Music | Thursday, September 29,2011

Hip-hop in the Heartland

The talent at Torch Tuesday may be the Springfield music scene’s best-kept secret

[SOUND EFFECTS: needle drops onto vinyl; surface static; reporter clears throat]I’ll never forget the day I stumbled onto Springfield’s underground hip-hop scene. It all started with Raekw

Feature | Thursday, April 28,2011

Hope comes full circle

Founded to help children with disabilities, The Hope Institute takes on autism

By Scott Faingold

“We expanded from a family,” says Georgia Winson, newly appointed executive director of the Hope Institute for Children and Families. “But it always goes back to a family.”In t

History | Thursday, September 9,2010

Goodbye, Kerasotes

Springfield’s century-long cinematic dynasty ends... with a whimper

By Scott Faingold

“Frankly, it’s not the end of the world for me,” asserts Tony Kerasotes when queried about the January 2010 sale of all but three of his family’s 96-theater empire — incl

Culture | Thursday, July 29,2010

Anatomy of an Advice Goddess

Illinois Times interviews columnist Amy Alkon on her career, methodology and the scourge of rude behavior

By Scott Faingold

Every week, Amy Alkon provides IT readers with her spin on romantic problems in her syndicated column The Advice Goddess. The column, which received the first place award for commentary last month fro

Visual Art | Thursday, May 13,2010

ObamaComics

A prescient presidential pastiche

By Scott Faingold

“I’ve caught a lot of flak for it,” says Springfield resident Chris Ward, author of the nonfiction comic book Barack Obama. “It’s just divisive by nature. I get people sa

Music | Thursday, February 18,2010

REO Speedwagon rolls home

Central Illinois’ classic rock favorite sons perform here Feb. 25

By Scott Faingold

“When I look down the tour itinerary and see towns like Springfield and Champaign, the word that immediately comes to mind is ‘home,” says REO Speedwagon’s lead singer Kevin Cr