News | Thursday, September 9,2004

Equality’s the reason

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes' homophobic views. Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter. President George W. Bush's efforts to adopt a constitutional amendment banning gay

News | Thursday, September 2,2004

The struggle

By Todd Spivak

The dates are engraved in Leslie Orear's memory. Some years are worthy of celebration: 1867, workdays are limited to eight hours; 1911, Workmen's Compensation Act becomes law; 1929, children are re

News | Thursday, August 26,2004

Call for help

By Todd Spivak

Springfield's social service providers are bracing themselves for what they predict will be a significant spike in the area's homeless population this winter. But for some agencies the crisis is

Feature | Thursday, August 26,2004

Judging Judy

Why Judy Baar Topinka, the popular head of the Illinois Republican Party, just wants it to be over

By Todd Spivak

Just before a Republican rally was set to begin at the state fairgrounds last Thursday afternoon, a cold, steady rain sent people running for cover, splashing mud as they fled. This proved a

News | Thursday, August 19,2004

An awakening

By Todd Spivak

Life has long been a juggling act for Springfield resident Brenda B. At times she has worked as many as three jobs to support her four kids, while squeezing in college-level courses when she co

News | Thursday, August 19,2004

Getting on board

By Todd Spivak

Bowing to pressure from a coalition of local community groups, the Springfield Mass Transit District on Monday agreed to seek funding for a study to explore the possibility of extending bus ser

News | Thursday, August 12,2004

Vanity fare

By Todd Spivak

A new glossy lifestyles magazine that aims to peek behind the plush velvet curtains of Springfield's upper crust and swinging social set will hit newsstands this fall. Springfield Scene is the

News | Thursday, August 12,2004

Last dance

By Todd Spivak

After hearing about all the beer-swilling, pot-smoking, car-surfing vandals, Sangamon County Board member Sam Cahnman wanted to see for himself if Club 10 really was a teenage wasteland. On S

News | Thursday, August 5,2004

Nader’s challenge

By Todd Spivak

In a last-ditch attempt to appear on the Illinois presidential ballot in November, independent candidate Ralph Nader is challenging the constitutionality of Illinois election law in federal cou

News | Thursday, August 5,2004

“Their worst nightmare”

By Todd Spivak

Sister Beth Murphy remembers well the Chaldean cathedral in Baghdad. It was modest in both size and architecture, she says, void of the garish ornamentation usually associated with Christian ca