My mind recently is like November weather: all over the place. Here are some quick hits.

GOOD DAY FOR STARVED ROCK: Shaw Local’s Maribeth Wilson reported Friday on the start of an $18 million trail upgrade program at Starved Rock, the crown jewel of the state park system. Another $19.2 million will be spent infrastructure like replacing vault toilets, upgrading water filtration and building a sanitary wastewater system. The projects might’ve cost less if started earlier – Tonti Canyon has been closed for a decade plus – but the Department of Natural Resources budget was shuffled down the priority list during years when even social service agencies weren’t close to adequately funded.

I’ve been railing for years about bringing our DNR facilities in line with neighboring states by charging modest parking or admission fees. A few legislative attempts to do weren’t crafted wisely and unsurprisingly stalled. This is good news for one great park, but the entire system would benefit from a cash infusion.

WHICH NUMBER MATTERS? According to the Illinois Gaming Board’s monthly reports, the state’s online and in-person sports books took 5,418,323 fewer bets in September 2025 (30,472,931) compared to September 2024 (35,891,254). Industry analysts have been waiting for these figures because it’s the first full month with a new tax on legal books, which now have to pay 25 cents for each online bet. Once a book collects more than 20 million wagers, the hit goes up to 50 cents.

The handle, however, increased $115,042,152.96 – from $1,299,709,519.75 last year to $1,414,751,672.71 this year. That’s a spike of more than $10 per bet. For those whose only interest in this conversation is how legal sports betting affects tax revenues, the handle is a much more relevant data point than the number of wagers. But it’s understandable to point to a steep drop in overall activity as a concern.

Absent the ability to enact a law limiting gambling to only the money any individual bettor can actually afford to lose – about as tough to enforce as reserving alcohol purchases to casual drinkers – any hope the betting taxes are entirely progressive is just conjecture. Still, it’ll be important for state budget planners to look closely at whether any given year’s income is a sustainable baseline.

ON THIS DAY: On Nov, 18, 1883, every railroad clock was reset to reflect the synchronization of the four primary North American time zones (there had been 27 local times in Illinois alone). For those with inquisitive sixth-graders at home, or just the generally curious, one fine resource is “The Day of Two Noons,” a 1952 book by Carlton Corliss for the Association of American Railroads. The University of Illinois’ digital library makes it available at tinyurl.com/DayOfTwoNoons.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.