Home visiting helps at-risk children
Every day, Will County parents hold their babies, read to their toddlers, and play with their preschoolers. They take their infants for checkups and immunizations and make their homes safe so their kids can learn and grow securely -- all routine gestures every parent should know how to do.

Twins plan golden day for Mom
Most teens like to hang out with their friends on their birthday. And a golden birthday, when you turn the same number of the day you were born on -- tends to be extra special.

Wait for tollway study
Even though a proposed business park along Interstate 355 might be a great idea, the city of Lockport is wise to wait for a consultant's study to determine the highest and best use of land along the tollway.

Hillary unlikely v.p. for Obama
Close supporters of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign are convinced he never will offer the vice presidential nomination to Sen. Hillary Clinton for one overriding reason: Michelle Obama .

Think and don't drink
Will County is receiving a tremendous boost in fighting underage drinking courtesy of a beer company and a local distributor.

For the Record
Combustible-dust rules: Voting 247-165, the House passed a bill (HR 5522) directing the Occupational Health and Safety Administration to adopt rules for controlling combustible dust at factories. The regulations would preempt any state rules that do less to protect workers from dust explosions and fires. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill.

Gas tax gimmick bad idea
At first glance, the gas tax break looks like a winner. Who couldn't use a few more bucks this summer, a little relief at the pump as gas prices soar?

Expand investigation of Lockport politics
I am glad that Herald News Common Sense writer Adam Woodworth has finally solved a great Lockport mystery -- identifying the person behind a mailer urging Lockport, Crest Hill and Homer Glen residents to vote against the last Lockport Township High School referendum. Although there was nothing criminal about the mailer, it makes me feel better knowing that Woodworth has such great investigative skills.

Teachers are our real superheroes
Superheroes are big business these days.

Sajak keeps 'The Wheel' turnin'
When I was a kid, I always could count on where Mom and Dad would be at 6:30 p.m. on a weeknight.

Earth Hour lets us see the light
While the World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour Energy Reduction effort on March 29 at first seemed like a publicity stunt, some significant area results came from that project.

Brakes put on earmark reforms
A recent secret survey of the House Republican minority by the party's whip organization showed a two-to-one margin opposed to imposing a moratorium on earmarks.

Beeping may be best bet
The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority sent people bills for hundreds of dollars in unpaid tolls and fines accrued over months and sometimes years because their I-PASS devices were malfunctioning, installed improperly, tied to expired credit cards and so on.

For the Record
Medicaid funds dispute: The House voted 349-62 for a bill that places a hold until April 2009 on new administration rules that would cut the federal share of Medicaid by $13 billion over five years and leave it up to the states to replace the funds or cut health services to the poor.

Updates on more than blind Faith

Updates on more than blind Faith
It's spring cleaning time.

Thinking green in Plainfield
Plainfield's recent efforts at prairie restoration, preservation and recycling are admirable, but Dan Stafford envisions even greater, more progressive ideas for the village.

Proper honors for our police
In 1962, Congress passed a bill establishing National Peace Officers Day on May 15. President John F. Kennedy then signed the bill into law. Its intent was, and is, to honor those who serve and protect us, but especially those who died in the line of duty.

'Genocide started with words'
As hundreds of high school students walked down the stairs toward him, Holocaust survivor Aaron Elster said he was nervous.

Hofers deserve recognition
Troy School District has decided on a name for its newest school currently under construction, and school board members have made a good choice.

Dollars and sense
As Frank Palmisano Sr. pointed out in Friday's Common Sense column, and based on the number of home foreclosures and bankruptcies hitting so many, our children sorely need financial education. In fact, as money matters become more complicated, most of us could use a refresher course.

McCain campaign disorganized
Big-time Republican contributors are complaining that prospective presidential nominee John McCain is poorly organized for the campaign and off to a bad start in raising money.

Kelley's remarks ill-timed
We would like to think that Lockport city Alderman Mike Kelley really didn't mean what he said when blasting Panduit Corp.'s request for a five-year property tax abatement.

For the Record
Privatized tax collection:The House, in a 238-179 vote, repealed a 2004 law used by the Internal Revenue Service to hire private firms for collecting delinquent taxes. These firms have taken in far less than they have cost the government although backers say their performance will improve.Biggert: No

Towns not set for jails
Channahon and many other municipalities soon will have to make their holding cells into jails that can house prisoners for more than a couple of hours. By May 1, Channahon and other communities in Will County must have a plan to provide jailers and meals for the incarcerated because the addition at the Will County Jail remains under construction and the facility presently has fewer available jail cells.

Loss of a civic leader
With last week's death of former Herald News publisher William "Bill" Blackburn, Joliet loses someone who devoted most of his life to making things better for his community.

JTHS prepares students for careers
An Illinois Career Development Task Force report in February found that the state "lacks a clearly articulated policy on career development."

Visit stirs memories of past pope
Decades before the scrapbooking industry exploded into a profitable business, my mother bought me a large scrapbook for my religion class project: Pope John Paul II's visit to the United States.

Time on side of students
For those who don't think that students who spend more time in the classroom have better grades, consider some numbers from the Lincoln-Way High School District.

Hagel won't choose a Democrat
Friends of Sen. Chuck Hagel , the Senate's sharpest critic of President Bush's Iraq policy, say there is no chance he will endorse a Democrat for president this year.

A fitting honor for teachers
On a daily basis, there may be no more challenging of a job than trying to teach children.

Homes for our heroes
For injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, there may be no place like their own homes.

Stronger actions needed to protect wetlands
Congressional leaders are gathering for hearings on the future of wetlands in America. Much hinges on their ability to generate momentum toward lasting legal protections for these incomparable resources. We have lost more than half of our country's natural wetlands and continue to lose them at a rate of 80,000 acres a year. What's worse, the fabric of our current wetlands protection laws has been worn threadbare.

Prairie State test grades more than students
One of the real benefits of maturity is the ability to see the "big picture" more clearly.