Amid this heated political season, residents in southern Illinois have found a unifying pastime: spotting black bears. “I love the dichotomy right now on my FB (Facebook) feeds. On one hand, major political drama. On the other, this bear is just doing bear things, just wandering around SIL (southern Illinois),” wrote Jessica Bradshaw, a Carbondale resident, echoing the sentiment of many social-media posts shared across the region this week in response to numerous black bear sightings.