A straight flush

GOP sweeps county races, as usual

What does it take for a Democrat to win countywide office in Sangamon County?Pretty much a miracle, unless your last name is Langfelder and you are running unopposed.On paper, at least, things this ye

Illinois preparing health insurance exchange

State will vet private insurance plans in public market

Illinois is preparing to roll out a crucial pillar of the federal health care reforms, but one puzzle piece remains out of place.The state plans to open a health insurance market at the start of 2014,

Innocent, but still guilty

Illinois Innocence Project helps free imprisoned Chicago man with imperfect compromise

Although Anthony Murray walked out of prison on Oct. 31 a free man after 14 years, gaining his freedom required admitting to a murder he says he didn’t commit. “It’s been a long road

Case dismissed

Charges against a physician accused of fraud and conspiracy have been dismissed after federal prosecutors admitted that an FBI agent violated the accused’s constitutional rights by gaining unfet

Star Bucks

Bambi thrives in Illinois

Driving his pickup up a gravel road toward a built-in-a-weekend cabin on a 160-acre piece of land he calls a farm, Jack Robertson spots a pair of does munching on wheat that, along with oats and clove

All gone

Parsons says he’s broke

Jeffrey Parsons and his company, THR and Associates, owe more than $467.2 million to consumers, tax collectors, media outlets and various other entities from coast to coast, according to recently file

Jail doctor in good standing despite deaths

What’s a leg worth?Ten thousand dollars, at least in the eyes of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which in August fined Dr. Stephen Austin Cullinan of Peoria tha

Project Censored

The expanding police state tops the annual list of stories underreported by the mainstream media

People who get their information exclusively from mainstream media sources may be surprised at the lack of enthusiasm on the left for President Barack Obama in this crucial election. But that’s

Enos School replacement plan under fire

Nonprofit asks state to reexamine cost estimates

A Springfield nonprofit is asking the state to put the brakes on a plan to replace an elementary school building located north of downtown.Jerry Jacobson, spokesman for the nonprofit historic preserva

Look for the union label

SJ-R organizes after empty promises