News | Thursday, April 1,2004

Lead alert

It was a routine check-up. Springfield native Crystal Bishop says nothing was visibly wrong with her nearly two-year-old infant son, Michael. But then came the results from his blood tests, wh

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News | Thursday, March 25,2004

Pool solution

By Todd Spivak

Say a student is pursuing a degree in health care at the local community college. But the school's medical laboratory pales in comparison to the more technologically sophisticated facilities at the ne

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News | Thursday, March 25,2004

In the black

By Todd Spivak

It can be painful to hear Ivy League-bred Barack Obama talk jive. When the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate 'gives a shout out' to a supporter, calling him his 'homeboy,' or worse, his 'p

News | Thursday, March 18,2004

The contenders

By Todd Spivak

From inside his West Washington Street polling place on Tuesday afternoon, Patrick "Tim" Timoney anticipated a long night ahead. Like the vast majority of party leaders across the state, Sangamon C

Feature | Thursday, March 11,2004

Head of the class

Barack Obama banks on his progressive legislative record to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. Is that enough for Illinois voters?

By Todd Spivak

The gospel choir has finished its hymns and the pastor is well into his sermon when a tall, gaunt man with short-cropped hair and a handsome baby face appears at the edge of the dais. The pastor, fer