News | Thursday, June 14,2012

I’ll have another

With Obed & Isaac’s in full swing, the Conns look ahead

Court Conn sounds relaxed.He’s sitting at Three Kings, a St. Louis pub, talking via cell phone, as if he had nary a care in the world. It is a Tuesday afternoon. The sun is out. He is, he says,

News | Thursday, June 14,2012

Don’t worry, bee happy

Springfield moves to regulate honeybees

By Bruce Rushton

Sangamon County board member Tim Moore is a Republican who favors government regulation, at least when it comes to honeybees inside Springfield city limits.“The current ordinance is very vague a

News | Thursday, June 14,2012

Ex-offenders offered hope

Summit of Hope provides knowledge and services

By Neil Schneider

Parolees and ex-offenders often struggle to successfully reintegrate themselves into their community, an issue the Summit of Hope conference intends to change.At the Summit of Hope conference, held la

News | Thursday, June 14,2012

Early release worries understaffed parole agents

Caseload of ex-offenders already high, due to rise

By Patrick Yeagle

As Gov. Pat Quinn mulls a bill to allow early release for inmates in state prisons, parole agents who monitor ex-offenders say the program would add to their already burdensome caseload.In late March,

News | Thursday, June 14,2012

Why Illinois needs work-release

Gov. Quinn wants to cut a prison program that prepares inmates for life on the outside

By Jolonda Young

Thirty-two-year-old Robert Baird was excited to begin the new year with a notification from the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) granting him permission to transfer from the Pittsfield Work C

News | Thursday, June 7,2012

School’s out at St. Joseph’s

After 136 years on Springfield’s north end, a family tradition comes to an end

By Will Burpee

“Good morning! Today is Thursday, May 17,” said St. Joseph’s School principal Linda Tusek into the intercom one recent morning. She began with the day’s announcements to studen

News | Thursday, June 7,2012

Two Springfield couples fight for same-sex marriage

Lawsuit seeks to overturn state definition of marriage on constitutional grounds

By Patrick Yeagle

Randy Walden did everything right, but it wasn’t enough.When Walden’s partner of nine years, Curt Sills, was diagnosed with cancer in 2002, Walden and Sills drew up documents giving Walden

News | Thursday, June 7,2012

Jailhouse doctor free to practice

Six months after settlement, no discipline for Peoria physician

By Bruce Rushton

The ill in Oklahoma need not worry about Dr. Stephen Austin Cullinan.The Peoria physician with a history of six-figure lawsuit settlements and a trail of tragedy allowed his license to lapse last mont

News | Thursday, June 7,2012

Crumbling cases

Charges dismissed after a top DUI cop takes the fifth – again

By Bruce Rushton

A second drunken driving case involving former Jerome police officer Steven Stirmell has been dismissed after the officer refused to testify, invoking his Fifth Amendment privilege because he is under

News | Thursday, June 7,2012

Lawmakers vote to reinstate early prisoner release

Would require annual reports, include inmate evaluations

By Patrick Yeagle

Illinois prison inmates may soon qualify for early release once more under a bill passed by state lawmakers last week. If approved by Gov. Pat Quinn, the move would address state prison overcrowding t