No, no, no, no...

A dress to die for

Boston bombing

Gun Violence Victims

Hunt anything you choose

Destroy you all

Created equal

Protecting my job

Big gulp ban

Best pals

Inquiring mind wants to go

Nosy writer has been inspired by place where the powerful sometimes trample the innocent

Just about seven years ago, I moved here from Texas to find out whether I could still do journalism. I had worked for major mainstream newspapers in Dallas and in Anchorage (yes, Alaska),

The plot sickens

Former SPD cop learns her mother’s Burr Oak­­­ grave was likely plundered, resold

The first time Renatta Frazier heard about massive grave robbing at an Alsip cemetery, she didn’t give it a second thought. A tiny village on the southwestern tip of Chica

Shades of gray

Friends of bicyclist who died in a crash are haunted by new DUI charges against motorist

Mark Jennings spent more than 20 years serving his country in the U.S. Army Airborne. When he retired around 2002, “Sarge,” as he was known, enjoyed gardening, cooking out and

Teching things to extremes

A view inside opposing camps of the gizmo revolution

Two years ago, Todd Green was happy with his Blackberry. Or so he thought. Then he went to his son’s basketball practice, where another dad hanging out in the bleachers was showing

Boy wonder

Young state police director changes troops’ attitude, but not much else

It’s been less than three months since Jonathon Monken became director of the Illinois State Police, but already he has jolted the agency. Which is sort of what troopers were hoping he would d

Peace begins on Hazel Lane

Hope Institute and its neighbors are talking. There’s hope for the world.

I now believe there will be peace in the Middle East. I also believe that the Illinois legislature will someday ratify a budget before the fiscal year ends, and Dick Cheney will appear on

High-octane intervention

Parole officer’s near-death experience sends him searching for “the gas-pump lady”

From the kitchen table where he was eating supper with his family, Jeff Hart saw the clouds change direction. They rolled east, then shifted suddenly west, like they had just de

Putting the leader in cheerleader

At Lanphier High, three brave boys add fresh bounce to the rah-rah squad

You’ve seen these guys before. OK, maybe not this specific trifecta of testosterone, but you’ve undoubtedly seen guys just like them, clowning around on the sidelines at the f

To get fresh teachers, grow your own

Nikki Moore “belongs in a classroom,” but she didn’t know that at first

A few years ago, someone in the Chicago public school system came up with a brilliant way to help Riley Higgins, who was then about 3 years old and living in Springfield. Why would anyone

The long road

Deidre Lockhart, now a professional with a master’s degree, reflects on her colorful past

Ask Deidre Lockhart how tall she is, and she will tell you she’s just under 5-foot-10. You don’t even have to verbalize the follow-up question. With a tone that says “I ge

What’s wrong with the New York Times?

Placing faith in the archaic notion that journalism sells

I love the New York Times. I quote it so often my kids think I don’t know anything I didn’t read there. So naturally I was drawn to the long piece in May’s Vanity Fair on NYT publish

Archaeology and a newspaper editor

Dishes dumped “out back” yield stories of a friend of Lincoln in early Springfield

A plain white pitcher, a bowl, a broken plate and a whiskey bottle from the mid-to-late 1830s are among the finds from Floyd Mansberger’s digs on the block where the Abraham Lincoln

The questionable future of FutureGen

Political clout may not be enough to make this project work

When U. S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu met with the FutureGen Alliance on Monday to discuss whether to proceed with a large-scale coal gasification demonstration plant near Mattoon, he fa

When the Crime Stoppers dumpster came to my street

Is this good police work, or a substitute for it?

When I first heard about the new Crime Stoppers drug dumpster, I found it amusing. A trash dumpster, welded shut, painted orange, is stenciled with, “A suspected drug house is in thi

For local banks, Springfield is a good place to be

Shielded from the worst of the chaos, they ride out the recession with confidence

As America looks around for someone to blame for the current economic mess, bankers are the easiest target in sight. “No one wants to hug a banker,” reads a recent Newsweek hea

The lies and demise of Roland Burris

We need a higher standard than telling the truth

It is a sad and sickening sound, that of another good reputation gurgling down the drain. Only a few weeks ago, Roland Burris was remembered as a trailblazer in Illinois politics, who had

Two strong women I knew

The people, the animals and the stories that shape our lives

Georgina Blair died last week at 92. When I visited in her home on the family farm in Virden a few years ago, she showed me this picture of her and her father with one of his prize mules,

What if things are as bad as Obama says?

Stirring words are welcome in troubled times

People are so ready to be relieved of the Bush presidency, and to end the Iraq war, that Barack Obama could have said anything, or nothing, in his inaugural address and it would still be

The homeless taking care of business

With clear goals, H.U.C. goes to work

At this business meeting of homeless people, some of the speeches are long and rambling, but that’s no different from many of the church and professional meetings I sit through regu

It’s the stupid economy

Rough days lie ahead. How we react will make the difference.

The national economic crisis brings a sense of foreboding to a small city like Springfield. Sometimes the nation’s worst weather bypasses here; the coasts get the hurricanes, fires a

Credit union tax can’t save Illinois

As the Illinois General Assembly continues to grapple with the state’s budget deficit, a statewide “big bank” trade association has undertaken a media campaign to pursue taxation of

Leak questions remain, but there are deeper problems

Many questions remain unanswered regarding the unlawful release by School District 186 of student data from the Capital College Preparatory Academy (CCPA), and the official apology issued by the Sprin

Tired of budget shenanigans? Here’s an answer.

With the formal release of President Obama’s budget, the pieces are finally in place for a reprise of the Washington drama we’ve all come to know. There will be high-stakes negotiations, l

Bill Clinton picked for Lincoln prize? Really?

Springfield attorney Jon Gray Noll sent the following letter to Wayne Whalen, board chair of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation. We are writing you in your capacity as chair of the bo

Clearing up the record on human origins

I write regarding the March 14 article written by Lavern McNeese, titled “Africans lived here first.” It was based upon a presentation entitled “The African-American Presence in the

Will school controversies bring voters to the polls?

Tuesday, April 9, is Election Day and, if past trends hold true, only a small percentage of voters will head to the polls to select new representatives to guide Springfield’s beleaguered educati

It’s time for a Lake Springfield maintenance plan

Lake Springfield is the crown jewel of the City of Springfield. It is the most valuable and most important asset the city owns. It is our only water supply, the coolant for the power plant and host to

Fossil fuel and nuclear knock renewables

The makeup of the electric grid of the future is at stake as the fossil fuel industry continues to falsely lessen the impact of renewable energy.So it’s no wonder that the American Wind Energy A

Florida makes Illinois look good

Anyone thinking Illinois state government is more screwed up, or more corrupt, than probably any other state in the union should have seen Florida as I did during a recent 10-day visit to the Tampa Ba

Pension reform proposals that might work

On Feb. 20, 2013, Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, introduced HB 2375 which he described as “credible, comprehensive, constitutional pension reform legislation.” This constitutional proposal by Re

The neighborhood school, redefined

The community room in the new Matheny-Withrow is a beginning

Schools, conventionally, seek to train the minds of their young charges. The problem is that it is not only their minds that show up every day in the classroom. Their bodies, their attitudes, their ex

Looking for Mr. Right

District 186 needs more than a new superintendent

Springfield voters on April 9 taught School District 186 a lesson. The district needed a better board, they believed, and they made their point by electing a slew of new members. But what, exactly, ar

Cakes on a plate

Building walls and street spaces in Springfield

In a recent column (“Keeping Springfield weird,” April 25, 2013) I tried to explain why Springfield’s built environment strikes so many visitors as off-putting. I mentioned as likely

Keeping Springfield weird

No parent ever has an ugly baby. Even if the little darling has a head that looks like a cantaloupe from the bottom of the pile, parents don’t like strangers stating the obvious. People are the

Ten years after

Iraq and America’s never-ending battle against truth

We fought, we were told, to avenge an act of terrorism against our nation that was made up, after a campaign whipped up by the U.S. media. In fact, the real powers in America wanted the war to protect

The right combination of sensibilities

Rich Shereikis taught in the classroom and on the printed page

Richard Shereikis died in Evanston on March 29. He was 75.A spot on the staff of Illinois Times in its very early years was an entry-level position – anyone who walked up the steps and through t

Empty chairs

Why so little public interest in serving the public interest?

The nation laughed when Clint Eastwood debated an empty chair at the Republicans’ national convention, but it wasn’t funny in Illinois. More and more of the seats on Illinois’ town c

Unplugged

Why is Illinois’ Internet service so backward?

We all live in a brave new world, but the future is happening sooner in some places than in others. As you might expect, the planet is home to many nations where connections to the Internet, the highw

Nurse! Nurse!

Relief for Medicaid’s financial ills?

Illinois faces two challenges in providing decent medical care for the many among us who stubbornly refuse to follow the example of our social betters by getting rich. One, endlessly “debated,&r

A penny here, a penny there…

Will a monumental Lincoln penny bring in tourist dollars?

I read with dismay – I always read with dismay, like some people always sleep with their cat – that the president would like the federal government to stop minting pennies. They can buy vi

Letters to the Editor 5/16/13

Schools and Ohio

MONEY SPEAKSIn his article, “Looking for Mr. Right,” (May 9) James Krohe Jr. makes several valid points regarding the failings of the school board as well as the problems inherit in search

Letters to the Editor 05/09/13

DOUGLAS DESERVES HIS DAYHere in central Illinois it should be noted that a historical figure had a birthday on April 23. It was the 200th anniversary of the birth of Stephen A. Douglas, Illinois&rsquo

Letters to the Editor 5/2/13

Pirate radio

UNSUNG TREASUREOf course Mbanna Kantako has made a difference (“Keeping it real,” by Bruce Rushton, April 25). If Mr. Kantako has been able to widen just one person’s view of the uni

Letters to the Editor 4/25/13

Clinton and Grandview Village

CLEARING CLINTONJon Gray Noll’s complaint about Bill Clinton being picked for the Lincoln prize left me thinking “really?” (April 18, “Bill Clinton picked for Lincoln prize? Re

Letters to the Editor 04/18/13

CRACKS A NOBLE HEARTThanks for Jim Krohe’s fine tribute to Rich Shereikis (“The right combination of sensibilities”) in the April 11 issue. Rich had, indeed, what Krohe calls “

Letters to the Editor 4/11/13

Fracking and litter control act

FRACKING STINKSI am writing to argue for a moratorium against fracking in Illinois (SB 1418). Chicago environmentalists argue that “fracking is going to happen anyway.” That is a total cap

Letters to the Editor 4/4/13

Snow, taxes and retirement

IN THE KNOW ON SNOW Dave and Jerry do residential snow removal in Springfield. We have one snow blower, and although we started at 4 a.m. on Monday, we had to limit our clients to those we could get t

Letters to the Editor 03/28/13

FOLLOWING FRANCISSeeing as how a significant majority of Springfield’s Catholics oppose the destruction of Griffin Woods, I’m curious as to why a coalition of progressive Sacred-Heart Grif

Letters to the Editor 03/21/13

PARK PERKSThe article “Use it or get paid” by Bruce Rushton (March 7) was a real eye opener. Springfield Park District has paid former park district executive director Michael Stratton mor

Letters to the Editor 03/14/13

CUT THE FRACKTo frack or not to frack ... that is the question. There are two bills being presented in the Illinois State legislature. SB 1418 proposes a halt to any hydraulic fracking until we have a

Corporate cowards divert shareholder funds into ‘dark money’

If corporations are people, as the Supreme Court pretends, they certainly are loudmouths, constantly telling us how great they are and spreading their names everywhere. Amazingly, though, these corpor

George W’s $250 million can of whitewash

Big doings in Big D – the George W. Bush Presidential Library is open for business! What a piece of work it is: a $250 million, 226,000-square-foot edifice on 23 acres in Dallas. His brick-and-l

Gagging on ag-gag laws

In most state legislatures today, “off the wall” has become the political center, and bizarre bills are no longer unusual. Still, it seems strange that legislators in so many states &ndash

Saving our ravaged planet ... and ourselves

Earth Day cometh – the 43rd year of this national focus on the state of our globe. So, how is Earth doing? Should we be weeping ... or cheering? Both. The first step to any recovery is recogniti

Where’s the cop on the Wall Street beat?

Bankers gone wild! Let’s tally some of their crimes: JPMorgan Chase engaged in massive, systematic fraud to foreclose without cause or due process on innocent homeowners, tossing thousands of fa

Wall Street hogs still running wild

Wall Street is a beast. And proud of it! In fact, a pair of animals are the stock market’s longtime symbols: One is a snorting bull, the other is a bear.But I recently received a letter saying t

Corporate kangaroo courts supplant our Seventh Amendment rights

Being wronged by a corporation is painful enough, but just try getting your day in court. Most Americans don’t realize it, but our Seventh Amendment right to a fair jury trial against corporate

Blanket of PR to make you want to hug a drone

In a recent senatorial dustup, Sen. John McCain called Republican colleague Rand Paul one of “the wacko birds” of Congress. McCain was giving Sen. Paul a tongue-lashing for having mounted

‘The Dow’ versus ‘The Doug’

“It’s a sign,” exclaims a February Associated Press story – a sign that our economy is “healing.” “It signals that things are getting back to normal,” a

Let’s adopt these GOP national platform planks

From Rick Perry to Rick Santorum, many Republican sparklies say they reject the science of evolution, favoring instead the “science” of the Bible, including some of its interpreters who cl

Shredgate: City’s actions, or lack thereof, stink

Don’t watch what we do, listen to what we say.That’s what politicians who behave badly would have the public do when the going gets weird. And what the city of Springfield is doing as Shre

Shell games and FOIA

Madigan pretends, the media worship

Thank goodness for the government.That was the way that Silly Pretend Journalists, aka the Society of Professional Journalists, saw things eight years ago when they bestowed attorney general Lisa Madi

Don’t let Springfield be Harrisburg, Pa.

Harrisburg, Pa., and Springfield have some interesting and frightening parallels. Like Springfield, Harrisburg is the capital city and the county seat. The city has a population of nearly 50,000 with

Suing the city

I hate meetings.The tortured kabuki theater that is your typical city council/zoning commission/pick-a-public-body meeting rarely sets hearts afire. The script is usually bad, the bureaucrats, inevita

A way forward for local Democrats

Election night was a mixed bag for local Democrats as nearly a hundred activists, many who worked on local races, filled Floyd’s Thirst Parlor to await vote returns. The mood was festive and opt

Democrats get their Statehouse chance

A new political map and lots of money give an edge to Scherer and Manar

The Republican legislative hegemony in Springfield is in peril. For the first time in almost 20 years, Springfield seems poised to help elect at least one – maybe even two – Democrats to r

Mud and money

A classic liberal and a traditional conservative are in a tight race for the new 13th Congressional District

David Gill is an unabashed liberal, even in a time when “liberal” is a dirty word.Gill is running for Congress in the 13th Congressional District as a Democrat, hoping to finally secure th

The GOP ambitions behind the Mitt Romney facade

A dispatch from the Republican National Convention

I had a decision to make. I’d been in Tampa for all of 15 minutes, and I was already late for something, anything, everything – a white rabbit with OCD, searching for Mad Hatters. Of cours

The new 96th

Five candidates vie for Illinois House seat representing part of Springfield

Five candidates are running, but only one will win the race to represent parts of Springfield and Decatur in the new 96th Representative District. The first leg of the race is the March 20 primary ele

Ready, set, GOvern!

Mayor Mike Houston gets high marks for stability. But what about those promises?

Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards, never known for holding his tongue, was just getting warmed up.“We should set the goals,” the alderman declared two weeks ago as the city council pondered Mayor

Who will bring Springfield together?

Leading a community means more than balancing the budget

Every day, the rusty steel rails of the 10th Street railroad tracks carry trainload after trainload of coal, manufactured items and raw materials through Springfield. But those tracks carry more than

Aldermania!

A ward-by-ward look at the candidates and the issues, from potholes to garbage pickup, sidewalks to the city budget. Politics doesn’t get any more grass-roots than this.

Ward 1: Young newcomer challenges a familiar faceIn 2008, Ward 1 got a Wal-Mart on South Sixth Street. Meanwhile, Mike Crews and Frank Edwards got an election issue. Both alderman candidates highlight

New kid on the block

Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon arrives in Springfield with a legacy, accessiblility and a banjo

The year was 1969 and Sheila Simon remembers fidgeting in her seat as her father, the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, was sworn in as lieutenant governor of Illinois. Nearly eight years old at the time, Sh

The man who would be senator

Can Alexi make it to Washington, D.C.?

We meet at a trendy little café on Main Street in Peoria on a cold, sunny Monday afternoon. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is on the campaign trail, and he has agreed to meet me to talk abou

Illinois’ rocky political landscape

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady resigned last week just as a new statewide poll showed big trouble for his political party’s brand.Brady had been under pressure to resign ever since

State Senator Matt Murphy out

Injured on ball field and withdraws from state GOP top job

In yet another blow to the Illinois Republican Party, state Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, has withdrawn his name from contention for the state GOP chairmanship job.And, no, it didn’t have anythi

A state divided on guns

A new statewide poll shows a majority of Illinoisans favor concealed carry. But an overwhelming majority in every area of the state also say it’s OK with them if Chicago and Cook County police h

Both sides sticking to their guns

Concealed carry bill fails again even though deadline is June 9

During the House floor debate over the National Rifle Association-backed concealed carry bill last week, I was told by an intimate of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan that the Speaker wanted to

Full-court press off, Jaffe fumbles

I’ve always believed that just because somebody claims to be a reformer, it doesn’t mean the person has the right solutions.Many years ago, an activist named Pat Quinn came up with an idea

Changing tunes on gay marriage

Republicans losing debate because of growing public support

You can always tell when somebody is losing an argument because they are constantly backtracking and recalibrating. And it’s no different with gay marriage. Back in January, for instance, newly

Where your state pension sits now

As it turns out, the Illinois House Democrats didn’t need the Republicans to put 30 votes on a significant pension reform bill.There’s been worry for at least two years that the Democrats

The trustee fight fumes onward

A recent meeting between Metro East legislators and Gov. Quinn’s staff turned heated at times, and as a result nothing was accomplished in the standoff over Quinn’s appointments to the Sou

Politics, politicians and pension reform, oh my

“Pardon me,” said Ty Fahner to a nearby microphone which he had accidentally bumped during testimony to the Illinois Senate Executive Committee last week.Fahner could probably be excused f

Pension reform problems linger

House Speaker Michael Madigan was hoping last Thursday to avoid the same results as the previous week when he presented some new pension reform ideas.The previous week, one of his pension reform propo

Candidates of the corn

Where they stand on ethanol can make or break them — and that’s a shame

Untitled Document The Midwest is where it’s at — for corn and politics. Five Midwestern states — Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Ohio, and Indiana — acco

Cut-and-run Democrats

New congressional leadership disinclined to beat on Bush

Untitled Document For the past week, Democrats have been beating their chests, declaring that their reclamation of Congress, as well as the majority of governorships around the n

Spoiler?

Whitney could crash the Democrats' party, and other predictions

A lot has happened for Rich Whitney and the Green Party over the past six months. With very little money, the Greens collected about 433 signatures per day between March and June, dodged a formal obje

Bellwether

Political climate will dictate who wins in the 99th

One way to measure the difference between the candidates for Illinois’ 99th House District is paperwork. Let me explain: When Republican state Rep. Raymond Poe, R-99th District, visited the off

A modest proposal

Were Obama a little less humble, he'd be perfect

It has to be tough for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama — who’s been asked repeatedly whether he’s considering a run for president or would accept an invitation to be a vice presidential candi

Juxtaposition

Whitney's participation could be a boon for Blago downstate

With less than eight weeks to go before the November general election, Green Party gubernatorial long shot Rich Whitney has 6 percent support among likely voters, a Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV poll release

So let's be fair

In Katrina blame game, media shouldn't get a pass

One year ago this week, Hurricane Katrina nearly wiped out New Orleans, one of the oldest, most culturally rich, poorest, and, indeed, important cities in America. In the weeks leading up to the anni

Life and debt

Africa needs more than just humanitarian aid

Before embarking on a five-nation tour of Africa last week, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama expressed concern about the perception that he could deliver to the continent, as he told the Chicago Tribune, &ldquo

Party Favors

GOP's Courtship of blacks appears to be working

“They may be our color, but they’re not our kind,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, a loyal and longtime Democrat, of African-American Republicans during a television interview earlier thi

No end in sight

The roots of Mideast conflict run deeper than the West can imagine

Israel’s consul general to the Midwest, Barukh Binah, traveled to Springfield earlier this week to discuss the newest war in the Middle East, which started with the capture of two Israeli soldie