In the wake of a controversial decision to close a popular and successful middle school in Springfield, the divided school board continues to field questions about the reasoning for the closure and its estimated savings.

Pete Rose’s rookie baseball card. A stuffed beaver. A signed photograph of Ronald Reagan asleep on a hammock. Dozens of antique swords. A plastic tub filled with home pregnancy tests.Such is the

Michael Stratton is out as executive director of the Springfield Park District.

Here’s a sampling of what’s on the auction block from the failed empire of Jeffrey Parsons, proprietor of THR and Associates, which is now in bankruptcy. Goods range from taxidermy to pregnancy tests to dog costumes to baseball memorabilia to toys to Parsons’ desk.

Springfield Park District executive director Michael Stratton is under scrutiny for taking more than $2,000 in apparently unauthorized advances on salary, according to multiple sources. Meanwhile, a park district board member says he will resign in the wake of an unpublicized meeting of the board on the matter that was held Monday behind closed doors.

U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock says he hasn’t decided whether to run for governor next year, but the Republican from Peoria is sounding and behaving like a candidate.Consider a press availability sessio

If Abraham Lincoln were alive, would he need Head and Shoulders?The answer could settle whether a hat on display at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum actually belonged to Abe.The hat

With eyes wide open, I traveled to the District of Columbia during inauguration weekend hoping to experience what our country has to offer. I never was patriotic or felt like I could identify with oth

Video gambling was illegal in Springfield when Mayor Mike Houston took office in the spring of 2011 and vowed to fix the city’s crumbling streets, sidewalks and sewers without raising taxes.Vide

Having grown up in a family of lawyers, attorney John Thies of Urbana understands the need for respect and integrity in the judicial system. “The approach I learned from my father and grandfathe