Although born and raised in Chicago, Liz Carroll has found a stunning amount of success in her ancestral homeland of Ireland. In 1975, at the age of 18, the fiddler won the Senior All-Ireland Championship - the first American to win that title in nine years, she recalled in an interview last week.

And a quarter-century later, in 2001, Irish Echo named her traditional musician of the year - its highest honor.

Carroll will be one of nine main-stage acts at this weekend's Midwest Folk Festival in Bishop Hill, about 30 miles southeast of the Quad Cities. The free two-day event focuses on Midwestern talent but has an international flavor because of artists such as Carroll, who still lives in the Chicago area.

When most people hear the phrase "folk festival," they think of idealistic and liberal white people with acoustic guitars. The Midwest Folk Festival at Bishop Hill this weekend will have a few of those, but it's more of a folklore festival, highlighting ethnic and traditional arts.

So in addition to those acoustic guitars, the Midwest Folk Festival will feature Latin American music, the santur (the Iranian hammered dulcimer), the pipa (a Chinese stringed instrument), and the Irish fiddle. And its conception of "American" music is broad as well, with Delta blues, Cajun, and Creole styles.

Democratic state treasurer candidate Alexi Giannoulias has a new poll that shows he has an 11-point lead over his Republican opponent, state Senator Christine Radogno.

Giannoulias has struggled since shortly before the spring primary. Reporters started looking into his family's bank business, and came up with ties to some seriously shady mobsters. Things went downhill fast.

But all the bad publicity hasn't helped Radogno, a moderate, well-liked Republican legislator from the suburbs who had been considered by some to be the Republican with the best chance of winning a statewide race this November.

Xstream Cleanup, presented by Riverboat Development Authority, is seeking hundreds of volunteers to clean up 32 waterways in the Quad Cities on Saturday, August 19 from 8:30 a.m. until noon. This annual event is presented in collaboration with nationally-known, Quad City native Chad Pregracke and his Living Lands & Waters team. Cleanups will take place in Bettendorf, Davenport, and LeClaire, Iowa, and East Moline, Milan, Moline, Rock Island, and Taylor Ridge, Illinois. The main focus of Xstream Cleanup 2006 is an illegal dumping site in Bettendorf where Crow Creek drains into the Mississippi River; that site, discovered during last year's Xstream Cleanup, has an estimated 3,000 tires scattered along the creek and will be the primary work site for Pregracke and his crew. Those interested in volunteering should register online at (http://www.xstreamcleanup.org) or call (563) 468-4218. Volunteers receive a free T-shirt and a light breakfast; no previous experience is necessary and supplies will be provided.