As of today the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will sustain a $14 million blow to its budget. That's the amount Gov. Rod Blagojevich sliced from DNR's funding as part of larger cuts to the state's 2009 spending plan. Blagojevich's ally in Springfield, Senate President Emil Jones, wouldn't go along with the House this month in trying to restore some of the money.

The next time you’re gassing up your car, remind yourself of all the good things about higher gas prices.

I have solved The Case of the Lonesome Leg. It’s good to have a purpose in life like that. Woodward and Bernstein ran a president out of the White House. Me, I track down wayward artificial limbs.

Chris Britt's editorial cartoon for Thursday, July 24.

Suburban Shoutout, a new blog by Suburban Life Publications columnist Jerry Moore, features commentary on people and issues affecting the western suburbs and provides a forum for dialogue with readers. Check out the blog HERE.

Since she was a young girl, Cathy Grandalski of La Grange Park loved to draw.

East of the sun and west of the moon, there lies an island off the coast of Nicaragua known by few. It is named Little Corn Island. On Little Corn, population 750, is a small resort named “Casa Iguana,” or Iguana House. There, one will find no cars, no jet skis, no phones, no movie stars, no cocktail umbrellas and, to quote their brochure, “no worries.”

Watch out for the fashion police. They’re watching out for you.

If Victoria L. Powers wants to be a cat burglar, she should hire a baby sitter. In the saddest criminal case in recent memory, Powers, 25, dragged along her daughters -- ages 5 and 7 -- as she allegedly broke into her ex-boyfriend's business, stole checks and swiped his van by crashing through a fence Friday night.

As though members of the U.S. military don't face enough danger while serving in Iraq, their health and safety also are being compromised by incompetence and neglect.

It's Two-fer Tuesday, featuring two tales about the weird things people do.

People say my generation has been part of some of our country’s biggest historical moments — 9/11, the Iraq war and the Democratic presidential race between a woman and a black man. To say that we have been a part of these moments is one thing, but to actually watch such a moment take place is another.

It’s almost impossible to get 13-year-old Mac Koziarz of Western Springs to sit down and play a video game. Vegging out in front of the television is not his thing. And spending hours on MySpace or Facebook? Well, forget it.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich is rightly criticized for calling endless and pointless special sessions.

Chris Britt Cartoon: The road home from Iraq