News | Thursday, December 13,2012

Kids at the margins

Springfield steps up to help homeless children

They live in hotels, cars or even at campgrounds. When the winter wind blows, they’re the children who don’t have coats. When it’s time to take a quiz, they’re the children who

News | Thursday, December 6,2012

Tax transparency or competition killer?

Senate passes corporate tax disclosure bill

By Patrick Yeagle

Illinois would make public the tax data of publicly traded companies under a bill passed by the state Senate last week, but business interests say the move would put some companies at a competitive di

News | Thursday, December 6,2012

Illinois laying off 18 medical regulators

Agency asking for cash infusion and fee increase

By Patrick Yeagle

Seven state workers in Springfield could lose their jobs at the end of the year as regulators scramble to cover the increasing cost of overseeing doctors in Illinois. That’s because the fund tha

News | Thursday, November 29,2012

Phone a friend

United Way’s 2-1-1 telephone service offers help in crisis

By Patrick Yeagle

Karen Zangerle dials the number and waits expectantly as a young man answers with a gentle tone. Zangerle explains that her husband has lost his job and the family won’t be able to pay an upcomi

News | Thursday, November 29,2012

Education in Illinois not getting any better

Illinois students not prepared for college

By Patrick Yeagle

More than two thirds of Illinois students won’t earn a college degree. In the modern economy, that’s not good enough to compete, says education advocacy group Advance Illinois in a recent

News | Thursday, November 29,2012

No raises for unions under House resolution

Madigan sponsors measure restricting pay increases

By Patrick Yeagle

Kevin Holmes of Springfield devotes his life to caring for a young man with severe disabilities. For that full-time work – seven hours a day, seven days a week – Holmes makes just more tha

Visual Art | Wednesday, November 21,2012

Skin City

Tattoos come of age in Springfield

By Patrick Yeagle

Why would someone voluntarily undergo several hours of a needle stabbing them several thousand times per minute? The simple answer is for the sake of art, but the long answer is a bit more complicated

News | Thursday, November 15,2012

Does UIS stiff laborers?

University support staff claim pay disparity between union, non-union workers

By Patrick Yeagle

A group of union workers at the University of Illinois Springfield claims many of their non-union counterparts got raises above the university’s own limits. The workers also claim UIS pays suppo

News | Thursday, November 8,2012

Illinois preparing health insurance exchange

State will vet private insurance plans in public market

By Patrick Yeagle

Illinois is preparing to roll out a crucial pillar of the federal health care reforms, but one puzzle piece remains out of place.The state plans to open a health insurance market at the start of 2014,

News | Thursday, November 8,2012

Innocent, but still guilty

Illinois Innocence Project helps free imprisoned Chicago man with imperfect compromise

By Patrick Yeagle

Although Anthony Murray walked out of prison on Oct. 31 a free man after 14 years, gaining his freedom required admitting to a murder he says he didn’t commit. “It’s been a long road