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In Northampton, artists’ feud over Mayflower print leads to fallout after biennial is canceled When members of the arts council logged into a meeting in late September, few could have imagined a retired librarian’s artwork was about to torpedo their upcoming biennial, a popular juried show at the local library. Continue reading →

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But some trail neighbors in Glencoe cited concerns over diminished property values, saying that if the invasive plants were removed, it would cause more noise since the plants might buffer street sounds, additional light coming into homes from car traffic on Green Bay Road and a decrease in security for children who will be crossing nearby tracks."

The first reports of “an incident” in London emerged Saturday evening. Within hours, cable news channels were saturated with the all-too-familiar loop of panicked faces, desperate crowds scurrying for safety and scowling, heavily armed police. On Sunday morning, the New York Times said the latest terrorist attack in London had targeted a nation “still reeling” from a suicide bombing in Manchester last month. On Sunday, some Londoners started pushing back against the notion that their city — if not their country — was trembling in fear. They had a simple message: “London is not reeling.” This twisted attempt to...

All Americans, not only in the States most heavily affected but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public service they use impose burdens on our taxpayers. That's why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens. In the budget...

Like Obama, I grew up in a single-parent home. I had the audacity to have big dreams and to hope. . . . As Obama' tenure comes to an end, I see with fresh eyes that the decision to adorn my wall with his image was loaded with meaning. In my modest apartment, I have framed pictures of my family members lining the mantel and leaning along the bookshelves. Only Obama has a sacred place on the wall.

Ìt will be hard to say goodbye to President Obama. But what if instead of sulking about the next four years, we plan an epic sendoff to end all sendoffs? I picture a festive parade with bands playing and people lining the streets holding signs as Obama's motorcade slowly makes its way from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the final time. I envision Obama's being so moved by the outpouring of love and emotion that he and Michelle Obama emerge from their limousine and walk down the street just as they did during both Inauguration parades. We could make it into...

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s mother, Jacqueline Jackson, told a Rainbow/PUSH conference Friday that her son has suffered years of “enormous disappointment.” “I’m not ashamed to say ... he thought he was going to be a senator. He thought he was going to have a chance to run for mayor. And young people don’t bounce back from disappointments like me and my husband" she said. . . .

Well-known Chicago technologist Harper Reed has joined the Obama 2012 campaign as chief technology officer, the campaign confirmed Wednesday. The former CTO of clothing company Threadless joined the campaign in late April and will focus on helping field operators improve voter contact. "I am here to make sure technology is a successful force multiplier within the campaign," Reed said in a statement. . .

Imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan is known around the world for clearing Illinois’ Death Row in 2003 and imposing a moratorium on the death penalty. But the governor who pardoned more than 200 people admitted in a recently released court deposition that he “didn’t understand” the difference between two major types of pardons and that he was declaring a Chicago inmate innocent by the way he pardoned him . . .

Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun has given her mayoral bid a big but potentially controversial boost -- by signing a pair of seasoned campaign architects with winning track records and close ties to Mayor Daley and House Speaker Michael Madigan . . . This election is shaping up to be the mother of all circuses--Rahm, Burris, Mostly Fraud . . . maybe Blago can throw his hat in. As Jack Brickhouse used to say, "They're all here for this one."

"... the Merchandise Mart’s Chris Kennedy, son of the late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, will announce next week he is running for the U.S. Senate."

... It seems like just yesterday that our beloved Bambi was all dressed up like a kid on the first day of school, jaunting off to strange places with names even funnier than his. And although wet behind the ears, he wowed 'em wherever he went. There he was, marching smartly beside Afghan president Karzai, smiling that winningly goofy smile of his, and every media outlet I saw said that he was polishing his foreign-policy credentials. It was like that scene in Evita where Evita sails off to Europe to show Franco and Mussolini that she's not just some cheap...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Gov. Bill Richardson is coming clean on his draft record - the baseball draft, that is, admitting that his claim to have been a pick of the Kansas City A's in 1966 was untrue. For nearly four decades, Richardson, often mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential candidate, has maintained he was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics. . . . But an investigation by the Albuquerque Journal found no record of Richardson being drafted by the A's, who have since moved to Oakland, or any other team. Informed by the newspaper of its findings, the governor...

THIS STRANGER, our church. With news of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's selection as the new pope, the phrase ''progressive Catholic" sounds more and more like an oxymoron. Can you be one during the reign of Benedict XVI? The mainstream US media grant elevated status to Catholics who hold liberal views about gay marriage, married priests, birth control, and choice. But the Roman Catholic Church is less exalting. It has been telling so-called progressive Catholics to wake up and smell the incense: The Vatican is not progressive, nor is it a democracy. Accept the views or leave the pews . . .

Fewer visitors than expected have dropped by the much-ballyhooed, $165 million Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark., since its November gala opening, but one VIP has been trying to make up for that: President Clinton himself. "I understand he's here regularly," says Todd Scholl, director of marketing for Little Rock's Peabody Hotel. And what does the former president do? "That's a good question," says Mr. Scholl. . .

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Here's a copy of an email sent out by the Macker to the DNC mailing list . . . Tonight, don't let George Bush's henchmen steal another victory. We need your online help immediately after the debate, so save this email, print it out, and have it ready with you as you watch the first Presidential debate tonight. We all know what happened in 2000. Al Gore won the first debate on the issues, but Republicans stole the post-debate spin. We are not going to let that happen again, and you will play a big role. Immediately after the...