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

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

News | Friday, June 1,2012

The ax falls

Secretary of state’s office announces big layoffs

By Bruce Rushton

The Illinois Secretary of State’s office is laying off 90 people statewide in response to a 3 percent reduction in its budget.The job eliminations will take effect July 1, said Dave Druker, spok

News | Thursday, May 31,2012

A case of vodka

Innocence Project examines murder conviction

By Bruce Rushton

Vodka isn’t flammable.That basic fact of fire could prove key in the case of William Amor, a DuPage County man serving a 45-year sentence for murder. While not committed to representing Amor, th

News | Thursday, May 31,2012

Park district mulling Griffin Woods purchase

Part of land eyed for supermarket could become park

By Patrick Yeagle

The warm summer breeze rushes through the dense underbrush of the second-growth forest known colloquially as Griffin Woods, filling the close space with the rustle and shimmer of thousands of leaves.

News | Thursday, May 31,2012

Manure rules

Livestock farms to pay fees for EPA enforcement

By Neil Schneider

Large livestock farms would have to pay for pollution permits under legislation headed to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk. The Clean Water Funding Fairness Act, which passed through the Illinois House and