More than 250 new laws take effect in Illinois Jan. 1. As has become custom around here I like to use the last few columns of December to review legislation that might not have gotten proper attention earlier in the year.

DeWalt: Heavy alcohol use can cause genetic mutations, impair tumor suppression, and limit the body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food that help protect against cancer.

In recent years, Christmas decorations have been coming out immediately after Halloween, and by Thanksgiving we’re bombarded with demands that we buy this or that gift. Unfortunately, I suspect some of my ancestors might be responsible for this holiday excess.

Christmas in the White House in the 1860s was a far cry from the ornate displays of decor familiar to Americans today. During the Lincoln administration, the holiday was observed in a low-key manner.

Daniel and I are going to bake and decorate Christmas cookies. Or at least we are going to attempt to. I can’t imagine what his will look like, but I’ll give him an A for effort.

From our editorial board: If the Chicago Bears’ stadium saga feels endless, it’s because it is. Years of proposals, renderings, press conferences and open letters have produced exactly one consistent result: nothing.

How do you assess a year that’s about to end? A simple enough task, I thought. But turns out it is not. It began as a challenge in the form of a writing prompt. That’s a writing assignment, if you choose to accept it.

As Dixon’s oldest landmark, the 1837 foundation of the Nachusa House reaches back almost 200 years. None of the city’s other historic buildings – religious, commercial, residential or governmental – come even close to the age and prestige of the grand old Nachusa House.

As with facial scans and voice recognition, technology falling under the blanket descriptor of “artificial intelligence” is advancing far more rapidly that any legislation could hope to match.