From an undefeated powerhouse to a Cinderella playoff run, four area football teams are geared up for the charged environment of state semifinal football Saturday. Check at each team's prospects in our previews at FNL.MYSUBURBANLIFE.COM.

In debating whether we should abolish capital punishment, it’s important to decide which aspect of this story dominates — the psychopath who deserves the ultimate punishment or the wrongful conviction of two men. Is it better for us to enhance public safety by eliminating society’s most serious threats or to protect civil liberties by making sure innocent people are never put to death?

Big-time college recruits and state title contenders take the court next week when the high school girls basketball season tips off. Check out your team's prospects here.

If there were a more effective way of weeding out ne’er-do-wells on the Internet, I’d strongly recommend using it. Such a mechanism would be helpful in identifying those who have good intentions and those who want to rip you off.

This summer, Illinois lawmakers legalized video gambling in bars and restaurants to raise funds for capital projects. Since then, more than a dozen communities in the western suburbs have banned the machines, and several more are poised to outlaw them before the end of this year. As many more towns weigh a gambling ban, however, the overall amount of revenue video gambling is projected to raise for the state — estimated at more than 25 percent of the $31 billion capital projects bill — has been put into doubt.

Seeing how polarizing the debate on health care reform has been this past year among Americans, it’s odd to find common ground with four House members whose political ideologies run the gamut. It’s not that all statements say the same thing, but somehow each contains sentiments with which I agree.