You’re screwed
Your insurance policy got canceled last month. Didn’t receive your notice in the mail? Me neither. I just happened to stumble across it recently while doing some research. The good news is, you’ll probably never, ever need this insurance. The bad news is that it’s kinda like an earthquake rider — a safety net you…
Rules of engagement
Jonathan Penner, of Bloomington, had five weeks of inactive-reserve duty left in the Illinois National Guard when he abruptly discovered that he was being deployed to Iraq. Complicating matters, he had just popped the question to Lisa Verdick, his girlfriend of four years. “We knew it would be so much better for our relationship if…
Strong foundations
Recent troubles at local not-for-profit agencies show why it’s important to have directors who keep a wary eye on top managers. That’s why the Sangamon County Community Foundation is hosting an introductory course next week to teach and train board members, says John Stremsterfer, the foundation’s executive director. People of “goodwill and good intentions,” Stremsterfer…
Bad bosses
During his 13-year tenure, the recently retired CEO of ExxonMobil paid himself $144,000 a day — and he worked in an executive suite that was labeled the “God Pod.” Our culture lavishes both wealth and worship on “the boss.” Yet, if you talk to the workers on the ground level who actually do the heavy…
Party Favors
“They may be our color, but they’re not our kind,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, a loyal and longtime Democrat, of African-American Republicans during a television interview earlier this week. Sharpton announced that he’d be spending the next several months traveling the country to help Democrats defeat black candidates running on Republican tickets. Black Republicans,…
Trouble ahead
Stu Levine has flipped — and things are gonna get crazy real soon. Levine was a big Republican insider with very close ties to Jim Ryan, Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s 2002 opponent. Some saw fair-minded bipartisanship when Blagojevich reappointed Levine to both the Teachers’ Retirement System board of directors and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.…
Letters to the Editor
We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address, and daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length, and clarity. Send letters to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. IT IS?ABOUT?TIME You did a great job with the story of Julie Rea Harper’s acquittal [Dusty…
Big box bucks
Wal-Mart won’t say how much it spent trying to influence the Chicago City Council’s vote on the big-box minimum-wage ordinance, which the aldermen passed 35-14 on July 26. But we can make an educated guess. David Vite, head of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, says his group hired lobbyists and a legal team to fight…
Oliver Stone does 9/11
Oliver Stone, for a change, plays it straight and conservative in World Trade Center, an account of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that focuses on the harrowing experiences of two New York Port Authority policemen. There are no conspiracy theories here, no attempt to rattle any cages. Although the tribute to these two men, veteran John…
Removing algae from decks
Dear Gene: Our deck is shaded and regularly turns green with algae. We have pressure-washed the wood twice in three years to remove the stuff. Is there a better way? You should be able to remove the algae rather easily with a bleach-type deck cleaner such as Olympic or Wolman. These cleaners are sold at…
Once, fair food was wholesome and local
Ah, the Illinois State Fair — the focal point of my childhood summers. Every year I hoarded my allowance money and income from various odd jobs, then blew it all on a gloriously uninhibited fair week. Fair-going nowadays is in many ways a nostalgic experience. There’s so much that triggers memories: horse shows at the…
The end
When the judge read the verdict, Julie Rea Harper let out a gut-wrenching cry and collapsed. Her attorney made a futile attempt to catch her, and for a moment she sprawled on the floor. Mark Harper scrambled over the courtroom railing to reach his wife. Holding her face in his hands, he told her, “Julie,…
Electric vehicles
Rethinking paper Dear “Earth Talk”: Is bamboo really an environmentally friendly alternative to wood for making paper? If so, why are we still cutting down trees to keep our copiers and printers humming? — Ali Forte, by e-mail Bamboo is a fast-growing and renewable resource, and it has long been used throughout Asia as a…
Enlightened thumping
The title of DJ Logic’s new album is a stumper: What does logic, the science of abstract reasoning, have to do with Zen, a Buddhist philosophy that honors direct intuition through meditation? Despite the apparent paradox, Zen of Logic is an excellent title for this release, which skirts the often arbitrary border between instinct and…
Going with the grain
When I left home, I moved from New York to Oakland, Calif., where I shared a warehouse with three other East Coast transplants. To all of us, California was still the frontier, and the Bay Area’s notoriously crunchy vibe both intrigued us and drove us crazy. We made fun of the California lifestyle, joking about…
Cops
No occupation has commanded more attention in movies and television than the police officer, but there has been a wide chasm between the two mediums. The Golden Age of cop movies, in the 1970s, aimed for stark realism (The French Connection, Serpico), while its smaller rival was dominated by cutesy fantasy (Police Woman, Starsky and…
Fuzzy queen of fruit
Peaches and ice cream is my all-time favorite summer treat. Nothing tastes better than a tree-ripened peach, and, thanks to a mild winter and heavy blooms, locally grown fresh peaches are abundant this year. Peaches, known as the queen of fruit, rank second in popularity to the apple. A medium-sized peach is a healthy treat…
Vinyl Static
CD exchange Experimental electro-punk trio Erase Errata released their third album, Nightlife, on July 25, unleashing a collection of punk tracks that slide in where riot grrrls such as Bikini Kill left off. The San Francisco-based female group’s Kill Rock Stars debut features the single “Tax Dollar.” Crunchy guitars kick off the song, ushering in…
