The ax falls
The Illinois Secretary of State’s office is laying off 90 people statewide in response to a 3 percent reduction in its budget. The job eliminations will take effect July 1, said Dave Druker, spokesman for Secretary of State Jesse White. Those who are facing layoffs are being told now, either through letters or face-to-face conversations,…
Good vibrations
The International Carillon Festival rings out June 3-5 and 7-9 at the prestigious Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon. The fifth largest carillon in the world at 132 feet with 67 bronze-cast bells, Rees will host free concerts by carillonneurs from around the world. Playing are: Carlo van Ulft, from Centralia; Dick van Dijk, from the Netherlands;…
RHUBARB AND WHITE PEPPER CHUTNEY
Rhubarb is at peak season right now, making this chutney a springtime specialty. It’s great brushed on grilled chicken (especially wings) or as an accompaniment to cheese and crackers. 1/3 c. (one third cup) finely chopped shallots, OR substitute (NOT-Supersweet) white onion 1 T. butter 2 c. fresh rhubarb, sliced into 1-inch pieces 1/2 c.…
Picklese (a.k.a. Pikliz)
This classic condiment can be found on every table in Haiti, oftentimes even when there isn’t a table in that devastated and destitute country. I first heared of Picklese when I was researching for an article about the horrible effects on Haiti rendered by a hurricane in January of 2010. But it was more fully…
SWEET POTATO HABAÑERO HOT SAUCE
Hot sauces made from Habañero peppers are endemic in the Caribbean, but seldom found elsewhere. I first tasted this riff on a traditional Caribbean Carrot hot sauce that substitutes sweet potato for the carrots at Cochon, a wildly popular New Orleans restaurant with a new branch in Lafayette, La. I’ve eaten at both, and each…
Park district mulling Griffin Woods purchase
The warm summer breeze rushes through the dense underbrush of the second-growth forest known colloquially as Griffin Woods, filling the close space with the rustle and shimmer of thousands of leaves. A broken shoelace, a potato chip bag and a few empty beer bottles lie just inside the perimeter, a testament to careless trespassers who…
Targeting libraries and readers
Some Illinois students learned that their school’s library was selected by Target for a School Library Makeover. At Ryerson Elementary and Neil Elementary – both in Chicago – students will soon see their library renovated, updated and outfitted with new computers, iPads, and thousands of new books. The students will be excited, of course, thanks…
Accidental sagacity
I was looking up something else on the web a couple of months ago when I ran across a reminiscence by the veteran Tribune writer Ron Grossman. “Like Columbus, I’d start with a destination in mind but wind up someplace else,” he recalled about his boyhood explorations of the family encyclopedia. “‘Pericles,’ the Athenian statesman,…
Manure rules
Large livestock farms would have to pay for pollution permits under legislation headed to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk. The Clean Water Funding Fairness Act, which passed through the Illinois House and Senate on May 22, would force factory farms, commonly referred to as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), to pay an annual fee for permits…
Cigarette taxes and the Republican right
As state legislative support for a cigarette tax hike grew in late May, anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and other conservatives stepped into the Illinois fray. A top House Republican said over a week ago that the roll call in favor of a dollar a pack cigarette tax hike was in the double digits within his…
Making music on the fly
On Saturday the Hoogland Center for the Arts hosts David Cain & Senses featuring percussionist Paul Wertico in a program called A Feast for the Senses. The dinner features Chef Shaun Moore with Arena Catering and the music puts Wertico, Cain and the other musicians in a creative place of on-the-spot music making. I don’t…
Letters to the Editor 5/31/12
TAX GAMBLING, NOT PEOPLE The Illinois budget would probably be balanced today, except for the $37.5 billion to $46 billion given away to Illinois gambling interests over the last two decades. Faced in 1990 with a choice between a continued consumer economy or a new casino/slot machines economy, Gov. James Thompson’s lame-duck administration chose gambling.…
The Sun and The Sea
From the ashes, rise again, goes the old saying, and with the 2011 demise of The Graduate, a local band done good, comes another group called The Sun and The Sea. Members Tim Moore (drums), Matt Kennedy (keyboards), Max Sauer (guitar), Jared Wuestenburg (bass) and Chris Rein (vocals) released a seven-song EP called Nightfalls on…
The heat is on!
I’ve heard it over and over: People in the hottest places on the planet eat spicy-hot foods is because it makes them feel cooler. Really? For me, eating spicy-hot food on the high temperature/humidity days of central Illinois’ summertime doesn’t make me feel cooler. I just sweat more – a lot more. Regardless, I love…
Snarling banks
We’re sick and tired of being bullied and stomped on by the Powers That Be in Washington, and by gollies, we’re not going to take it anymore! Hooray! It’s about time that workers, consumers, small farmers and other “small fry” joined together in a populist rebellion to make big-shot Congress critters of both parties listen…
diarypoem # 1: a blink
diarypoem # 1: a blink my mother burned years of diariesbefore her first child was born shetold me later that if anything hadhappened to her she didn’t wantaunt ida or aunt lillian prying intoher most intimate thoughts what atreasure we have missed my mother’sprose would have been jeweled withpoetry her thoughts however personalwould have been…
More money, more problems
Illinois lawmakers are reacting to a controversial ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court with a bill that could take Illinois back to the days of unlimited campaign contributions. The bill’s sponsor says it’s necessary to counter independent groups that can already spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns. Opponents say it will provide fertile ground…
World-class experience
Seven-time Grammy award winning drummer, Paul Wertico, formerly of the Pat Metheny Group, joins local musicians David Cain & Senses, including David Hoffman, formerly with the Ray Charles Orchestra, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts on June 2. You’re in for a genuine treat on many levels. A Feast for the Senses features a…
Intelligence and wit make a winning MIB 3
While Will Smith’s on-screen counterparts have defeated aliens, zombies, robots and drug dealers, the actor himself faces a far more threatening foe, that of irrelevance. Having graced the big screen last four years ago in the well-meaning but horribly flawed Seven Pounds, the most popular movie star in the world has been conspicuous by his…
A case of vodka
Vodka isn’t flammable. That basic fact of fire could prove key in the case of William Amor, a DuPage County man serving a 45-year sentence for murder. While not committed to representing Amor, the Illinois Innocence Project based at University of Illinois Springfield has requested documents from prosecutors, who have balked. Amor, 56, has been…
Meet the maestro
“The power of music can unite a community,” says Alastair Willis, brand new music director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. “That’s what we all need to be striving towards. It’s really about ‘how can we do this together?’” Willis’s appointment is the culmination of an arduous search which began in July 2010 with the announced…
SOUR CHERRY MOJO
This mojo spreads its wings over different cultures, making it appropriate for Latin American grilled pork or poultry, or even as a condiment for Argentinian grilled (provolone) cheese. It’s also a wonderful accompaniment to fishes suitable for grilling, including salmon, trout, swordfish and seafood such as shrimp. 2 c. dried sour cherries 3 c. red…
Wedding daze
Theatre in the Park at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site starts its summer season with the comedy Father of the Bride by Caroline Francke. Set in the early 1950s, the play is about a father coping with his daughter’s upcoming wedding. Directed by Leona Edwards, the production boasts a cast of 16 locals. A…
Wedding her whistle
I just turned 26, and I’m ready to be married. My previous two boyfriends dragged their feet and then said the blood-boiling line: “I will marry you…someday.” I met a guy online, and we initiated a relationship on the basis that he was ready for marriage. Four months after our first kiss, I broke up…
