News | Thursday, February 3,2005

Shelter resources

M.E.R.C.Y. Communities has won a three-year federal grant worth $240,000 to establish eight units of permanent housing for Springfield’s homeless. The funding comes f

News | Thursday, January 27,2005

Tying the knot

By Todd Spivak

Last February, after losing Curt Sills, his partner of 10 years, to cancer, Springfield resident Randy Walden sent an angry missive to St. John’s Hospital in which, he

News | Thursday, January 20,2005

Poskin joins SHA board

By Todd Spivak

Mayor Tim Davlin has handpicked a veteran community activist and social worker to join the five-member Springfield Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. Polly Poskin, 58, will complete the remai

Feature | Thursday, January 20,2005

Back to the future

By Todd Spivak

Downtown Springfield is about to resurrect a piece of its history as Union Station, the former rail depot that spans an entire block of Madison Street, undergoes a nearly $10 million makeover.

News | Thursday, January 13,2005

Making history

By Todd Spivak

Rousing applause erupted in the Illinois House on Tuesday as gay-rights activists celebrated passage of legislation that bans housing and employment discrimination against homosexuals. Gov. R

News | Thursday, January 6,2005

Critical piece

By Todd Spivak

Illinois ranks among the toughest states for poor people to find decent housing, and state lawmakers can do something to change that. The lame-duck General Assembly, which wraps up business on J

News | Thursday, January 6,2005

Taking aim

By Todd Spivak

A coalition of influential left-wing political organizations has initiated a campaign to hit Sinclair Broadcast Group where it hurts -- in the pocketbook. The group, led by Media Matters for Americ

News | Thursday, December 30,2004

In the pink

By Todd Spivak

Dave Piper kept a knapsack packed with pajamas, toiletries, and a rosary by his bedside. He lived each day on edge, anxious, ready to flee at a moment's notice. When the phone rang, his hopes w

News | Thursday, December 23,2004

A second chance

By Todd Spivak

Somehow, Aremelder Anderson survived. An alcoholic and crack-cocaine user for nearly two decades, Anderson tramped across the country, hopping from one abusive relationship to the next -- "bumming

News | Thursday, December 16,2004

Labor pains

By Todd Spivak

Veteran state worker Peter Wagner says he never had reason to join a union -- until now. An economic analyst with the Illinois Commerce Commission since 1994, Wagner became accustomed to decent