The high price of cheap food

Counting hidden costs shows Illinois farmers a better way

The old man leaned on his cane and stared at the line that inevitably forms at the Merwyn’s stand at the Old Capitol Farmers’ Market during strawberry season. At first he seeme

Tougher than Guantanamo

Illinois supermax prison with no way out

On paper, Michael Johnson fits the profile of dangerous inmate. Reputedly a high-ranking El Rukn gang leader, he was a few months into a 35-year sentence for kidnapping and murder when he

Restoring Adams Wildlife Sanctuary

A plan to attract birds and people to this 40-acre refuge on Springfields east side

The electric Sliders

The capital city’s collegiate baseball team promises to continue dazzling fans on and off the field

Darren Feller recalls that while he was attending the 2002 winter baseball meetings in Nashville, a prospective employer asked a question right out of the job interview playbook. “S

An end to homelessness?

For years, the city said there was no money for the homeless. Now there’s lots of it.

Billie Aschmeller has no doubt in her mind about what happened to Tim Hawker. “He died from being homeless,” she says, adding: “You shouldn’t have

The end of the Prairie House era

Art gallery is closing because Edith Myers, 92, plans to retire

Back in the early 1970s, the owner of a downtown Springfield gallery hired metalsmith Joe Spoon to work as the “artist in residence.” The gallery owner provided a small, open s

Crossing Lines, the documentary

Filmmaker’s struggle for cultural identity begins with her Springfield childhood

For Indira Somani, growing up in Springfield wasn’t always easy. Her parents moved to the capital city from Pittsburgh in 1974, and the next year

Out of tune

Musicians aren’t the only Illinois Symphony players disenchanted with conductor Karen Lynne Deal

Everybody in this story loves the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. The musicians who drive hundreds of miles from every corner of this state to play for $63 per performance love the orchestra

Orchestra hires interim executive director

Elizabeth Hare, 54, joined the Illinois Symphony Orchestra last month as interim executive director. Although she grew up playing piano, majored in music theory and music history at Rice University,

Exploring the Shawnee National Forest

A guided tour of southern Illinois’ natural wonder

It’s the only national forest in our predominantly agricultural/urban state, and it offers a great escape from our daily routines. Located down in the southern tip of the stat