News | Thursday, April 18,2013

The lion sleeps tonight, fitfully

Lawmakers target exotic meat

Forget arguments over pensions, guns, taxes and health care.Judging by a quick Google check, the biggest issue facing Illinois lawmakers this session is the scourge of lion meat purveyors, who are now

News | Thursday, April 11,2013

Criminal charges possible

Prosecutor probes tree cutting

By Bruce Rushton

Sangamon County state’s attorney John Milhiser is considering criminal charges against Springfield workers who cut down a tree on property owned by a relative of one of the city employees.&ldquo

News | Thursday, April 4,2013

Upping the ante

Jennifer Watkins faces jail

By Bruce Rushton

Jennifer Watkins, the erstwhile Ashland resident who won’t let her five-year-old daughter visit with the child’s paternal grandparents, may soon become a felon.Whether criminal charges wil

News | Thursday, April 4,2013

Feds want document back

State hangs on to a page of Lincoln history

By Bruce Rushton

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency has balked at a demand from the National Archives to return a page torn from a ship’s log so that the damaged document can be restored to its original c

News | Thursday, March 28,2013

Man featured in 2006 story wanted for Mattoon killing

O’Dell wanted for murder

By Bruce Rushton

Once a poster boy for drug treatment and reform, Thomas O’Dell is now wanted for the killing of a Mattoon bartender on March 18.Authorities in Coles County on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant fo

News | Thursday, March 28,2013

Park board campaigns short on substance

Candidates refrain from taking positions on issues

By Bruce Rushton

Candidates for public office are prone to saying lots of things.“The park district needs to be run like a business, not a political organization.”That’s what Leslie Sgro said way bac

News | Thursday, March 21,2013

Red flags aplenty

Park board warned on money issues

By Bruce Rushton

An accounting firm that conducted annual audits of the Springfield Park District repeatedly warned the park board about lax financial oversight, but the board didn’t quickly implement recommenda

News | Thursday, March 21,2013

Buyer beware

State warned before purchase of Lincoln relics

By Bruce Rushton

An appraiser hired to verify the value of a $23 million purchase of Abraham Lincoln artifacts, including a stovepipe hat, noted concerns about the authenticity of the hat and two other artifacts befor

News | Thursday, March 14,2013

Fixing things

The city eyes a tax hike for public works

By Bruce Rushton

No one seriously argues that Springfield doesn’t need street, sewer and sidewalk repairs.Anyone who negotiates potholes at 11th and Carpenter or the cracked-and-crumbling stretch of Ash between

News | Friday, March 8,2013

Celling out?

Parks consider cell tower for Pasfield

By Bruce Rushton

The Springfield Park District is considering a proposal to install a 100-foot-tall cell phone tower - disguised as a tree - at Pasfield Golf Course.