Feature

Although we sympathize with the Obama administration's aims in halting the deportation procedures of 300,000 illegal aliens and reviewing -- on a case-by-case basis -- whether deportation or a work permit is the best result, it is not appropriate for the executive branch to make that decision.

Congress is the appropriate body to make a law that allows some illegal aliens a chance to stay in this country with a work permit. It does not take a cynic to see that the administration's move is a back-door procedure toward implementing -- in part -- the DREAM Act, a proposal that would allow younger illegal aliens a path to citizenship.

The DREAM Act has repeatedly been defeated in congressional votes. Even though we support the DREAM Act and would like to see law-abiding, hard-working illegals be allowed to stay in this country as work-permit residents or new citizens, that needs to be accomplished in the appropriate manner, which is through the enactment of a law change. The administration's changing of the law by fiat is just as wrong as the Bush administration's executive fiats during the early years of the War on Terror that were opposed for the reason that Congress should have a role in such decisions.

CHICAGO -- Recent law school graduates are known to labor over the high-stakes bar exam.

But for Elana Nightingale Dawson, a spring Northwestern Law School grad, the labor took on new meaning last week on the second day of the two-day Illinois bar exam.

As the days get longer, there's nothing like barbequing and entertaining friends on your deck. But before you pass out those invitations, make sure your deck has weathered the winter and is ready for its seasonal duty.

The abuse a deck surface takes from the weather, foot traffic, barbeques, and food and drink spills can create both surface and structural problems.

"To make your deck last, clean it thoroughly every one to two years and re-stain every two to four years," says Mark Clement, host of the radio program "MyFixitUpLife." "It also helps if your deck is made from a natural, durable wood, such as Western Red Cedar, which holds oil based finishes for an extended period of time."

Dinner with acclaimed chef and author Jacques Pepin is always special. On a recent evening at his Connecticut home, he served a red pepper sauce over homemade ravioli. When he told me how easy the sauce was, I decided to use it as a basis for this quick dinner.

I used fusilli corti -- short springs or corkscrews -- because I liked the way the ridges trap the sauce, but any short-cut pasta such as penne or elbow macaroni will do.