Jim Wise: In the Sauk Valley, there are people everywhere who provide the services that keep our homes heated, water flowing, internet working, and our daily lives running smoothly. However, some overlook these valued service providers.

DeWalt: Just like a partner who is loving and supportive can be better for your mental health, eating fresh whole foods, without added sugar, salt, and saturated fat, can be better for your physical health.

A plan to give the state Department of Insurance new influence over rate increases passed the Senate in the fall veto session before falling four votes short in the House. But the proposal can resurface during the spring session.

Forty Democratic members of the Illinois House and Senate have been meeting weekly to come up with a plan to find some government efficiencies and create new revenue streams to help the state meet its obligations.

The proposal resulted from "several issues" Joint Committee on Administrative Rules members discussed during their meetings.

"The report points out there are numerous ways well operators can avoid that responsibility, and it suggests IDNR has frequently been unable or unwilling to take strong enforcement action."

General election campaigns draw considerably more interest than primaries, but when facing crowded fields of candidates who carefully manage messages and appearances, bank accounts can be revealing.

Omitting the word “Jews” when commemorating the Holocaust is not a harmless slip but a dangerous erosion of historical truth that fuels ignorance, antisemitism and the gradual whitewashing of genocide.

I just do not see how Democratic legislators are gonna agree to take away any cash buffers while the state budget is under constant federal siege, with more likely on the way.