In much the same way local governments (especially schools) must dance with the state as its dominant yet clumsy partner, Springfield’s steps are too often intertwined with those from Washington, D.C.

Opinion from our editorial board: The details here matter. Negotiations between billion-dollar franchises and local governments must be transparent, equitable, and accountable.

Virtually every day, the effects of the big lake to our east are brought home to us, even though for those of us out here in the Fox River Valley it is often only through news videos and weather maps on our television screens that we realize what’s happening.

As the United States Navy celebrates its 250th anniversary on Oct. 13, it’s a time to commemorate the Liberty ships, which were used for cargo and other utility purposes in WWII.

‘If I were the federal government, I’d strongly urge holding off until Thursday,’ she said of the plan to activate troops. But she added, it’s ‘up to them.’

The announcement last week that the Illinois AFL-CIO was withdrawing from the “agreed bill process” at least 40 years after its inception took almost everyone by surprise, but nobody was really shocked.

The Illinois ag sector is vital to the local, state and national economies.

German ancestry is the most prevalent ancestry in the state, and the culture of the German homeland has been a mainstay in Illinois for a century and a half.

Opinion by Scott Holland: This project could be transformative beyond even bold predictions, but that degree of potential also drastically elevates the stakes of failing to deliver.