Route 66 Flix

Seventh annual film festival is bigger and better than ever

It's funny what a smidge of positive press, a little marketing gizmo, and a good reputation can do for a film festival. This year's Route 66 Film Festival — the 7th annual &

Putting out the flame

After 11 years of publishing a newspaper for the gay community, Buff Carmichael calls it quits

When Buff Carmichael started his own monthly newspaper in 1996, he took it to the closest printer he could afford, in a town just about 25 miles away. The printer agreed to produc

Critical condition

How Springfield is handling the nursing shortage

­­ t's the first day of the fall semester and Cynthia Maskey, associate dean of nursing at Lincoln Land Community College, has already lost one of her teachers. A

Deep in debt

Illinois students struggle to repay loans

When Shelley Pethy started college in the early '80s, the process seemed simple.

Case studies: How they dealt with debt

Thanks to StudentLoanJustice.org, a national grassroots advocacy organization and political action committee, students from all over have banded together to speak out about the st

Perversion of justice

When a cop charged with 49 felonies pleads guilty to two misdemeanors and goes free, there’s clearly something rotten in Danville. But what?

On the morning of April 11, 2007, David Lewis appeared before a Vermilion County grand jury in response to a subpoena. As a part-time police officer for the village of Belgium, Il

Growing the pie

How Obama’s voter-registration efforts could reshape the electoral map in November

1992 was a crucial election year in Illinois. Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton was hoping to carry a swing state that President George H.W. Bush had won by a scant 2 percentage points f

So long, Senators?

A plan to relocate Springfield High School to the west side sparks controversy

Marissa DeWeese didn't really mind the congestion at Springfield High School. A member of the marching band, DeWeese thought it was pretty cool once when the band and freshm

Lucky and charmed

Irish interns learn all things Lincoln and a bit about Springfield, too

Five young adults in matching blue-and-burgundy polo shirts sit in a row at a long blond-wood table in the sunny Governor's Conference Room at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Lib

Living the fantasy

Springfield gets first dibs on favorite son Micah Walk’s newest release

One consistent truth in the music business: In spite of the heartfelt aspiration and keen ambition felt by the people who trudge it, the path to making music for a living is litt