Summerguide | Thursday, May 23,2013

Loco-motion

Springfield’s race schedule is crazy!

The gallons of sweat, aching muscles and months of training have led to this: race day. You’re at the starting line with dozens, hundreds or even thousands of other people, your mind amped up an

News | Thursday, May 23,2013

Fracking bill draws harsh criticism in Statehouse

Protestors claim deceit over controversial drilling process

By Patrick Yeagle

In the formerly quiet towns of western North Dakota, there are new strangers arriving every day. New housing is being erected at a breakneck pace, and newfound wealth is flowing quickly into the rolli

News | Thursday, May 23,2013

Oil wells not so well

Edinburg couple soured on oil production at their farm

By Patrick Yeagle

Paula Cook has had it with oil. She and her husband, Jim Cook, live on the 65-acre farm Paula’s ancestors owned 100 years ago. Located outside Edinburg, about 20 miles east of Springfield, the f

News | Thursday, May 16,2013

Juvenile Justice shows progress

Fewer youth in prison, but mental health care still lacking

By Patrick Yeagle

When the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice was created in 2006, the state’s youth prisons held 1,500 juvenile offenders. Today, there are fewer than 900 kids behind bars in Illinois juveni

News | Thursday, May 16,2013

Betting on bikes

City may adopt bike plan as infrastructure improvements begin

By Patrick Yeagle

Kevin Greene of Springfield still remembers getting his first bicycle as a child. “It took me a long time to figure out how to ride a bike, but once I learned, I never looked back,” Greene

News | Thursday, May 9,2013

Bringing people back downtown

The effort to revive the heart of Springfield

By Patrick Yeagle

When Jasper Madonia started working in downtown Springfield in 1939, the downtown was a different place from today. He describes a bustling place so busy that he had to push his way through the crowds

News | Wednesday, May 1,2013

Courting favor

Court reporters question handling of cases

By Patrick Yeagle

On the night of Dec. 7, 2011, a Southern View police officer saw a vehicle run a stop sign and then belatedly stop in the middle of the road, right in front of his cruiser. The officer pulled th

News | Thursday, April 25,2013

School district seeks to rebuild trust

Board apologizes and accepts two resignations

By Patrick Yeagle

The Springfield School Board took the first steps on Monday night toward rebuilding parents’ trust in the district, following the leak of test data from a besieged middle school. The board unani

News | Thursday, April 25,2013

The manufactured crisis over Illinois pensions

State pension funds have always carried unfunded liability

By Patrick Yeagle

Practically everyone knows that Illinois’ public pension systems are only about 45 percent funded. But not everyone knows that 45 percent is actually an improvement over the 40 percent funding o

News | Thursday, April 18,2013

Citizens’ Efficiency group questions state fire tax

Little oversight of insurance charge

By Patrick Yeagle

If you bought fire insurance from an out-of-state company, you indirectly helped pay for health club dues, parking fees and shoes for the Springfield Fire Department. That’s because an obscure s