Lester: The rundown on Joe Walsh's potential bid for Congress

Déjà vu? Top GOP sources say former congressman Joe Walsh of Mundelein is considering a primary bid against U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren of Plano in the 14th Congressional District next spring.

Walsh, a radio host on 560-AM, initially considered a run against Hultgren in 2012, but switched his bid to the 8th Congressional District and lost to Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates.

Hultgren's staff is actively preparing for the scenario, and campaign workers for both Walsh and Hultgren were reportedly collecting petition signatures at a McHenry County Republican Party fundraiser last week.

Why time flies

Fermilab and its renowned astrophysicist Don Lincoln have a new YouTube video explaining Einstein's "theory of special relativity" - which says time goes more slowly on a clock that's in motion than on a clock that's sitting still.

It's the third in a series of videos Lincoln, who is also an author and CNN contributor, has completed for the Batavia national accelerator laboratory.

Drive-in donors

McHenry Outdoor Theater raised more than $5,100 at its fundraiser for the family of fallen Fox Lake police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, owner Scott Dehn tells me. Fittingly, the movie "Superman" was shown in honor of Gliniewicz, a local hero affectionately known as G.I. Joe.

Outdoor survivors

Many outdoor theaters have been torn down in recent years - among them the Grayslake Outdoor Theatre, Aurora's Hi-Lite 30 Theater and Skylark Drive-in Theater, the 53 Drive-in in Palatine, the Twin Drive-In in Wheeling and the Ski-Hi Drive-in in Addison. But Dehn says the McHenry Outdoor Theater is having one of the best seasons in recent history.

Part of that success is because the theater campaigned for and won a contest for installation of a new digital projector, he said.

The McHenry theater isn't the only local drive-in still operating. The Cascade Drive-In in West Chicago also installed digital equipment and is open for business.

Defending police

Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens concluded his annual State of the Village address last week by calling criticism of police across the nation "a bunch of nonsense."

"Entire professions shouldn't be judged" by the misdeeds of a few, Stephens said.

Crossing the pond

While he was in Rome last week, Archbishop Blase Cupich conducted an interview with Vatican Radio and talked about his meeting with Pope Francis. "It was an opportunity for us to welcome the Holy Father to the United States," he said.

The pope arrives in the U.S. Sept. 22 but is not stopping in Chicago. You can listen to the interview with Cupich here.

Teachers' backing

State Sen. Mike Noland of Elgin was endorsed by the Illinois Federation of Teachers last week despite his past comment that strikes were "embarrassing" and his receipt of campaign cash from Stand For Children, a group that helped muscle in a 2011 law to make it tougher to get teacher tenure.

Noland is making a Democratic bid for Duckworth's seat as she wages a battle for U.S. Senate. He'll compete in the primary against businessman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and Villa Park Mayor Deborah Bullwinkel.

Renovating

Right down Arlington Heights Road from the Daily Herald offices, there will be a grand reopening Sept. 22 of both the Comfort Inn and Holiday Inn Express.

Employees describe much more modern interiors, new furniture and lobby areas, and refrigerators and microwaves in rooms.

Budget impasse threatens IMSA

The Illinois Math and Science Academy is in danger of having to shut its doors by December if the state budget impasse is not resolved by then, President Jose Torres tells me.

The Aurora residential school for teens gifted in science and math is funded differently by the state than most other public schools and its budget area has not received a funding exception from Gov. Bruce Rauner.

IMSA is relying on its own funds to pay for food and health services, electricity, lab chemicals and more. But those reserves are dwindling, and fast, Torres said.

Familiar turf

Torres is familiar with budget woes from his past job as superintendent of Elgin Area School District U-46. He said he's been on the phone with state education secretary Beth Purvis.

"I'm not going to go down without a fight," he said.

Schooling lawmakers

IMSA, founded in 1985, had a similar budget nightmare in 1986, records show. State funding was promised only for half the year.

The academy's response was to hold class in the Illinois Capitol in Springfield. Soon, money started flowing again.

Selfie

Congratulations to Susan Szuch of Palatine, who on Tuesday received a national award for reporting from the Foundation for Biomedical Research. The sophomore journalism major at the University of Illinois wrote an in-depth piece on her university professor's advancements in cancer research for both humans and dogs.