While there is no shortage of great prep gridiron action or NFL team spirit in Springfield, the capital city's offering of college football leaves something to be desired. Sure,
While there is no shortage of great prep gridiron action or NFL team spirit in Springfield, the capital city's offering of college football leaves something to be desired. Sure,
If you're looking to get into the maze craze this fall, we have great news — Springfield will host its very own 10-acre corn creation. If that's not enough, it's even cut i
By now, your summer fling is either nearing an end, you're thinking about taking the relationship to the next level, or the thought of spending the holiday season alone is depres
The colorful and raspy-voiced U. S. Sen. Everett McKinley Dirksen died in 1969, but his memory lives on at the Dirksen Congressional Center in Pekin, near Peoria. This is a research center,
No kids allowed. It's a strict requirement of Garret Moffett's new October tour, "R-Rated Springfield." "If you enjoy TV shows like 'The Sopranos,' then you will enjoy this,"
Many days, Mother Nature locks you indoors and keeps you there with her sweltering heat or bone-chilling cold, soul-sapping humidity or ear-warping wind, rain, snow, sleet, thund
Despite local opposition, in 1929 Henry Ford bought and dismantled the courthouse in Postville and had it set up again at his Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Mich. The courthouse
Determined to put an end to the rumor that there's nothing to do in central Illinois, we reached out across the region to identify a bevy of fairs, festivals, concerts, art exhibi
Best Green-Friendly Business Food Fantasies 1512 W. Wabash Ave. www.foodfantasies.com If you've ever "fantasized" about free-range turkeys and locally harvested tomatoes, you may not be su
Best Green-Friendly Business Food Fantasies 1512 W. Wabash Ave. www.foodfantasies.com If you've ever "fantasized" about free-range turkeys and locally harvested tomatoes, you may not be su
Best Original Band Best Local Band Likely to Make it Big The Station Over 10 years of constant touring across the U.S. took The Station a long way from its humble beginnings in Chatham, Ill
In a hurry and pinching pennies? Our readers didn’t deliver one clear winner so we decided to feature the top five vote getters. Here’s the skinny on some of your options for fast, cheap m
Best gym for weight training Fit Club all locations www.fitclub.net Though it’s not obvious to a casual observer, it’s true that weight training burns more calories when the muscles a
Best Chips and Salsa Xochimilco 2941 W. Iles Ave., 546-3116; 3210 Northfield Dr., 544-9206; 6901 Preston Dr., 483-1006 You can tell a lot about a Mexican restaurant by its chips. If they’re
Rather than name a winner in this out-of-town eatery category we thought it would be far more fun to challenge readers to eat their way around central Illinois. In alphabetical order here are nine ea
Best school crossing guard Rosemary Thomas She starts her mornings as crossing guard at St. Aloysius school, then by 8:30 she’s on the job at Ridgely elementary. She’s back again at both
When we started working on this Best of Springfield edition many weeks ago, the world was a calmer place than it is today. Given the general craziness we’re all experiencing as Wall Street and M
He is dressed as a cowboy and looks to be about 6, which, according to my (admittedly yet unpublished) Rules of Diner Etiquette, is about two years too old to be leaning over the back of his booth, in
I’m 65. The TV is on because I like background noise as I pretend to do my morning exercises. The man has a few wrinkles around his eyes, but his eyes are clear and bright. His
Doctor: No more hamburgers for you! Neighborhood bar and grill: $2. Police officer: The alleged hamb
Henry Rose is a man full of charity, kindness, and even temper; he can’t recall ever thinking ill of anyone, and he’s never been angry. Life is good, always has been, and through
Brad Dood (pronounced “dude”) settled into a smirk. “Right place! Right time! Right stuff! No one more deserving,” he thought. “I’ve paid my dues!”
Yanks (“American”) Avatar (“embodiment of a concept”) is, by definition, the essence of American thought, the quintessential American. Were it
Eleven million people play online poker; 10,999,999 of ’em win, usually $2,000 each. No doubt you know one of the 10,999,999 — Uncle Bob’s strange friend wh
Harry Jacobs watched from his window as the February snow drifted in his neighbor’s driveway, most of it under the basketball backboard bolted to the roof over the gara
The Earth Day issue: Save. Simplify. Grow. Make a difference.You don’t have to be Captain Planet, Al Gore or Rachel Carson to help the environment. Saving energy, preserving natural resources an
The Earth Day issue: Save. Simplify. Grow. Make a difference.You don’t have to be Captain Planet, Al Gore or Rachel Carson to help the environment. Saving energy, preserving natural resources an
About the issue This last week of the year Illinois Times takes a loving look back at some of the lives that ended in 2009. All across Springfield this past week, chairs were empty and hearts were a
KENNETH “GENE” WELLENREITER JR. Aug. 13, 1971 – July 27, 2009 {image-7167}Gene Wellenreiter came into my life about six years ago and taught me more about life and living through
Like an art critic judging a sculpture, Mike Earles leans back and places the end of his goateed chin between the raised thumb and forefinger of his left hand. His eyes narrow as he leans
The South African Boer goat quietly invaded the United States via Texas about 15 years ago – and has been nibbling its way north ever since. Developed by Dutch farmers
T he trained eye rarely misses them: three-barred crosses and primitive, colorful icons, occasionally spotted in roadside cemeteries and out-of-the-way chapels from Chicago to Carbondale
“This is one of those moments to step up and articulate what urbanism is worth to America.” That’s how Scott Bernstein, president of the Center for Neighborhood Technolo
Springfield is bursting with new urbanists. While the phrase “new urbanism,” coined in the 1980s, often frightens people who think that new urbanism entails mandating an organi
T here must have been scores of kids who, like Clayton Penrose-Whitmore, found themselves enjoying a snack in the Ethnic Village at the Illinois State Fair, just as a group of Suzuki vio
Brent Bohlen, a retired state worker and current exercise enthusiast, is an unlikely person to be speaking to doctors at a high-level conference on Alzheimer’s disease held this month at Souther
Brent Bohlen, a retired state worker and current exercise enthusiast, is an unlikely person to be speaking to doctors at a high-level conference on Alzheimer’s disease held this month at Souther
Avoid the New Year’s resolution trapJanuary, 2010…you’ve been handed a proverbial clean slate -- another chance to shrug off your bad habits and reach for your dreams. It never fail
Untitled Document Got a fitness problem? Sometimes ... you’ve got to stretch yourself. The most common injuries are sorted int
Untitled Document Tim Butler used to run in high school and college, but he says it’s nothing compared to what he’s been up to for the past 13 years.
Untitled Document Dr. Glennon Paul has worked with Springfield asthma patients for 33 years, but even he admits that he doesn’t have all the answers
Untitled Document The Frank J. Menolascino Award for Excellence, given yearly by the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed, was created to honor individuals
Untitled Document This year, keep your workout promise With the new year comes the promise of starting, then sticking with fitness routines. Make a difference
Untitled Document You’ve heard it all before: Mix fun with your fitness, the minutes will just fly by, and before you know it you’ll be 10 pounds lighter.
Untitled Document First, let’s clear up a common misconception: Old age doesn’t cause Alzheimer’s disease. Rather, the risk of AlzheimerR
Untitled Document Don’t assume you have to sweat Older, frail people can get a free “gym pass” and still benefit from activities that are not as ta
1958 Louis Armstrong Jane Russell/James Gardener/Jonathon Winters WLS National Bam Dance 1959 Grand Ole Opry Edd “Kookie” Byrnes/Alan King/ Les Brown & His
1958 Louis Armstrong Jane Russell/James Gardener/Jonathon Winters WLS National Bam Dance 1959 Grand Ole Opry Edd “Kookie” Byrnes/Alan King/ Les Brown & His
It wasn’t too long ago that the popular rock band Hootie and the Blowfish sold out the Grandstand at the Illinois State Fair. In 1995, the year after late author David Foster Wallace wrote about
On June 18, 1860, Elizabeth Packard, a mother of six and wife of a Calvinist minister in Manteno, Ill., was carried from her home and admitted to the Illinois Hospital for the Insane in Jacksonville a
I recently learned a new reason why I’m glad I didn’t live in the 1800s — 19th century cosmetics.I became enlightened about this topic after attending an interesting 3½-hour seminar
In the late 1800s reformers in Illinois became concerned about child labor in manufacturing, especially in the state’s larger cities. They had good reason to be. In some shops young children wor
Today, Springfield’s downtown square is a peaceful place. Its manicured lawn and grand Old State Capitol suggest that it was a location of thoughtful debate and mannered discourse among our earl
Financial problems are nothing new to the Prairie State. Sadly, neither are inept responses by governmental officials. After the Panic of 1819 one of our own townsmen, an esteemed founding father, was
Brother Anthony Joseph came to the St. James Trade School from Syracuse, N.Y., in 1967 to join the Franciscan Brothers in running the school. The Springfield school on the northeast side closed in 197
It’s easy in this Land of Lincoln Obsession to think that our area’s history began with the sixteenth president or with white settlers in general. But doing so ignores the many Native Amer
One hundred fifty years ago this year, Abraham Lincoln was elected president and the slavery question was threatening to dissolve the nation.In Illinois, Lincoln’s allegedly “free” s
