If you love stories about organized crime, be sure to check out the newspaper stories on the latest federal indictment against Outfit members in the Chicago area. Everything from the mob monickers to the stories of the hits on bigtime mobsters, like the

Hollywood has long been known as the dream factory, a place where illusion can replace reality. It was just the place for Archie Leach, who combined a handsome, dapper, reserved and confident persona with tremendous talent to build a hugely successful m

Say what you will about Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but he's a terrific political talent.

I got nailed good in a response from a mysterious writer named Matombo(Who could he be?). He points out that former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan carried Champaign County by 4,000 votes in his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign against Gov. Rod Blag

I'm for giving maximum grief to the lord and rulers who masquerade as elected servants of the people when they're really servants for themselves.

I'm thrilled the Illini still are in the hunt for a national championship. I just couldn't be more pleased.

Pity the poor members of the news media, particularly those in St. Louis, who are scrambling to come up with some new, interesting angle on the University of Illinois basketball team making the Final Four.

The City of Urbana was closed for business Friday, not to mention numerous other governmental entities. The stated reason for taking the day off was that the city had declared its spring holiday.

In mid-February, I stumbled across an article about the 75th anniversary of the publication of Dashiell Hammett's book, "The Maltese Falcon." Having seen the movie many times, I announced that I intended to read the book.

Most people have heard the phrase "the horrors of war." But they really have no idea how horrid.