Roland Burris returns to his roots

The junior senator returns to Centralia and reminisces about growing up in southern Illinois

After about an hour of drinking, making small talk about local political races, and prognosticating on the outcome of the following day’s election, the crowd in the banquet room of t

Boys will learn better with boys

Why Jefferson Middle School is sold on single-gender classrooms

In a quaint neighborhood on Springfield’s southeast side sits Springfield School District 186’s best-kept secret — Jefferson Middle School. On the surface, Jefferson resem

Bigger isn’t always better

Karen Hudson has become a reluctant expert on the consequences of concentrated animal feeding operations

Karen Hudson didn’t know what to think when she first learned that factory farming was coming to her town. Elmwood, Ill., is a small but prosperous bedroom community about 20 miles

Flowers of the wild

The Allerton Park Corps of Discovery

Diane Wasson photographed these wildflowers in Allerton Park, near Monticello, as a participant in the Allerton Corps of Discovery, one of several groups organized under the Corps of Disc

Only fools flush down

County asks residents to keep drugs out of the water system

E-cycle your E-waste this E-arth Day

To most people, being green just means replacing your old light bulbs with compact fluorescents, reusing plastic grocery bags, turning off the water while brushing and placing your empty

Rent or buy, new or used?

How to invest in a good instrument... and make the most of your investment

It will soon be time for fifth graders’ families to sign up for middle school band, and families who have arranged for their own instruments, whether by renting or purchasing, will h

School band blues

The decline of instrumental music instruction in Springfield schools

In Springfield’s rich band music history, instruction began in elementary school. By middle school, concert bands performed intermediate literature and pep bands played at sporting

Support the troops

Nonprofits and the National Guard show appreciation for those who serve

The Illinois that Lincoln knew

Illinois State Museum exhibit shows the growth of a state and a future president

Abraham Lincoln surrounds visitors to and residents of central Illinois. The Lincoln image the region presents and sells to the world, however, is often a caricature. Tourists may encount