It’s OK in my book

Jacksonville professor explores ‘America’s greatest word’

A friend laughed when I said I was reading a book about OK. “I can see a paragraph,” he said, “but a whole book?”Well, yes, that is exactly what Allan Metcalf, professor of Eng

Setting the facts straight about pensions

The king of lobbyists

Dick Lockhart says the first 50 years were the hard part

Untitled Document Members of the General Assembly are always reading resolutions to laud somebody or something, but it isn’t common for a lobbyist to get such a

Water wonder

See why Illinoisans voted Rend Lake one of the state’s top attractions

Untitled Document Whether you prefer the softly rippling waters of the lake on a summer’s evening or the pink-tinted sky above the lakeshore in the morning, it’s obvi

The plane truth

Flying out of Springfield is proving tougher these days. Here’s why — and what you can do to help reverse the trend.

Untitled Document Remember the day when some flights offered breakfast or lunch? At the least, a bag of pretzels and can of soda was standard fare on all flights. These days, eve

Best books of '06

Give your favorite reader a page-turner for the holidays

Making a connection

Help your children learn by seeing Illinois

As the school year gets in gear and your evening queries to your kids about what they’re learning are met with unintelligible and less-than-enlightening answers, it’s up to you to create w

Subject to change

Literary clubs, in a sense, have been around since Socrates and Plato convened their many intellectual discussion sessions. The British coffeehouses of the 18th

Legacy

Philip and Mary Kathyrn Trutter traveled all over the world -- 10 trips to 100 countries -- and collected amazing pieces of art, jewelry, and artifacts from the many places they visited. They f

Commander in speech

After carefully studying the speeches of the nation's 43 presidents, Allan Metcalf has learned that it's quite possible for a commander in chief to routinely mangle the language -- and still su