By Julie Grace/WisContext

Craft beer fans seeking different flavors are accustomed to hitting the road to taste offerings from breweries both near and far from home. Special releases of new and limited-run creations are a big draw, but so too are the breweries themselves.
As the craft beer industry has blossomed over the past decade, so too have options for such visits. The Brewers Association, a national trade association for craft beer-related businesses, reported that in 2017, craft consumers visited three-and-a-half breweries near their homes and two-and-a-half breweries within two hours’ driving distance on average.
“Beer tourism” is one label for the phenomenon of people planning getaways around visiting craft breweries, as is the punchier “beercation.” In 2016, Travelocity established a “beer tourism index,” which identified the top destinations for craft beer in the United States. (Chicago didn’t crack the top 20.)

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Posted on September 3, 2018

By J.J. Tindall

Ten Angels Too Many
I am not
A man of faith
But I pray
Like Hell.
Sauganash himself was like:
“I play de fiddle
Like de Devil
And I run a hotel
Like Hell.”

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Posted on August 28, 2018

By Greg Boozell

Editor’s Note: “Wizard World Chicago, a four-day celebration of comics, cosplay and celebrity guests, has been a summer fixture at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center since 1996,” the Daily Herald notes.
Our very own Greg Boozell is also a fixture, and he was there again this weekend taking awesome photos. Check out his entire gallery, from which these highlights were chosen.

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Posted on August 27, 2018

By Scott Gordon/WisContext

Flooding along the Des Plaines River in northeastern Illinois in the summer of 2017 damaged more than 6,000 buildings and prompted disaster declarations across three of the state’s counties. These floods broke records previously set in 2013, when the Des Plaines and other rivers around Chicago swelled with torrential rains. In June 2018, the Des Plaines flooded yet again, as did the Fox River to the west.
The Des Plaines begins at the southern edge of Racine County in Wisconsin and, after a pair of bends in Kenosha County, flows south, then slightly southeast, for 133 miles through Chicago’s suburbs until it meets the Kankakee River to form the Illinois River, which flows westward into the Mississippi. Just like watersheds around Wisconsin, the Des Plaines watershed has experienced heightened flooding in recent years, and could be in for a lot more, as climate change increases projected levels of precipitation in the Midwest and the likelihood of extreme rainfall events.
Local and state officials in Illinois are beginning to worry about another force that could direct more water into the Des Plaines: The large campus Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer Foxconn is building in the Racine County village of Mount Pleasant. In fact, without adequate countermeasures, any future development in either southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois – which are populous and extensively developed areas already – could make these areas more vulnerable to flooding.

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Posted on August 8, 2018

More Than 20,000 Ghanaians In Chicago

Catching up with . . .
“Ghana’s rich culture was on display [last weekend] as thousands of Ghanaians and other nationalities thronged the Washington Park in Chicago for arguably the biggest Ghanaian outdoor event in North America, Ghanafest,” GhanaWeb reports.
Let’s take a look.

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Posted on August 6, 2018

By The U.S. Postal Inspection Service

At 243, the nation’s oldest law enforcement agency.

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Posted on August 2, 2018

By Topcon

Topcon Solutions Store-Illinois announces the arrival of the 2018 Topcon Technology Roadshow to Chicagoland. From August 7-8, the expandable semi-trailer truck with a seated theater room and product showcase stops in Carol Stream, along with the Topcon Solutions Store team.
The Topcon Technology Roadshow features the latest construction, survey, civil engineering, architecture and design technologies in a hands-on environment across North America. The free program features live demonstrations and presentations focused on productivity and profitability.

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Posted on August 1, 2018

By J.J. Tindall

Down around Peotone grows
a tree of Heaven
and within it rests a bird
named Tomorrow.

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Posted on July 31, 2018

By The Illinois Audobon Society

A large and diverse forest complex near Joliet, known as Pilcher Park, was dedicated as a nature preserve by the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission in May.
The dedication culminates a nearly four-year effort by the Illinois Audubon Society, Joliet Park District, Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, and Illinois Nature Preserves Commission to expand and protect one of Northeastern Illinois’ premier woodlands.
The dedication protects in perpetuity 293 acres as nature preserve and an additional 110 acres as a land and water reserve at the site. The park is owned and managed by the Joliet Park District and features outstanding spring wildflower displays and old-growth trees.

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Posted on July 18, 2018

By J.J. Tindall

Wells at Dearborn
1. Alexander at Kandahar
Kandahar was founded
By Alexander the Great
During his questionable Afghan campaign,
As one of a series of fortresses established
To protect him and his armies
As he pursued the Persian Satrap Bessus.
At each of these fortresses,
Alexander left behind hundreds
Or thousands of Macedonian and Greek soldiers
As well as logistics and supply troops, builders,
Artisans, tillers, every type of worker needed
To create a real settlement.
Today, at Kandahar Air Field (KAF):
U.S. Army, Marines, Navy,
Air Force. British, Canadians, Belgians, Italians.
Mirage jets from France.
Private contractors to clean toilets, run chow halls,
Build gyms, train bomb-sniffing dogs, service the phones.
A TGI Fridays, a Nathan’s, a KFC,
An ice cream stand, pizza by the slice . . .

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Posted on July 15, 2018