SOLAR CITY

There’s something intriguing about solar power – the way it turns sunlight directly into useable electricity without the hassle of steam, fossil fuels or motors. It’s beautifully sim

CASTING FOR VOTES

Shatriya Smith is attempting to walk the extra mile in support of Illinois’ 96th district Democratic state representative candidate Winston Taylor. There’s just one problem: both of S

ICE ABES

Keeping that new year’s resolution to get in shape can be next to impossible if you try to do it alone. But if you don’t mind a little cold weather, you can get some motivation and support

VIDEO POLITICS

In an election year, nothing is more important to a potential voter than getting to the root of the issues and understanding where a candidate stands on those issues.Susan Nightingale, president and c

WHERE TO TAKE ELECTRONICS

Fax machines and VCRs might be so yesterday as the 21st century nears teenhood, but that doesn’t mean that such electronic junk belongs in the trash.Beginning this month, it is illegal to dump u

GETTING RID OF GOVERNMENT

Mosquito abatement districts. Tuberculosis sanitarium districts.Not exactly stuff that sets civic hearts afire. But the Sangamon County Citizens’ Efficiency Commission is, nonetheless, examining

CHALK TALK

Kids playing hopscotch is one thing.But after weeks of decorating downtown sidewalks with symbols, slogans and quotations, members of Occupy Springfield have gotten crosswise with police, who last wee

MOUNDS OF MEALS

Forty-thousand pounds. That’s about equal to the weight of 10 cars, two large elephants or about 210 grown men. It’s also the total weight of food given away to families in need by the Cen

SUPER SCHOOL

Feeding the hungry is a noble goal, but Trinity Lutheran School in Springfield takes it a step further. The school recently won a National School of Distinction award, given to fewer than 2,000 school

COULDA BEEN WORSE

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a stricken helicopter on top of Memorial Medical Center!Believe it.The Bell helicopter operated by OSF Aviation was landing on the hospital’s he

Ponzi victims seeking restitution and donations

Investigators try to round up stolen funds

He may be no Bernie Madoff, but James U. Dodge of Springfield still managed to scam dozens of people across central Illinois out of almost $1.8 million. And even though Dodge was convicted of two coun

Ting sent packing

UIS faculty senate leader resigns

Bowing to pressure from colleagues, Tih-Fen Ting has resigned from the University of Illinois Springfield faculty senate.Ting, an environmental studies professor who had been the senate’s chairw

Tase me, bro

‘It doesn’t just hurt, it really, really hurts.’

While Springfield park police mull Tasers, the Sangamon County sheriff’s office has adjusted training after the 2010 death of Patrick Burns, who died following a struggle with taser-wielding dep

That’s all, folks

Chris Britt leaves the State Journal-Register

Chris Britt sounds like crap.What started out two weeks ago as a bad cold has morphed into pneumonia, and his words come as croaks between coughs.  The career of the State Journal-Register’

Destination Dinner Table brings together families and good food

Parents looking for a way to prepare healthier meals on a budget, while also bringing family members together for dinner may find answers in the Destination Dinner Table program.  On Wednesd

Email-gate

UIS faculty leader leaked information to president’s chief of staff who resigned

While a brouhaha over anonymous emails has resulted in the resignation of a top aide to University of Illinois president Michael Hogan, there have been no apparent consequences for a University of Ill

Lawsuit claims Illinois illegally withholds treatment for kids

Proposes better treatment for behavioral disorders

A class action lawsuit against the state of Illinois alleges state welfare agencies illegally withhold treatment for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. The lawsuit could affect more tha

Municipal pensions eat more, but they’re still hungry

Whether the city of Springfield is facing a pension crisis in police and firefighter retirement systems depends on who’s doing the talking. Mayor Mike Houston and Bill McCarty, director of

Developer blasts new Enos School plan

District 186 defends decision to build rather than renovate

A Springfield developer with plans to revamp part of the Mid-Illinois Medical District says Springfield School District 186’s plan to replace the current Enos Elementary School is likely to cost

Chris Britt laid off

Chris Britt, editorial cartoonist for the State Journal-Register, has been fired. Britt was let go this morning.“I was just informed,” Britt said.