nor anyone else ever signed paperwork giving up her liberty. Nonetheless, she was bought and sold, first while still in the womb, when an Illinois state senator bought her parents.

Illinois to share in $700 million settlement with Equifax
“The Equifax data breach compromised the personal information of millions of Illinoisans,” Raoul said in the release.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES
His picture is in a case along the back wall in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum’s new exhibition on World War II. He is handsome in his pilot’s helmet and cheerful, confident smile, and so very, very young – only 21 when the photo was taken.

World War II comes to life at the ALPLM
The doors of the landing craft open, and the beach of Normandy looms ahead. Shells explode in the water and as the sound of machine gun fire beats a merciless tattoo through the hazy air. You round the corner, and suddenly World War II comes to life before your eyes through the words and objects of those who lived through it.

Kenny’s Bonnie
It has been more than 70 years since she sat on the beach in Florida in her sunglasses and white shirt, Kenny’s hands on her shoulders behind her. She is 93 years old now; her dark curly hair has turned white; her eyesight is failing. A lifetime has passed since she last saw her husband.

Thoroughly Modern Millie
Directors and choreographers Morgan Kaplan Andrew Maynerich lead a talented cast and the show features one of the best-staged dance numbers you are likely to see. Musically, it’s all first-rate with Doug Hahn at the baton over a swinging orchestra, staffed with some great local players.

The end of thoughtful, not rigid, ideology
The first quarter of Stevens’ memoir covers his life before joining the Supreme Court in 1975. Nominated by President Gerald Ford, he sailed through a confirmation process that could never be duplicated in the current political climate.

How you’ll be making eggs from now on
Just as a pilot trains in a flight simulator before taking off in a 737, before I ever performed a dental procedure in the mouth of a living person I had rehearsed the operation numerous times over a two-year training period on plastic models, extracted human teeth and jawbones of butchered pigs.

Tarantino can’t get out of his own way with Hollywood
His ability to frame and execute a scene with a crisp sense of vitality, his sharp-edged writing and the way in which he elicits primal performances from his cast have all become hallmarks of his work, elements that appeal to the many fans who are devotees to the Cult of Quentin.

Downhome plus
First, let’s really cool down with a thought toward New Year’s Eve and First Night Springfield, the decades-long event sponsored by the good folks at our Springfield Area Arts Council.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Live Wire
Originally formed by band mates Denny Lucas (guitars, keys, vocals) and Mike “Mouse” Bearup (guitars, vocals) in 1992 with Brian Smith, the latest members of the group, Bill Ward (bass, vocals), Mandy Rose (vocals) and Kevin Klickna (drums, percussion) join in to play a range of popular hits with a full light and sound system setup.

LIVE MUSIC
J.C.B. Entertainment Karaoke.

THE CALENDAR
Springfield Horseshoe Book Lecture and Signing.

FOOD | Springfield’s first horseshoe festival
The Faith Coalition for the Common Good and the Springfield Park District came up with an idea that, quite frankly, we are surprised no one thought of before – a horseshoe festival. This is the first of its kind right here in the birthplace of that one-of-a-kind sandwich.

HEALTH | Heartsaver course
Springfield Firefighters Local 37 has been serving the citizens and visitors of Springfield since 1918. It is a highly trained career fire department that, in addition to a myriad of fire and safety services and training operations, also provides intermediate level emergency care.