LATEST NEWS
Taking it to the streets
Patricia Gaddy sleeps sitting up in her walker. After about 20 years without stable housing, she has learned how to…
Banking on the BOS Center
Hotel taxes will rise 3% one month from now to pay for a $60 million expansion of Springfield’s publicly owned…
ShotSpotter stalls
The Springfield City Council postponed a decision on whether to renew its ShotSpotter contract as the mayor pursues tweaks to…
The saga of Colton Lexus
Colton Lexus is going from a tiny home to the big house. The 31-year-old, who became something of a cause…
COVER STORY
2026 Fall Guide
The annual Fall Guide issue has info on family friendly activities, fall festivals, upcoming theater shows and an expanded three-month calendar of events.
NEWSLETTER
News
Lead-aches
Springfield’s thousands of service lines that are made out of lead will need to be removed within 10 years due…
Springfield City Council to consider ShotSpotter renewal
The Springfield City Council is slated to vote Sept. 1 on extending the Springfield Police Department’s use of ShotSpotter, a…
Putting on the brakes: New Illinois law establishes rules for e-bikes, scooters
New rules governing who can use electric bikes and scooters, including where and how fast they go, will go into…
Illinois to receive up to $768M in Meta settlement over teen social media addiction
Illinois will receive up to $768 million from a multi-state $17.1 billion settlement with social media giant Meta, the parent…
Trending
the paper
Previous Issues
opinion
Letters to the editor
PERSONAL CONNECTION As was mentioned, no one’s history is pretty (“Our history is not pretty,” Aug. 15). I am proud that Springfield is making…
Groups eye Meta settlement money
Hours after the social media giant Meta agreed last Wednesday to settle a case brought by 47 state attorneys general and implement reforms to…
Letters to the editor 8/27/26
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. LIVED TO SEE IT…
Another harassment allegation
Yet another sexual harassment allegation has been made against an Illinois House Democrat. But this time, the House speaker’s operation is fully supporting its…
> More Opinion
> More Rich Miller
Food and drink
No waste, all taste
As the COVID pandemic began to wind down and restaurants reopened for indoor dining, I was anxious to end my…
Budget dinners
August is undoubtedly our household’s most expensive month of the year, and the busiest. In addition to both of my…
No lettuce, no problem
If you are finding yourself casting a wary eye toward bagged lettuce after the latest cyclospora health alert, consider looking…
> More Food and Drink
Music
Labor Day weekend music
It’s here and so are we as the Labor Day holiday comes on Monday preceded by a…
August ending music rambles
As we roll on through the end of August, next weekend brings Labor Day and the unofficial…
Music at the fair and elsewhere
Here we go into the last weekend of the Illinois State Fair for 2026 with plenty left…
> More Music
ARTS AND CULTURE
Mayday is smart and funny, realistic Sun shines
Reynolds, Branagh energize Mayday With the exception of 1988’s Red Heat, I’d be hard-pressed to name a Cold War buddy movie. John Francis Daley and…
Bullheads
As kids, my sibs and I spent many summer weeks on a small nearby lake. One day, alone in the rowboat and lying across the…
IT Pick
Springfield Oyster & Beer Feztival Sat., Sept. 5, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. | Ansar Shrine 630 S. Sixth St. | 217-525-1771 FESTIVALS | Oyster and beer…
> More Arts and Culture
Best of Springfield®
Related
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…
Keep readingLOCAL JOURNALISM MATTERS: SUPPORT THE ILLINOIS TIMES
Invest in Local Journalism: Help Illinois Times Sustain Community-Focused Reporting
We are dedicated to giving our readers a source of news and opinions on local politics, communities, culture and the arts. We have the Springfield area’s most comprehensive calendar of events – coverage of movies, dining, music, visual arts and the printed word. We offer stories you won’t find anywhere else on topics ranging from city and state government to marijuana to prison reform to education.
