Here’s some new and old stuff (mostly old) that I haven’t commented on, but is worth mentioning:

• Adams Street Market bites the dust. It’s too bad this development didn’t live up to its hype. The owner of this store gave me a tour of it before it opened, and I thought it sounded like a good thing for the South Side which is grossly underserved for basic services like supermarkets. Regrettably, the service and food quality evidently went downhill fast, and now it’s closed. Bummer.
• The President is coming back to town, but apparently he isn’t going back to the Sterling Family Restaurant. Nope, it’s a private residence (which won’t be disclosed ahead of time for security reasons, natch), and it’s to help raise funds for Aaron Schock, Republican candidate for the 18th Congressional District seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Ray LaHood. Thank goodness Schock is getting some help — he only has $1.1 million in his war chest, poor guy. How will he ever compete with his challenger’s $280,000? If you’d like to go, tickets are $500. If you want your picture taken with the President, you’ll have to cough up a cool five grand. Hey, for $100, I’ll Photoshop you into a picture with the President and it will look just like you were there! Drop me an e-mail.
• The Heart of Illinois Fair opens Friday. I remember this being a much bigger deal when I was a kid. Have I lost interest because I’ve gotten older, or has it really just gotten less exciting overall?
• Diane Vespa reminds us that we could have had Paul Vallas giving us free consulting advice, but District 150 turned him away. So, while he’s improving test scores and lengthening days down in New Orleans, District 150 is shortening days and misusing Title I funds. Who needs him!
• Gatehouse Media, owner of the Journal Star and the Times-Observer, is losing money hand over fist, Billy Dennis informs us. This is bad news for Peoria. I hope they get the ship righted, or else sell off our newspapers to a company that will manage them better.
• The Chillicothe Police are endorsing Darin LaHood for State’s Attorney. LaHood also has the endorsements of the Peoria Police Union and the Peoria County Sheriff’s Union.