There’s no way to fully satisfy either camp, underscoring the importance of making sure government functions adequately for enough voters to strike a balance.

Public voting from mid-January to Valentine’s Day revealed an overwhelming preference for the status quo, with about 43% of almost 385,000 votes opting against any change whatsoever. The current flag fared better than the combined total of the next five choices.

Bringing lawmakers back to Springfield at what might otherwise be a dormant stretch isn’t – or at least shouldn’t be – much cause for concern.

It has been seven decades since the Korean conflict began in 1950, and finally ended three years later with an armistice between the United States, North Korea and China. The war came on the heels of World War II and involved 24 nations, with a cost of 2.2 million casualties.

But to hear Harper tell it, the issue isn’t so much inability to reach compromise as unwillingness to negotiate.

"These milestones are a testament to the dedication and commitment of CMS, which has embraced efficiency, innovation and collaboration to improve past hiring challenges."

The current party line is no pursuit of state funding for stadium construction, but even if the Bears don’t directly request money to deal with infrastructure, a development at the proposed scale would force the hands of many government entities.

High-speed police pursuits are on the rise. Columnist Tom Weitzel weighs in the risks and rationale for the pursuits

It’d take the rest of the month to tell superintendents’ stories: falling ceilings, boilers repurposed from World War II ships, infested walls from schools built when Al Capone was still an elementary student in Brooklyn.