It is the morning after a destructive tornado tore a path through the south and east sides of Streator, leaving some with no homes, and all in a state of shock.

In this week's column, Toby Moore writes that while there is pressure to launch – not just rockets, but our lives – there are also reasons for a delay.

The contradiction reminds there’s a large gap between the accomplishment of a grant award and the optimistic press release from a lawmaker who “secured the funding” and the day the check actually clears and concrete plans can take effect.

It is one thing to name airports, bridges and other public works after the handful of great presidents who saved the country. It’s another to similarly memorialize ordinary politicians for posterity, even those who did a mostly good job.

When the Revolutionary War began in 1775, the Fox Valley was considered part of and was administered from Quebec Province under British rule.

Five years ago, the Woodridge tornado swept through that community with a force that still surprises me when I see the photographs and after-action reports.

The future isn’t there to hammer you. It’s a rolled-up carpet that unfolds an inch at a time. Don’t punish yourself for not having the entire floor already covered. The joy is in the reveal.

I’m very much guilty of identifying as “not a math person” or, as written in September, an “English major who can’t help his sons with their math homework once they reach middle school.”

The governor has a very good executive staff. But there’s no substitute for a present governor. Legislators are generally a needy bunch. They see him on national TV during session and wonder why he isn’t attending to them. That’s simple Statehouse reality and has been forever.

Column: When power outages occur, Batavia Electric crews work as quickly and safely as possible to restore service, writes Lori Botterman of the City of Batavia.

Sunday marked the 249th anniversary of the establishment of the official American flag, which was created by an act of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.

Column: School’s out and there’s fun to be had at STC Underground with several new programs and returning favorites. Programs are geared to 11- to 19-year-olds, writes Patricia MacMillan for the St. Charles Park District.

Column: Like so many of us, I struggle with motivation to improve my physical self, writes Joan Budilovsky.

Column: A new partnership between the St. Charles Park District and Geneva-based The Garden Plate is ticking all the boxes with its new series at Primrose Farm this summer, writes Patricia MacMillan.

Suppose I told you that aging really is a state of mind. And it might be healthy to live in the past.

Maine Democrats have just chosen Platner to challenge five-term Republican Susan Collins in November.

That said … real fixes aren’t possible without extra money, either, otherwise the problems probably wouldn’t persist. And so it’s back to the beginning: absent additional spending, no improvements will be sufficient.

Management canned Scott Pelley for doing the hard thing, which was the right thing, as it almost always is.