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Patti in the jungle
She served as the state’s First Lady, but lately Patti Blagojevich has been roughing it in the jungles of Costa Rica in NBC’s reality show “I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here,” which concludes this week. On Tuesday night’s episode Blagojevich was voted off the show.

Forging a future beyond race
In the beginning existed Mankind. There was no such thing as race, except for the human race. With that, the spirit of mankind exuded a certain unity. There was a common bond of the human spirit — connecting us to a common goal. Our goal was simply to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Pockets of influence in Washington
What do shoplifters and members of Congress have in common? Tailor-made clothing. Like a shoplifter’s long coat, the suits of many lawmakers come with an astonishing array of inside pockets that hold surprising volumes of loot.

kidquotepoem #7
well, I say, I’m thinking about how the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides but I’m also thinking I wish I had some popcorn.

LETTERS
The June 18 article by Dusty Rhodes, “Tougher than Guantanamo” about the state prison at Tamms was well presented and was an interesting read. However, there is a much larger issue that should be considered in this discussion.

If voters ran government, mess would be worse
Usually when polls are taken about tax hikes, the respondents are “informed” about the benefits of raising more government money, whether it’s for education, public services or what have you. So, not surprisingly, those polls regularly show lots of support for tax increases.

REALITY CHECKS
of Here!,” who is going to “support” the family? Former Gov. Rod, of course, was the Blago originally approached for the gig; he was denied his opportunity to eat tarantulas and hang out with plastic-enhanced blondes by the mean ol’ judge who refused to allow an indicted felon to leave the U.

Cutting addiction programs short-sighted
The already difficult road to recovery for substance abusers is about to get tougher as service providers prepare to deal with massive state budget cuts, which will result in a loss of treatment for thousands of substance abusers beginning July 1.

Sri Lanka’s struggle for peace comes to Springfield
More than 50 people assembled on the steps of the Capitol Friday, wearing tan, gray and blue T-shirts that carried their message: Break the Silence in Sri Lanka. The crowd — with members young enough to ride in strollers and old enough to be grandfathers — chanted “Stop the genocide” and “We want justice.

Plains to purchase Clayville
After less than two months of fundraising, the Pleasant Plains Historical Society is ready to purchase and restore Clayville.

Save the children
Tamara Moore left active duty with the Navy to return to college and spend more time with her three children.

The high price of cheap food
The old man leaned on his cane and stared at the line that inevitably forms at the Merwyn’s stand at the Old Capitol Farmers’ Market during strawberry season. At first he seemed to be mumbling to himself, but when he stepped up the volume it was clear he wanted those of us in line to hear him.

Children picture race unity
“Children and young people are perhaps the key to realizing true racial unity,” wrote Mike Lang, one of the organizers of the 12th Annual Race Unity Rally held June 7 at the Statehouse.

Year One: A primitive comedy in more ways than one
Feeling he’s destined for far more than this abusive existence, Zed one day eats from the Tree of Knowledge and, once he ingests the forbidden fruit, he sees things in a new light, or claims he does. Fearful that his transgression will bring a curse upon the tribe, he’s thrown out and Oh reluctantly joins him as they set out to find a better life.

Movie times
Kerasotes listings are for Friday, June 26 through Tuesday, June 30. All times are subject to change. For updates on Kerasotes films, call 1-800-FANDANGO. For reviews of other films, visit www.illinoistimes.com..

Rockin’ moms unite for a cause
When Anna Fermin and Becky Aud-Jennison decided it was time to act upon their humanitarian and philanthropic desires, everything just fell into place.

PUB CRAWL
Original College Night hosted by Video DJ The Doctor Of Rock.

ART
Lincoln Memorial Garden’s landscape and wildlife are captured in paint and film by juried artists for the garden’s first ever art auction and artist-at-work viewing Saturday. Stroll the full-of-life trails and seize a glimpse of artists’ techniques and interpretations as they fill their canvases with strokes and color.

THE CALENDAR
Capital City Bicentennial Celebration

NATURE
The U of I Extension Unit’s Garden Tour is a ripe place to get ideas on how to improve your landscape while receiving advice and tips on plantings from Master Gardeners.

HEALTH
Get the kids off the computer and out to the Junior League of Springfield’s 1.2-mile Kid’s Walk at Washington Park. Registration is at 9 a.m. The first 150 kids to register receive a t-shirt, medal and goodie bag. Wellness experts will be on hand to warm walkers up, and trophies will be given out after the walk.

CHILDREN
Monkey see, monkey do. Now the kids can really ape around. This Saturday at Henson Robinson Zoo’s Zoolympics, they can leap like a wallaby, waddle like a penguin and get their animal motors revving in lots of fun animalthemed physical challenges. Medals are given to each child who completes all the challenges.

PUBLIC NOTICES
NOTICE UNDER ASSUMED BUSINESS NAME ACT STATE OF ILLINOIS COUNTY OF SANGAMON TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Notice is hereby given that on the 1st day of June, 2009 a Certificate of Ownership of business was filed in the Office of the County Clerk of Sangamon County, stating that MIKE A.

NEWSQUIRKS
Police in Monroe, La., said Clifton C. Wright, 44, tried to buy 50 cell phones from a Minnesota distributor by using a forged cashier’s check but aroused suspicion by misspelling “cashier’s” as “cahier’s.

Real Estate Foreclosures
N THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE 7TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT SANGAMON COUNTY — SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS LASALLE BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR FIRST FRANKLIN MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST, MORTGAGE LOAN ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007- FF2, PLAINTIFF VS LISA BANKHEAD A/K/A LISA A.

THE ADVICE GODDESS
Can you help a nice guy become a bad boy? Being nice is a curse, and not just with women. I do volunteer work, and always hear stuff like “You’re the only one we can trust, so stay and guard the door while we’re at a party with people we don’t trust. Clean up for us, too, because we won’t want to when we return tired and drunk.