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A mother like no other
Once, I made it to one of the busiest streets in town, right off the freeway. Another time, while exploring a demolished laundromat, I stuck a foot down a concrete drainpipe. My mother summoned firefighters who summoned a jackhammer. I was freed only after a considerable amount of concrete was pulverized.

Concerts brought Springfield together
It would seem as if Springfield’s new favorite night this summer was Thursday. If you weren’t at the weekly Knights of Columbus Mega Jackpot drawing, you were likely out with family and friends trying out the downtown Y Block as a venue for live music – all for free, as part of the Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series presented by PNC Bank.

New leadership for AFL-CIO
The Illinois AFL-CIO hosted its annual State Fair reception last week. The highlight was probably a speech by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who thanked his audience of union leaders for their support in the 2018 campaign and for their help passing an enormous amount of legislation during his first session of the General Assembly.

LETTERS
NOT THEIR COUNTRY In his recent opinion column (“Guns, guns, guns, guns,” Aug. 15) Bruce Rushton correctly wrote, “The Second Amendment needs to go.” It shouldn’t have come to that, however.

DANCE, DANCE, DANCE
But there can be no Nutcracker without dancers, and so the Springfi eld Ballet Company is looking for a few good kids to perform in its annual production of the Christmas classic. Auditions for boys who are 7 or older will start at 11 a.m. Sept. 15 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, with a $5 audition fee required.

AVOID WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
The best thing to do about wrongful convictions is avoid them. Over and over, the Illinois Innocence Project has learned that bad convictions result from bad police work, whether from jumping to conclusions about a suspect, sloppy gathering of evidence or eliciting a false confession.

Report: ‘Bullying’ rife in House Speaker’s office
Hickey found “by far the most consistent criticism” of more than 100 people interviewed was “bullying,” according to the report released Tuesday. The issues, including “hazing” experienced by some workers, were described as “inevitable” due to long hours workers spend in the Statehouse and the “militant” nature of Madigan’s staff.

Bills signed into law
The most recently signed bills include a package of legislation affecting first responders, a bill striking down a 1998 state law pertaining to greenhouse gas emissions, a banking initiative of Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and a measure to allow graduate student teaching assistants to unionize.

Fall Guide
Scheels, 3801 S. MacArthur Blvd., 726-6330..

Fall Guide
Finding Truth in the Age of Alternative Facts: Pants on Fire.

Fall Guide
Illinois History Forum - The Anti-Slavery Movement in Illinois.

Autumn onstage
The cicadas are singing their late summer serenade and that means things are just starting to heat up again on the theater scene. This autumn’s stage offerings are delivered through new and classic tales, personal stories and dance, then peppered with a little comedy.

Enjoy an unusual boat ride in LaSalle
Larry may be semi-retired, but he still has to pull a boatload of tourists along the Illinois and Michigan Canal nearly daily from April to October. He doesn’t seem to mind. The 26-year-old mule formerly worked much harder in the fields of Amish farmers, says boat captain Jake Krancic.

Music for the fall
If there’s one thing central Illinois does well, it is to have on the horizon a lineup of music events to satisfy the fan of any genre. This season’s lineup proves no different. Pop, bluegrass and classical music alike will fill the venues with just the right notes, at just the right tempos and just the right volume.

Haunted happenings
Eric Woods is a die-hard Halloween fan and author of a soon-to-be published horror novel. He is a tour guide for the Lincoln Ghost Walk and enjoys murder mystery dinners and spooky attractions..

Big attractions in the small town of Casey
To qualify for the world record, an item must be able to perform its regular-sized function. So theoretically, if Paul Bunyan turned off I-70’s exit 129 to visit Casey, he could sit in the rocking chair, listen to the wind chimes and knit a coat for Babe while the Blue Ox tried to teeter-totter.

Safety in numbers
I eyed the sleek cycling shoes worn by the person standing next to me, then glanced down at my own clunky sneakers and wondered what I’d gotten myself into. It was a pleasantly balmy afternoon, and I was about to embark on my first ride with the Springfield Bicycle Club (SBC).

Cool food after a hot run
I thought he was joking when my boss, Chef Colin Stringer, announced that we were starting a weekly Run Club and that our inaugural 5K “fun run” would be held on the upcoming Monday at 7 p.m. Except for me, everyone in the kitchen is 30 years old or under.

Sweet tone buoys Boys
As with most things concerning ‘tweens, the situations our heroes find themselves in are of great urgency. Max (Jacob Tremblay) has a major crush on the angelic Brixlee (Millie Davis) and longs to give her a necklace he made in art class and maybe even tell her he likes her.

Au-gusting music
First, let us give our sad goodbyes to another member of our music community as Gary “Walnuts” Swaggerty passed away on Aug. 15 after years of battling with that damn cancer. I think we can fondly mention he was known as a character, and just to prove the point, requested that all who came to his celebration of life last Monday to “please wear shorts.

PUB CRAWL
Baltic To Boardwalk, Eyes From Above, Reaver, Graveswitcher.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Tyler Daniel
This independent singer-songwriter in the rock and Americana field hails from some crazy, faraway place called Springfield, Illinois. Tyler has amassed a regular area following, commonly known as the Tyler Daniel Army, and they show up to support the fledgling entertainer with verve and gusto.

THE CALENDAR
2019 Decatur Craft Beer Festival.

FOOD | Celebrating local cuisine, one week at a time
We have not had a burger week since clear back in February and we think it is definitely about time to give it another run. The restaurants seem ready for another go at it, too. No less than 20 of them have signed up to try their hand at creating the most enticing of burger deliciousness.

MUSIC | An annual evening garden party
The courtyard of the Dana-Thomas House will once again be alive with jazz, food and drinks for the annual evening garden party. Music by Sharpen Up with Damien Kaplan (piano and vocals), Tim Niemeyer (guitar) and Brandt Sitze (percussion) will entertain guests.