Losing our mind
Janet Daley is the venerable commentator and critic for Britain’s The Telegraph. Recently she took up the larger issues raised by the recent report of this country’s secret post-9/11 torture program as discussed by CIA director John Brennan. “So yes, in the aftermath of 9/11, America had a national nervous breakdown. As Mr Brennan implied,…
American idle
My girlfriend is beautiful, highly intelligent and interesting. She’s smart for a living (as a strategic planner in advertising) so I find it sad that she watches so much television – maybe two hours of it upon coming home from work. She could be spending her time doing so many other things. – Dismayed There…
How to give the best gifts ever
There are great gifts, and there are not-so-great gifts, and luckily for you, we know just what they are. If gift-giving gives you anxiety, here’s a bit of good news: 70 percent of people polled in an online survey last year said they were happy with most of their gifts, with very few claiming to…
Deer me
I read that Illinois hunters killed 52,000 deer in the first weekend of the season, and that’s just those using firearms; the muzzleloaders and spear-throwers have yet to get their crack at the state’s whitetails. And vehicle drivers have an open season on deer all year round; collisions on the roads account for another 15,000…
Letters to the Editor 12/11/14
RECONSIDER CITY CROSSWALKS I read with interest James Krohe Jr.’s “Why did the pedestrian not cross the road” in Illinois Times (Dec. 4). The state has marked and posted at least three crosswalks across multi-lane streets without stop signs or traffic signals, which is not considered safe practice. The lanes across Madison Avenue at Rutledge Street and Kline Street…
Milk N Cookies
Milk N Cookies Identical twin brothers James and Paul McElwain, or if you prefer, Dorian and Adrian Westwood, or just plain Milk N Cookies, or best yet, “ice devouring sex tornadoes” are one of the hottest things happening in house music and EDM (electronic dance music). When James/Dorian spun vinyl at crazy frat house parties…
Legislature expands police eavesdropping powers
Police in Illinois could soon have broad new powers to listen to private conversations under a bill passed by the state legislature last week. The bill addresses an Illinois Supreme Court ruling that struck down Illinois’ law regarding consent to record conversations, but the proposal has some legal groups concerned because it reduces judicial oversight…
Low-wage laborers deserve better
Months ago, Emanuel scheduled a vote on raising Chicago’s minimum wage for the week after the General Assembly’s annual fall veto session. After the election though, retailers, restaurant owners and other business groups agreed to an eventual $11 an hour statewide minimum wage but only if Chicago and other home rule municipalities were not allowed…
Police militarization: your towns, your tax dollars
It can be tough policing the mean streets in these days of desperation, when drug cartels and other hardened criminals are out there … somewhere. But the good people of Orange County, Florida, are lucky because they’ve got the astonishing team of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Orange County Sheriffs Office…
No need for bobcat hunting in Illinois
Last week, during veto session, the Illinois General Assembly rushed through a proposal to allow a bobcat hunting season in Illinois. Opening up a bobcat season in Illinois without taking into account ecological sciences for best practices is a poor policy decision. Bobcat hunting has been prohibited in Illinois since 1972 because the species became…
December doings
Lady Carole and Her Knights perform Sunday, 5 to 8 p.m., at Driftwood Cocktails and Eatery, Fifth and Adams. Here we are moving through December like a kid through presents on Christmas morning. Per usual, we have a diverse and dandy assortment of doings to share with you this week. Word on the street says…
Chicago all aglow for the holidays
The Museum of Science and Industry features Christmas Around the World. PHOTO COURTESY J.B. Spector, Museum of Science and Industry. When Santa comes to town, Chicago takes on a special glow. Sparkling trees, dazzling lights and festive song and dance performances at area celebrations create holiday magic for visitors of all ages. For a merry…
UBER IN SPRINGFIELD?
The popular but controversial Uber ridesharing service may soon expand to Springfield. Uber ran advertisements online this week seeking drivers in Springfield – likely a sign that the company is expanding outside of only large markets like Chicago. Uber works by having private individuals use their cars like taxicabs. Drivers and riders are coordinated through…
How to celebrate with faith and fun
There’s no time like the holidays. They are a time of family, tradition and celebration – and of a very particular aesthetic. Wherever you live, from the Northeast to the Southwest, every household has that certain “idea” of what the holiday home looks like. And whether that’s a snow-covered lawn and a grand Christmas tree,…
Festive flora
Winter Holiday Floral Show For two weeks in December, the Washington Park Botanical Gardens morph from a tropical paradise into a festive holiday forest. During Dec. 6 through 21, gather your family and friends and stop by the Exhibition Hall from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or noon to 5 p.m. Saturday or…
At home with the blues
James Armstrong, known as “The Ambassador of the Blues,” just doing his thing. PHOTO BY DAVID J. SIMCHOCK Believe it or not, Springfield, Illinois, is red hot for the cool blues. The capital city is home to one of the oldest blues clubs in the nation, hosts a nearly 30-year-old weekly blues performance gig and…
Editor’s Note 12/11/14
The tributes to Judy Baar Topinka came in fast and strong Wednesday morning, just as we were going to press. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat: “The Illinois political scene lost its Polka Queen last night and I lost a friend. Judy Barr Topinka was one of a kind. In a political world of cocker spaniels…
Despite politics, Obamacare attracts strong enrollment
State Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Northbrook Illinois lawmakers may have balked at establishing a state-run health insurance marketplace, but the controversial federal reforms known as “Obamacare” appear to be working nonetheless. The Illinois House opted not to vote on a bill during the recent veto session that would have created a state-run “exchange” on which individuals…
Driving while sober
It seems simple enough. People convicted of driving under the influence of drugs in Illinois should actually be under the influence of drugs. But that isn’t always the case. And so the Illinois State Bar Association is pushing to change a law that has resulted in sober people being prosecuted and convicted for driving while…
winterpoem # 4
winterpoem # 4 on bitter nights when deep drifts blocked our long country lane we hiked up left the car on the road snowpants boots our white breath searing our windpipes we followed daddy’s tracks as he pushed the way to light and warmth I loved those treksthe sky its richest black and the stars!the…
Books for kid cooks
Say what you will about the Food Network (and I can say plenty), the cable channel has gotten many children interested in cooking. I just hope that some kids are able to look beyond the glitz and hype to discover the pleasures of cooking and eating real food. Food and cooking can provide a way…
Spectacle, redemption propel Exodus
Christian Bale as Moses in Exodus: Gods and Kings. PHOTO COURTESY 20TH CENTURY FOX Director Ridley Scott is no stranger to bringing epic visions to the screen. From the sci-fi sagas Blade Runner and Prometheus to the grand ancient tales Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven, the filmmaker has consistently risen to the challenge of creating…
Can you hear me now?
Complaints about noise from Sacred Heart-Griffin’s football stadium have been pouring in to the Springfield Police Department since the facility opened two years ago, but the city of Springfield has done little to stop it. “Thirty-four pages?” exclaimed Mike Duvall, who lives more than a mile away from the stadium, when told how many pages…
IN THE INTEREST OF ACCURACY
Calvin “It’s Not Me” Christian III has always insisted that he is not the brainchild behind Springfield Leaks, the on-again-off-again website that thrives on anonymity and inside-the-yellow-tape stories involving police. Case in point: When Illinois Times ran across Christian at Illinois State Police headquarters in the spring of 2013 and asked how things were at…
A truce for tradition
Christmas at the Front – 100th Anniversary Celebration On Saturday, Dec. 13, let the Illinois State Military Museum’s living historians take you back 100 years to Christmas in No-Man’s Land, France, as they present a picture of Christmas 1914, a time when our soldiers were deep in the throes of World War I. Christmas at…
Monumental boondoggle
Curses, foiled againOntario resident Kai Xu was charged with smuggling after border agents at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel discovered more than 50 turtles strapped to his body and hidden between his legs. Acting on a tip about a large box sent from Alabama to a Detroit postal center addressed to Xu, U.S. authorities staked it out…
Share your sketches
A Community Sketchbook From Dec. 1 through 18, community members of all ages and abilities have the opportunity to put their art on display during the A Community Sketchbook exhibition in the Lincoln Land Community College James S. Murray Gallery. Sketches, poetry, prose and other works of visual art are welcome contributions. The gallery has…
