Boozing and teetotaling
On a recent Monday, there is lament at the lack of Budweiser Select – just one bottle is left. The walls are mostly bare. Fireball, served in shot glasses, appears to be the liquor of choice, but most folks stick with beer. During a 90-minute stretch, three customers walk in.

Consider more inpatient mental health treatment
In recent years, our alternatives for dealing with the dangerously mentally ill have diminished. According to an Ohio State University study, there were 400,000 patients in American mental hospitals in 1950, a time when the population of the United States was half what it is today.

Madigan values loyalty above all else
In other words, Madigan was making it clear that loyalty goes well beyond merely showing up every day and working hard and meeting or exceeding goals. Loyalty, which is a trait prized most highly by Madigan, also means not doing anything that could get the boss into trouble or bring disrepute on the organization.

LETTERS
BRINGING BACK MACARTHUR BOULEVARD This is my neighborhood where I’ve lived most of my life from birth to age 70. In a perfect world, this intersection would be a public gathering space, a square, surrounded by markets and other small businesses. Right now, it’s only a connected expanse of roads and asphalt parking lots.

A wonderful Wizard of Oz
It started tentatively, with a few from the crowd echoing the Munchkins, “Follow the yellow brick road.” Later came a roar of “Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my!” It wasn’t a standing ovation, but it was something more heartfelt and genuine, and a lovely moment in the theater.

Town and Country hits foreclosure
According to foreclosure papers filed in Sangamon County Circuit Court, JP Morgan Chase Bank loaned $13.65 million to the owners in 2015. The bank since has assigned its interest to a trust, according to the lawsuit, and the owners haven’t made payments since January.

The art of the fair
Mention the Illinois State Fair, and things like corn dogs, lemon shakeups, the giant slide, concerts in the Grandstand, animal barns, dizzying rides and all types of food on a stick come to mind. But a professional art exhibition is also a stalwart of the Illinois State Fair.

Illinois State Fair-y tales
“I theorize to Native Companion (who worked detasseling summer corn with me in high school) that the state fair’s animating thesis involves some kind of structured, decorated interval of communion with both neighbor and space – the sheer fact of the land is to be celebrated here, its yields ogled and its stock groomed and paraded,” Wallace writes.

Too much watermelon!
“Nose-to-tail eating” is a philosophy of using every part of the animal in food preparation and letting nothing go to waste. In the restaurant kitchen where I’m employed, this philosophy is also applied to fruits and vegetables.

Heartfelt Banks a bit heavy-handed
Falsely accused of rape, he was arrested and ultimately brought to trial as an adult. On faulty advice from his lawyer, he accepted a plea bargain that would result in his serving six years in jail, five years on probation and force him to register as a sex offender.

Fair time folks
It’s time for the Illinois State Fair, and that means it’s fairly crazy in Springfield for about 10 days.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | NCR
This band lineup of Jessica Dooley (vocals, guitar), Chris Harris (bass, vocals), Allan Harris (guitar, vocals), Josh Hutchison (guitar, vocals) and Tim Lynn (drums) is tearing up the place wherever they go with years of stage experience and heartfelt emotion driving the good stuff home.

LIVE MUSIC
Angel Brown’s Smooth n’ Blue Band.

FAIRS | The exhibition of farming implements, however, was of the most valuable character
In October 1853, with a net profit of $853 after paying $1,500 in premiums and with an attendance of over 15,000, the first Illinois State Fair was deemed a success. For the admission price of 25 cents that year you could visit the cattle, horse and sheep venues and also see displays of reapers, mowers, farming tools and a variety of corn planters.

THE CALENDAR
Artext - Art and Poetry Show.

MUSIC | The Country and the City
Operatic soprano Christine Brewer and banjo virtuoso Noam Pikelny will perform as part of Illinois Humanities’ “The Country and the City” series that brings together rural and urban Illinoisans around shared concerns.