COVER STORY
The secret to staying young
A banana every morning, along with a glass of milk, and some pickleball in the afternoon. For Donald Taft, at least, this is his recommended elixir to older people who want to keep drinking from the fountain of youth. At 93,…
LATEST NEWS
Community Foundation commits more than $500,000 to local journalism and civic engagement
Local Journalism and Civic Engagement The Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln has committed more than $500,000 to strengthen…
Sean Grayson dies in custody
Sean Grayson, the white former sheriff’s deputy whose shots at Sonya Massey inside the Black single mother’s Woodside Township home…
Darren Bailey calls for expanding outreach
“Happy Republican Day!” House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, greeted the crowd gathered Aug. 20 on the Illinois State Fair…
The face of fair fun
Volunteers were all smiles as they took payments from drivers entering the parking lot at one of the gates at the…
Governor’s Day at the Illinois State Fair
Governor’s Day brought Democratic party leaders and supporters to the State Fair on Wednesday to rally as campaigns gear up…
Safety net snaps
Kayla Brown said her family of four has been getting by on about $200 a month in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance…
Trending
NEWSLETTER
News
Supporting students
Illinois school districts can now help pay for extended motel stays for homeless students and their families under a new…
Prairie problems
Illinois is nicknamed the “Prairie State,” but the city of Springfield didn’t want Wolfgang Arterberry to have an actual prairie…
Another downtown project
Local real estate investor Chris Stone has acquired the former PNC Bank building on the Old State Capitol Plaza downtown.…
State Journal-Register partners with Palantir
The nation’s largest newspaper chain turned heads Aug. 6 – in what would otherwise be a traditional, jargon-filled earnings call…
opinion
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…
Grandparents: The greatest influencers
I work hard at limiting the amount of time I spend watching reels and videos online. But I can’t control myself when I see…
Letters to the editor
POORLY MANAGED I have been a certified arborist since the first year the certification law was passed decades ago. I have been actively volunteering…
Unamended consequences
With luck, the $350 million renovation of the Illinois State Capitol north wing will open by the time the snow flies and Springfield will get a glimpse…
> More Opinion
> More Rich Miller
Food and drink
No lettuce, no problem
If you are finding yourself casting a wary eye toward bagged lettuce after the latest cyclospora health alert, consider looking…
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…
> More Food and Drink
Music
Music at the fair and elsewhere
Here we go into the last weekend of the Illinois State Fair for 2026 with plenty left…
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…
> More Music
ARTS AND CULTURE
A new academic year brings new opportunities at UIS
The University of Illinois Springfield begins a new academic year today, marking the 56th first day of classes since our university welcomed its first students…
Fans arrive nine hours early for Ella Langley concert
Kenedie Kearlough and Brandi Moore were already first in line outside the Illinois State Fair Grandstand at 11 a.m. — nine hours before Ella Langley’s…
“Hairspray” sticks with you
One of the most vibrant and well-executed productions I’ve seen done locally is currently playing at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Co-directors and choreographers…
> 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.
