COVER STORY
‘The wrong side of justice’
This story was produced by Injustice Watch, a nonprofit newsroom in Chicago that investigates issues of equity and justice in the Cook County court system. Curtis Lovelace was walking out of his law office in downtown Quincy, Illinois, when he spotted…
LATEST NEWS
Keeping the peace
The Illinois State Board of Elections has been paying off-duty Springfield police officers to provide security for records examinations, including…
An overview of the 2026 State Fair
The 2026 butter cow invites Illinois State Fairgoers to “Take a Spin on Route 66” in honor of the Mother…
More charges for David Yankee
A former Springfield City Council candidate who was sentenced to two years of probation for child endangerment after the 2024…
Data center developer abandons plans for Christian County
Eagle Rock Partners announced Aug. 12 that it will abandon its quest to build a $6 billion data center in…
Judge orders DCFS director to answer for repeated failures to release public documents in child death
A circuit court judge in Sangamon County threatened Tuesday to begin assessing daily fines against the Illinois Department of Children…
Retired doctor donates $1M to HSHS NICU
Former HSHS anesthesiologist Dr. Babu Prasad has donated $1 million to St. John’s Children’s Hospital to celebrate his 80th birthday.…
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NEWSLETTER
News
“Three Hot Days in August”
Springfield is the home of Abraham Lincoln, known as the Great Emancipator. We should be proud of that. Yet, we…
Identifying brownfield sites for redevelopment
The Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission is seeking public input as it begins assessing contaminated brownfields in areas that are…
Police transparency
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a link to the Springfield Police Department’s live online data dashboards. A…
Saving lives one pint at a time
Springfield resident David Butt has donated enough blood to completely fill 33 human beings. “After I retired, I made it…
opinion
Letters to the editor 8/13/26
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. KEEP QUESTIONING Maybe people…
Welch discusses Benton investigation
House Speaker Chris Welch sat down for interviews with some selected reporters last week. He told most of them that his office had conducted…
Looking to the skies
No one who’s seen it is likely to forget it. I refer to the ending to Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind…
Letters to the editor
GREAT PROGRAM This sounds like a terrific program to offer non-traditional skills and emotional/spiritual support to those who struggle with addiction (“Creating a recovery…
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Food and drink
Cantaloupe creations
My household has been under a compulsory cantaloupe consumption mandate for the past week. I’d ordered four of them from…
Slurping through a heat wave
Buckwheat has been on my mind quite a bit this summer. For a recent cheese-themed dinner at Prairie Fruits Farm…
An unsung hero of the kitchen
You might be underestimating the humble little brick of cream cheese that’s hanging out in your fridge. An often-unsung hero…
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Music
More than fair music
Entering into the 2026 Illinois State Fair, we can safely say that music rules on the fairgrounds.…
Robust August music-making
As we gear up for the first full weekend of August, the live music scene is in…
Music moving into August
Just as July flew by, August arrives in a hurry with a heap of heat on hand…
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ARTS AND CULTURE
Deliver us from evil …
One of the most sobering requests cited by Jesus in what has been called the “Lord’s Prayer,” is a sobering request of God, “Lead us…
A better way forward for youth experiencing homelessness
“Every little thing I did, I felt like i was in their way, even breathing.” This statement, shared during a focus group by a young…
The circle of life at the Muni
The Muni closes out its summer season with its first-ever junior production – an enchanting popular story that’s sure to inspire as well as entertain. With…
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Best Of Springfield 2025
See the results Every year, we ask our opinionated readers to tell us about their favorite people, places and things in the Springfield area. Over the decades we’ve been doing this, we’ve continued to tweak both the process and the results issue to try to keep things fresh and interesting. While anything food-related typically dominates…
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