News | Thursday, December 9,2004

Overdue

The initial dedication of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, back in 2002, set off a few bombshells, as critics questioned why $300,000 of taxpayers' money was spent on a cele

Feature | Thursday, December 9,2004

After Roe

By Todd Spivak

Illinois' leading abortion-rights advocates are gearing up for a fight, despite the state's recent trend to the political left. Sure, they say, pro-choice Democrats currently operate almost ever

Feature | Thursday, December 2,2004

Seeing stars

By Todd Spivak

At 21, Marissa Cerar moved from Athens, the sleepy, one-stoplight town 15 miles north of Springfield, into a duplex in Burbank, Calif., five miles north of Hollywood. She remembers the day sh

News | Wednesday, November 24,2004

Logan’s run

By Todd Spivak

When Willis Logan became executive director of the Springfield Housing Authority in 1997, some called him a glutton for punishment. After all, from 1991-97, SHA was ranked among the worst public-ho

News | Wednesday, November 24,2004

The axman

By Todd Spivak

"Blago the Ax" is the name some state employees now use to refer to Gov. Rod Blagojevich. In an attempt to raise revenue, his cash-strapped administration has slashed the state-employee headcou

News | Thursday, November 18,2004

Ms. Hatchett’s job

By Todd Spivak

Wanda Hatchett joined the Illinois Department of Transportation as a file clerk just three months after graduating from Lanphier High School. Some 34 years later, after working in a variety of jobs at

News | Thursday, November 18,2004

Woman on a mission

By Todd Spivak

In a large, two-story home on the southeast side, Alyce Lyle hopes to realize her dream of starting her own elementary school. A substitute teacher for nearly 20 years in Springfield's School District

News | Wednesday, November 10,2004

High stakes

By Todd Spivak

If the state opts to wager on more casinos as a way to dig itself out of debt, some say it's Illinois schools that will lose. During the six-day legislative veto session that began this week, Se

News | Wednesday, November 10,2004

Architecture matters

By Todd Spivak

Since graduating from Springfield High School in the late 1960s, John Norquist has enjoyed national renown as a politician, author, and advocate for historic preservation. The former mayor of M

News | Thursday, November 4,2004

A search for answers

By Todd Spivak

More than seven months after the fatal explosion at Formosa Plastics Corp. in Illiopolis, federal investigators have finally gained access to the long-restricted area of the chemical plant wher