News | Thursday, December 8,2011

The Forgotten War

Springfield veterans remember Korean War 60 years later

During the cold December of 1951, 12 Illinois military service members lost their lives in the Korean War. Those Marines and Army troops from Illinois were among 1,754 Illinoisans and the 54,246 Ameri

News | Thursday, December 1,2011

Illinois EPA steps up feedlot pollution regulation

Complaints to feds prompt changes in farm oversight

By Patrick Yeagle

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is stepping up regulation of feedlots following complaints from environmental groups to the federal government.Bruce Yurdin, manager of field operations fo

News | Thursday, December 1,2011

St. Pat’s is back on track

East side school survives to help kids thrive

By Patrick Yeagle

On a giant alphabet rug in Rosemarie Bates’ classroom, a gaggle of first- and second-grade children giggle as they clap and over-pronounce words in order to count the syllables.A short walk down

News | Wednesday, November 23,2011

Juvenile prisons now safer and more effective

Understaffing and other problems still need work, reform group says

By Patrick Yeagle

Conditions in Illinois’ juvenile prisons are improving, according to one watchdog group, but problems of overcrowding, lack of education and inadequate staffing linger.A report released Nov. 16

News | Thursday, November 17,2011

Catholic agency transfers foster care cases to DCFS

Other groups created new agencies to take cases

By Patrick Yeagle

Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois announced Monday it would work with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to transfer its 290 foster care cases to other

News | Thursday, August 18,2011

Springfield charity ends work in Haiti

Charity built medical clinic in impoverished nation, but it wasn’t a “forever deal”

By Patrick Yeagle

Dr. H. Brent DeLand of Springfield recalls doing minor surgery while on a humanitarian trip to Haiti in 2002, as his friend and later charity co-founder Greg Richmond of Chicago held a single light bu

News | Thursday, August 18,2011

Study recommends 10th Street rail

Uncertainty abounds as feds throw in new option, funding still unclear

By Patrick Yeagle

Springfield’s long-awaited railroad consolidation study calls 10th Street the best option, but the project’s fate remains murky as the federal government examines a new alternative and the

News | Thursday, August 11,2011

When adoption goes wrong

Giving up custody to get kids the mental health care they need

By Patrick Yeagle

Wally and Dawne Busch of Petersburg eagerly adopted their son Alan at the age of two in 2000, knowing that they would be in for some challenging times. They knew that Alan, now 13, had been abused by

News | Thursday, August 11,2011

City seeking minority police recruits

Houston wants 25 percent to be minorities

By Patrick Yeagle

The Springfield Police Department hopes to hire new patrol officers in the coming months, with minorities to comprise a quarter of the new hires.On Aug. 4, Mayor Michael Houston announced the city wou

News | Thursday, August 4,2011

Illinois can’t control its money

Statewide audit shows chronically poor accounting

By Patrick Yeagle

A statewide audit of Illinois government released July 28 highlights more than 100 problems with the state’s financial reporting process, case management and more.The 274-page audit by Illinois