David Rutter

Melodie Gliniewicz exits the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan in February.

Rutter: Too late for recused judge to avoid questions

June 14, 2018 at 3:44 a.m.

Illinois court judges seldom explain themselves or their reasoning, except to other judges when the judicial code demands an accounting or in their post-retirement memoires. Judges speak for the final...

This image provided by the Jackson County (Ind.) Sheriff's Department on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, shows Travis Tarrants, 40, of West Baden Springs, Ind., Tarrants was charged in Jackson Circuit Court with two counts each of stalking, intimidation and criminal mischief. He's being held without bond. Authorities say Tarrants who was passed over for a coaching and teaching position allegedly mailed four dead skunks and a dead raccoon to the successful applicant.

Rutter: How French Lickian achieved sweet smell of fame

June 12, 2018 at 10:47 a.m.

If you are eating breakfast Cheerios as you read this, put down the spoon, or what I am about to tell you will make you ill. We're going to talk...

San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid and quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneel during the national anthem Monday before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif.

Rutter: Goshen already figured out anthem righteousness

June 14, 2018 at 10:30 a.m.

If you don't know anything about little Goshen College just over the hill in Elkhart County, know its heart. The 650 students there understand what energizes and feeds their souls...

Rutter: ‘One Round Lake’ secrecy was always a bad idea

June 12, 2018 at 11:38 a.m.

Human events move briskly. Usain Bolt in Olympic 100-meter races, for example. On the other hand, Bourbon must be aged two years in oak barrels before it's allowed even to...

Rutter: ‘G.I. Joe’s salute car’ carries its Camaro hex

June 14, 2018 at 11:13 a.m.

When the onboard engine-control computer chip went permanently haywire, my family viewed it as random stab of automotive bad luck. The car died at 70 mph. Right on the road....

Former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist speaks last year during a City Council meeting.

Rutter: Soderquist showed fondness for bugging citizens

June 12, 2018 at 12:32 p.m.

The last time Keith Soderquist won a general election in Lake Station, it was November 2011, and supporters still erroneously believed he could manage his mayoral life. Mostly what he...

Fire consumes grassland around Bittersweet Golf Club in Gurnee.

Rutter: Summoned firefighters keep local golf socks dry

June 14, 2018 at 11:44 a.m.

Lacking successful expertise in the art and science of firefighting, we do not know the exact difference between a "controlled burn" and the "regular uncontrolled burn" that burns down your...

The murder case against Stephen Michael Day not only had red flags, it unfurled sirens, fireworks, rockets and carpet-bombing.

Rutter: Bad murder prosecution ends with easy acquittal

June 12, 2018 at 1:04 p.m.

For reasons of reputation, provability and fairness, county prosecutors swerve away from murder cases with large evidentiary chasms in the middle. Weak evidence leads to acquittals. Prosecutors are not in...

A Gurnee Village Board trustee has aired complaints about panhandling along Grand Avenue between Hunt Club Road and Route 41.

Rutter: Gurnee hooey runs hot on panhandlers

June 12, 2018 at 5:21 p.m.

"Say, mister, I'm down on my luck, and I could use a few dollars. Got any change to spare?" "No, I don't. Sorry. " "Well, OK, thanks anyway." See how...

Hikers pause on the trail to Numa Ridge in the North Fork of Glacier National Park in Montana. The National Park Service says the North Fork, a remote section of the park, invites a "more self-reliant visitor."

Rutter: Glacier’s peaks will forever hold a man’s affections

June 14, 2018 at 6:20 p.m.

If you will love a place for its immense, unfiltered glory, you might as well pick the most beautiful place on earth. That's what the 1.2 million acres of Glacier...

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