I’ve come to the conclusion that I love cities. I loved Toulouse, and I loved London, and now I love New York City. There’s an energy, a vibe, an unseen intangible force at work in big cities. It sucks me right in.

The most provocative TV commercial of the campaign season is the one that didn't happen. It might have gone something like this:

As of Thursday morning, Gov. Rod Blagojevich still had not decided whether dozens of downstate parks and historic sites are valuable enough to keep open to the public.

Chris Britt editorial cartoon for immediate release.

"That one." A lot of national attention has been focused on those two words from Wednesday night's presidential debate, delivered by GOP candidate John McCain toward Democrat Barack Obama regarding a previous vote of the Illinois senator's on energy legislation not to the Arizona senator's liking.

Chris Britt editorial cartoon for immediate release.

When she was a young girl of about seven years old, Laura Huth would gather her siblings Caroline and Jason along with other neighborhood kids with a directive to clean up trash in the forest preserve along Brainard Avenue. A long time before recycling and cleaning the environment were on people’s minds, Laura thought it was important.

Good friends gathered at the Scottish Home in North Riverside Sept. 13 to celebrate the 90th birthday of Riversider Marjorie Whitney Prass.

Chris Britt's editorial cartoon for Thursday, Oct. 9.

At long last, O.J. Simpson has landed where, in the minds of most Americans, he absolutely belongs: behind bars. May it be the last we hear from him.

Joy now realizes she risked her life for chump change. A thief tried to steal a cash purse from the Peoria saloon where Joy works. But she fought him off in a melee that involved threats, knives, punches, kicks, choke holds, guns-drawn police and a thrice-fired Taser.

I wrote an article last week examining how four local legislators voted on the $700 billion bailout plan that came before the U.S. House of Representatives. Now I have a plan for them to tailor their differing votes to suit their needs.

I wrote an article last week examining how four local legislators voted on the $700 billion bailout plan that came before the U.S. House of Representatives. Now I have a plan for them to tailor their differing votes to suit their needs.

How do you write an obituary for a tavern? Let's give it a try: The Tartan Inn, a longtime hideout and second home for businessmen, crackheads and every walk of life in between, died at 8:17 p.m. Sunday after a long bout of insanity, most of it good.

As if Wall Street’s tumble on Monday didn’t give us enough to worry about, here comes state Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, with a gloomy prediction about next year’s state budget. Short version: It’s a movie called “The Pension Fund that Ate Illinois.”