Closing time
“Sears revolutionized American retail not once but twice, and made a lot of Americans immeasurably better off,” Megan McArdle writes in Bloomberg. “But Sears built a great business for an America that no longer exists.” Sears, Roebuck was a good Illinois company that was lifted into greatness by a Springfield native and which reshaped life…
A little knowledge . . . . No. 10 in a series
Public Policy Polling has been peeking under the low brow of the American public again, and found that a great many Trump supporters live in a different United States than do their countrymen. The survey found that 67% of Trump voters believe the unemployment rate went up during Barack Obama presidency, when in fact it…
Bass fishing for U.S. attorney post?
Tim Bass, head of the U.S. attorney’s public corruption unit based in Springfield, is angling for the top job, a source says. Bass would neither confirm nor deny that he’s interested in taking over from current U.S. attorney Jim Lewis, who is retiring effective Dec. 24. “I’ve been honored and privileged to serve the Department…
Making America toxic again
The new president, apparently, plans to make America toxic again. The New York Times reports that Comrade Trump has put a climate-change agnostic and friend of the coal companies in charge of his Environmental Protection Agency transition team. Not to fear, however. He is doing it for the very best of reasons – because he promised to…
The new founder
This past January, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the multimillionaire protege of the Koch brothers’ plutocratic kingdom and American Legislative Exchange Council darling, revealed to a startled nation that he has penned not one but nine new amendments to the Constitution of the USA. Forget the Bill of Rights, Abbott is proposing a Bill of Sale,…
Rauner was looking for any excuse to veto CPS bill
As Senate President John Cullerton sees it, Gov. Bruce Rauner “needed an excuse” to veto a bill last week that would’ve given the Chicago Public Schools $215 million for its June 30th pension payment. And Cullerton believes he turned out to be that excuse. There’s little doubt that Rauner was likely to veto the proposal, which passed…
Letters to the Editor 12/8/16
A BROKEN WORLDI would like to offer another point of view regarding James Krohe Jr.’s “Country blues” (Dec. 1). I am from Springfield, but I have lived in and visited both rural and metropolitan areas in and out of Illinois. “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” said Abraham Lincoln, quoting the Bible. Mr.…
Editor’s note 12/8/16
Watching Gov. Bruce Rauner flailing about trying to save face while Democrat leaders refuse to play Turnaround call to mind Chicagoan Finley Peter Dunne’s 1895 quote, “Politics ain’t bean-bag.” Politics is a complex and sophisticated game, in other words, and those who aren’t good at it can do a lot of harm. Contrary to all…
Welcome to Washington, Donald Trump
As hard as the campaign might have been and the transition is proving to be, Donald Trump’s challenges are really just beginning. Governing after a toxic election in which the results awarded him an ambiguous national mandate – his opponent, after all, got more votes – will require finesse, a clear-eyed view of his role…
A grand holiday tradition
Join the Springfield Ballet Company for three performances of The Nutcracker on Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11. The SBC’s 42nd annual rendition of the timeless ballet classic features a cast of 119 company dancers, talented local actors, youth dancers from the community and professional guest artists. The two-act ballet, which debuted on Dec.…
A small-town Christmas
This weekend, travel to the zany town of Tuna, Texas, for an unforgettable Christmas play about the antics surrounding the citizens of small-town Texas. The play, which originally premiered as part of a three-part series by Joe Sears and Jaston Williams in 1989, offers both affectionate commentary and sizzling satire on small-town Southern life and…
Historic holidays
Take a step back in time this holiday season and learn how American soldiers celebrated the holidays during four major conflicts (Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I and World War II) at the Illinois State Military Museum’s “Christmas at the Front” event on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 4-8 p.m. The family-friendly celebration features holiday…
Do no harem
I’ve been happily married to the same wonderful guy for 20 years. However, the longer we’re together the harder it is to remain faithful – surely for both of us. Sex and skin are everywhere these days, and men are especially impacted by the barrage of provocative images. How does a woman realistically balance this…
The faces of Jennifer Watkins
Just two months ago, Jennifer Watkins and her daughter Sidney were living a new life in Massachusetts that now seems light years away. Watkins moved from Florida to Massachusetts last summer. Wanted in Illinois for refusing to allow visits between her nine-year-old daughter and the girl’s paternal grandparents, Watkins had seemed safe in the Sunshine…
Fashionable Pharmacy
Since first opening in the summer of 2011, the Pharmacy Gallery and Art Space has transformed from a group of scrappy upstarts to something of an area institution – all without losing a combined sense of fun and exploration along with a self-evident belief in the intrinsic value of local, independently produced art. On Friday,…
How to pick the right toys
While it might ring true that everyone feels like a kid at Christmastime, nothing beats the excitement of actually being a kid at Christmas. Few annual traditions are more anticipated and toiled over than the creation of a child’s holiday wish list. For parents, however, few things are more stressful than trying to balance buying…
Have yourself a Vintage Little Christmas
He might not have known it then, but maybe Charles Dickens had it right when he wanted us to look back at our Christmases past. Only today, those memories of Christmases past have become front and center in our celebrations. From decade-old ornaments and Grandma’s favorite decorations to holiday traditions that have been handed down…
Exit interview
As Statehouse bureau chief for Illinois Public Radio, Amanda Vinicky has been a familiar, authoritative voice on WUIS for a decade, providing excellent coverage of state politics and government. That is all about to change when, starting Jan. 1, Vinicky begins her new position as full-time correspondent for “Chicago Tonight,” WTTW-Channel 11’s flagship television news show,…
KIDS LEARN CODE
Last week Springfield public school students took part in “The Hour of Code,” a 60-minute program designed as an introduction to developing computer skills. Described as an attempt to “demystify code and show that anyone can learn the basics,” it is a self-paced program that does not require any prior coding knowledge on the part…
ABE’S IN THE MONEY
After months of uncertainty, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a division of the National Archives, has awarded a grant of more than $106,000 to the Papers of Abraham Lincoln Project based at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. The grant awarded at a Nov. 30 meeting came after the commission, concerned about turmoil at…
Ford’s Animals a haunting, tantilizing mystery
There’s a hypnotic quality to Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, a sense of foreboding that grows heavier as we progress down the dark roads of its two narratives. This will end badly, you know it, and yet you can’t take your eyes off the screen. The director’s first film, A Single Man, had a similar quality…
December’s rocking
Welcome to the holiday season with all the trimmings as we slide headfirst through December headlong toward the new year of 2017. Jam-packed hardly seems a generous enough word to describe all the stuff going on around us this time of year. Besides keeping your eyes on Illinois Times’ print listings, don’t forget (because I…
The Trip Daddys
For more than 20 years Craig Straubinger (aka Craig Daddy) has led The Trip Daddys of St. Louis on a musical adventure blending rockabilly, hard country, blues and real rock ‘n’ roll to create a synthesis of American roots music as performed by a simple, rocking trio. Using an electric guitar and covering the lead…
thanksgiving poem #11
two weeks ago I sat in my silent autoas the super moon rose over lincolnpark the visibility there unimpededlast night I sat an hour in my drivewaysurrounded by brahms (the receptionfrom WILL isn’t good in my thick brickhouse) hardly a day goes by that I don’tthank my grampa for taking us to aclear hill to…
Braising, the slow-cooking solution
’Tis the season for braising! This hands-off cooking method, in which foods are covered and slow-cooked at a lower temperature with a small amount of liquid, transforms tough, cheaper cuts of meat and hard, fiber-rich vegetables into sumptuous one-pot meals. Not only do these dishes pair well with a blustery December night, they can be…
