Nothing about last Thursday’s press conference was by the book. The announcement was hasty (less than an hour’s notice) yet the cast included the mayor, the polic]]> My first column of 2006 was about a New Year’s Eve wedding marred by a thief who filched a fistful of cards from the gift table at the happy couple’s reception. What made this petty thieve]]> Hooray, it’s T-shirt weather! Oh sure, the thermometer does not entirely agree, but trust me, we’ve never had more reasons to shuck the wooly turtlenecks and show off our tees.]]> Tilden Hooper was 14 when he started riding wild horses — or at least started trying to. All his friends competed in rodeos, and Tilden figured he could ride bareback broncs, just as his father,]]> Your insurance policy got canceled last month. Didn’t receive your notice in the mail? Me neither. I just happened to stumble across it recently while doing some research. The good news is, you&]]> We’re approaching the fifth anniversary of an event that forever changed the fabric of American life, an event that shook us to our core — or might have, if anybody had bothered to notice.]]> Untitled Document Maybe you remember Michael Newman. For a few months, in the summer of 2005, he made news as the guy who wanted to be a Springfield firefighter but was disqualif]]> Ask Deidre Lockhart how tall she is, and she will tell you she’s just under 5-foot-10. You don’t even have to verbalize the follow-up question. With a tone that says “I ge]]> Untitled Document Normally, if somebody offered to bring me a sack of trash, I’d find a polite way to say no thanks. But when Glenn Sisco called me, his trash sounded intriguing. ]]> I’d like to tell you a Christmas story. I’ve got a few of the main elements — a stable, some livestock, three wiseguys, and one devoutly religious couple, desperately seeking shelter]]> The first time Renatta Frazier heard about massive grave robbing at an Alsip cemetery, she didn’t give it a second thought. A tiny village on the southwestern tip of Chica]]> When I met Rodney Miller, I was shocked to find him wearing blue jeans and a turtleneck. From all I’d heard, I expected him to be dressed in spandex tights and a cape, because people w]]> I should’ve known there was something sick about this state. After all, this is Illinois; it isn’t Wellinois. Ever since I moved here, two phrases have grated on my ears like ]]> Untitled Document Ask Sheila Walk what she misses about her previous teaching job, and she ticks off a list ranging from the profound to the mundane: She misses the quaint archit]]> It’s been less than three months since Jonathon Monken became director of the Illinois State Police, but already he has jolted the agency. Which is sort of what troopers were hoping he would d]]> Untitled Document Picture this: You’ve got floor seats for a sold-out concert, a date with the object of your obsession, a full set of fresh threads, and your hair looking ]]> Untitled Document In his family, Keith Harris is known as the favorite uncle who will take a few of the nieces and nephews for the day, go to the nursing home and hang out with t]]> Mark Jennings spent more than 20 years serving his country in the U.S. Army Airborne. When he retired around 2002, “Sarge,” as he was known, enjoyed gardening, cooking out and ]]> Just about seven years ago, I moved here from Texas to find out whether I could still do journalism. I had worked for major mainstream newspapers in Dallas and in Anchorage (yes, Alaska),]]> Untitled Document Initial reports didn’t reveal the name of the mentally ill man killed by Springfield police last Saturday night at the Bel-Aire Motel — so when I he]]>