World War II, Vietnam and Korean War veterans from central and southern Illinois received the trip of a lifetime – the reason? To honor their service.

The Land of Lincoln Honor Flight took a plane packed full of veterans and their guardians on a whirlwind trip to Washington D.C. to see the memorials – hundreds packed Springfield’s Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport to welcome them home Tuesday.

The Land of Lincoln Honor Flight serves much of central and southern Illinois.

In other State news, the havoc heroin and other hard drugs wage costs more than a comprehensive bill attacking the problem and providing for treatment, says the sponsor of the bill – which the governor has amendatorily vetoed.

The governor has a stated goal of reducing the prison population by 25 percent. Some say the amendatory vetoes of the heroin bill as well as of a marijuana decriminalization bill would counter that.

Among other things, the bill provides for the availability of anti-opioid treatments.

The veto message from Gov. Bruce Rauner said the state could not afford the Medicaid-funded treatment in the bill, which a statement from the governor’s spokeswoman a day later asserts goes beyond the treatment private insurance would cover.