The ickiness started in 2013, when Christina Hibbert, an Illinois State Police employee assigned to the Firearms Service Bureau that issues firearm owners identification cards and concealed-carry permits, began an affair with Master Sergeant Anthony McClure.

The Amazon burns, urged on by Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro, an elected official who is all-consuming, literally. I do not understand why we continue to elect Neros to positions of power, to lead us into destruction. How many times has our society been at this crossroads and chose to burn it down?.

BAN DICAMBA Whoever extended the deadline for dicamba application to July 15 should be asked to resign (“Dicamba is proving a headache for some Illinois farmers,” Aug. 15).

First, you’d have to have your name drawn, and good luck with that, given that 140,000 or so tickets will be in the hopper. Secondly, once your name is chosen – and you must be present to win – you’d have to pick the winning square. At this point, that’s a one-in-four shot.

Springfield Police Chief Kenny Winslow this week briefed the city council on the department’s efforts at reducing gun violence, particularly shootings involving proven or suspected gang members. It was a mixed bag. On the plus side, shootings are down 24% since 2017, when a rash of shootings generated fear and attention.

Jessica Handy became a licensed foster parent last year, and now shares her home with 18-year-old K, plus K’s two sons, M (4) and B (just turned 3). A few months ago, just on a whim, they decided to embark on what they called the “Summer Park Challenge”.

The Rochester Park and adjacent Stone House historic park will be a sea of activity and celebration during the weekend of Sept. 13-15 as the town commemorates its sesquicentennial, 150 years since it was incorporated in 1869. There will be a 5K/10K walk/run, pancake breakfast, carnival, car cruise, vendors, speakers, reenactors and music.

The Mature Mob was born in 1991 as a fundraiser for Senior Services of Central Illinois, a revue of talented actors, singers and dancers aged 50 and over. Few Mob shows in recent memory have been as successful, in terms of popularity and audience acceptance, as last year’s “Flashback to the 50s,” a salute to the music of that decade.

I work with Nonesuch on public relations, and we’ve received quite a bit of interest in your work in the kitchen. We’ve been contacted by some media outlets, and would love to gauge your interest in being interviewed. If you’d like to move forward, we can let the producers know and keep you posted on the next steps from there.

Now that we’ve made it through the summer of 2019 with Labor Day weekend behind us, the fall season of music fests begins. For me, it’s really the best time weather-wise and music-wise, as the world slows down a bit, while we roll along toward the waiting wintertime.

Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters.

There’s nothing like making music with close relatives, an experience relished by Relativity, the Hofstrand family cover band from Rochester.

The Second City Greatest Hits Vol. 59.

Join Springfield Bicycle Club (SBC) on a casual and easy-paced bicycle tour of historic sites in the capital city. SBC vice president Troy Gilmore will lead the traditional, neighborhood-style ride, and the anticipated site visits include the Lincoln Home, the Old State Capitol, Lincoln Tomb and others.

The memorial parade and ceremony to honor first responders and others who lost their lives on 9/11 occurs annually on the second Sunday of September. Vehicles will begin lining up at Hall’s Harley Davidson at 9 a.m. and the parade will begin at 10 a.m., ending at the 9/11 Memorial on the Illinois State Capitol’s grounds around 10:30 a.