Keeping Tabs
Tab is an unmitigated bargain at the Macoupin County courthouse. Photo by Bruce Rushton You never know what you’ll find in a courthouse. I was reminded of this during a visit last week to the Macoupin County courthouse in Carlinville. It was, according to legend and the internet, the largest county courthouse outside New York…
Privatization is not an option
In 2006, then-president George W. Bush, congressional Republican leaders, the powerful “privatizer lobby” and Koch-funded think tanks and Astroturf front groups colluded to put a one-of-a-kind paper “debt” on the books of USPS. Congress enacted a postal-service “enhancement” provision requiring the public postal corporation to pre-fund the health and pension benefits for all postal-service retirees…
‘The harder you work, the luckier you get’
I had the pleasure of meeting several Democratic women candidates from Lake County during the Illinois State Fair last summer. Sen. Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) was showing them around town and brought them to a reception I was attending. Those candidates were positively joyful. They seemed genuinely thrilled to be running for office. Only one had…
Letters to the Editor 11/22/18
WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA Ready or not, it’s Christmas! Stores have been stocking shelves for months. Television advertising is all ho-ho-ho. A local radio station is cranking out yuletide tunes 24/7. Many towns like Pawnee will welcome Santa before Thanksgiving. The Hallmark Channel has been all Christmas since late October. At the stroke of midnight on…
Editor’s note 1122/18
Once a year or so we like to thank the community that makes a community newspaper possible. That includes the readers who soak in what we offer, in print and online, and the advertisers, who are not only trying to attract those readers but who are supporting an unlikely business because they believe in it.…
TV news is as much to blame as Trump
Much is being made of the president’s targeting of CNN’s Jim Acosta, but TV news bears as much blame as anyone for our democracy’s dystopian decline, culminating in the presidency of an ignoramus with a personality disorder. With Congress supine and the courts packed by Sen. Mitch McConnell, readily consumable news stands as the last…
A fun alternative to Black Friday
Avoid the long lines, stress and headaches associated with Black Friday shopping and enjoy a day of family fun during the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s fourth annual “Fun Frosty Friday” event. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 23, enjoy free family-friendly activities such as racing Hot Wheels cars, demonstrations by…
Crafts, cocoa and a classic holiday film
Don your pajamas and head to The Legacy Theatre this weekend to enjoy a Polar Express Pajama Party. These special holiday events feature a crafting and cocoa party prior to a screening of The Polar Express, the 2004 G-rated film based off the 1985 children’s book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. The…
Up close and personal with Illinois authors
On Saturday, Nov. 24, 11 area authors will be available for book signings and conversation at Books on the Square in Springfield. Featured Illinois authors participating in this event are: Trever J. Bierschbach, Kevin Corley, Robert Grindy, Dan Guillory, Doug King, John Lupton, T.J. Martinson, Taylor Pensoneau, J.D. Profitt, Robert Sablotny and Sarah Hathaway Thomas.…
Woe is meow
I lost more than 100 pounds. I’m really proud of myself and my new body, so I post pix on Instagram. Disturbingly, I’ve got a few haters — all women! — who come at me saying I’m narcissistic, slutty, a showoff, etc. I thought women are supposed to support one another. How should I respond?…
Read Local
The holiday season is upon us, a time when people are seeking the perfect presents. Books can be just that and, as everyone knows by now, buying local is better. On Saturday, Nov. 24, eleven local area authors will be discussing, signing and selling their books at the Springfield downtown bookstore, Books on the Square,…
The family behind the Blackhawks
THE BREAKAWAY: The Inside Story of the Wirtz Family Business and the Chicago Blackhawks, by Bryan Smith. Northwestern University Press, 2018. To be a fan of a Chicago professional sports team is to prepare for a life of heartbreak. Cub and Sox fans have each experienced only one World Series victory in the past half-century:…
Off the record
A conviction and prison time for marijuana possession more than 10 years ago prevents him from becoming a registered nurse, said one of the 204 who showed up for the “Expungement and Record Sealing Summit” held Nov. 17 at Matheny-Withrow School. “In my youth I was reckless and misguided,” he says. He’s turned his life…
Accused killers have records
Authorities haven’t said what led Michael Trone to the Sleep Inn. Trone’s body was found Sept. 7 in a room at the hotel at 3470 Freedom Drive, barely a mile from his Westchester home. Two men and two women have been charged with first-degree murder. Authorities say that Trone was beaten and strangled. It was,…
Fractured approach stymies Runner
“Stupid is as stupid does.” That famous Gump-ism swirled ‘round and ‘round in my mind as I watched Jason Reitman’s not-as-good-as-it-should-be biopic, The Front Runner, play out. Chronicling Gary Hart’s rapid fall out of the 1988 presidential race, the film casts a wide net when it comes to who is to blame for the scandal…
Thanks for giving
Here we are again at that Thanksgiving time of year, and boy, are we thankful for lots o’ things! Since we are a music column in origin and existence, let’s give thanks for the music makers and for the audience that appreciates the music made. I’ve been saying it for years, ever since the late…
Broseph
Originating from the river city of Beardstown, this group began as a couple of pals getting together to play some songs at the local pub in 2011. The country-rocking band relocated to Nashville in 2017, intent on spreading the good news about the brotherhood of Brock Jones (acoustic guitar, lead vocals), Brooks Boyer (electric guitar),…
GETTING ORGANIZED
Final signatures aren’t yet on paper, but a contract between State Journal-Register newsroom employees and GateHouse Media, corporate owner of the Springfield daily, has been ratified by workers and is all but a done deal. According to a union publication, workers get a 1 percent raise this year and a 1.75 percent raise next year.…
personal eco-thanksgiving poem
personal eco-thanksgiving poem time to count blessings! I’m grateful toattain (so far) a ripe old age p’raps here’ssome credit: being a depression then ww2farm kid I ate no processed food frozenfood; plastic wrap not yet invented ourmilk was whole raw from grassfed cowsno growth hormones antibiotics in meat fruits veggies only in season strawberriesa treat…
WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Illinois became the 16th state to legalize same-sex marriage five years ago, when marriage equality legislation was signed into law on Nov. 20, 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court did not issue its historic ruling requiring all states to issue same-sex marriage licenses until June 26, 2015. Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, a sponsor of the legislation,…
Holiday party platters
It’s not hard to create festive party platters and gorgeous cheeseboards that will impress your guests or make you the most popular person at the office potluck. This is how I prefer to entertain whether I’m hosting just a few friends or a large group. The last time I had a dinner party it was…
FRESH START FOR HOMELESS CARE
Those on the front lines of caring for the hungry and homeless have been talking about working together ever since Ossie Langfelder was mayor in the 1980s. The efforts to coordinate and cooperate usually get bogged down for one reason or another, but the good people keep trying again, as they announced they will do…
A modest proposal for Jesse White
Years ago, I asked a fellow reporter who covers politics and government: Can you think of anything that the state does well? Issuing driver’s licenses was the only thing that came to mind. I’ve never had to wait more than 10 minutes. In Washington and Arizona, where I once lived, you immediately bought a Lotto…
Pulling a con on the people
Donald Trump hates you. But don’t take it personally; he hates me, too. The billionaire’s antipathy is not directed at us as individuals, but as users of publicly provided services. He sees no need for them, apparently unaware that the great majority of people clearly do need, use – and want – more of them!…
A few minutes with J.B. Pritzker
Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker has taken the prospect of an immediate income tax hike off the table, telling the Sun-Times that he won’t pursue an “artificial” progressive income tax during the coming spring legislative session. Pritzker floated the idea as a possible way to impose an immediate graduated income tax, which the Illinois Constitution forbids. He…
Letters to the Editor
A CURE FOR DIABETESWith great interest I read the Nov. 8 article (“Trying to get a killer under control,” Illinois Times, by Karen Ackerman Witter) on diabetes and the program sponsored by the Prairie Diabetes Alliance. For many years I was a volunteer with the local chapter of the American Diabetes Association and a member of…
Editor’s Note 11/15/18
J.B. Pritzker may not even know that he isn’t well known in the capital city. What most of us know is that he’s a rich, heavyset Chicago guy who isn’t Bruce Rauner. It would be nice – when the time is right, but before the inauguration – if he’d come down and shake some hands…
Why nationalism won’t work
A U.S. foreign policy of nationalism, of America First, seems reasonable. All nations should be free to seek their national interests. Therefore, nations must be free and sovereign to make their own choices for betterment. Reasonable yes, but it won’t work. Let’s take a look. Any country’s foreign policy must fit the world that exists,…
A musical about fitting in and standing out
Take in a performance of 13, a musical that follows Evan Goldman, a preteen who is forced to move from fast-paced New York City to a sleepy Indiana town following his parents’ divorce. 13 is a story about fitting in and standing out, featuring an unforgettable rock score from Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown…
Bring artifacts for identification by ISM staff and experts
Do you have an artifact at home that you’d like to learn more about? Bring it to the Illinois State Museum on Saturday, Nov. 17 from 1-3 p.m. for identification by Illinois State Museum staff and other experts. Objects open to identification include art, antiques, anthropological artifacts, rocks, minerals, fossils and bones. No live animals…
The Love U Give
Early this month, a Springfield teacher took a group of students to a movie theater to view a popular new teen drama based on a bestselling novel. It was a special screening just for students who had earned the right to be there by reading the book and writing a paper about it. Of course,…
Questions not limited to hat
A stovepipe hat that purportedly belonged to the Great Emancipator isn’t the only artifact at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum that needs further research to flesh out provenance, museum officials acknowledged Tuesday under questioning by state lawmakers. Eleven years after an appraiser raised questions about the authenticity of the hat and other items…
Lincoln Land puts GIS to work on Green Map
The “Sustain Springfield Green Map” at llcc.edu/sustain-springfield is a work in progress, but then all good web-based resources are. The online map, launched by the Lincoln Land Community College Green Center and Urban Action Network, will guide users to more than 400 “green” sites and businesses, including community gardens, farmers markets, recycling centers, local-food restaurants,…
VOTE FOR FREE CONCERTS
Springfield is competing against 40 other communities across the nation to win a $25,000 matching grant to host 10 free concerts in downtown next summer. There are two key aspects of the Levitt AMP [Your City] Music Series grant. One is to activate an underutilized space – so if Springfield should win, Downtown Springfield, Inc.,…
Erased: A tale of understanding
There’s a vital, timely message of hope contained in Joel Edgerton’s Boy Erased. At first glance it appears to be about one young man’s struggle with coming to terms with his sexual identity – a Christian teen raised in the Bible Belt by a conservative preacher and mother wrestling with feelings of homosexuality – but…
Chill music time
Here’s a piece of cool music scene news that you can help make happen: Springfield is in the running for a big-time matching grant from LevittAMP, the folks who like to fund communities looking to host outdoor live music summer concerts. The empty downtown “Y” block is the area designated to be the concert venue…
Jeremy Johnson Band
Roaring up from St. Louis and out into the world, the Jeremiah Johnson Band is poised to set the world on fire with a burning passion for the hot rockin’ Americana blues. Jeremiah, born and raised in St. Louis, moved to Houston in 1999 and scored high in a blues contest there three years in…
punditty poem
punditty poem my all hallows garb was total bluea blue wave kept wearing it thrunov 6 I sherrad with you nowI’m still blue thru all recountssims to me (if you axne) I’mnot disappointed with the schiffin power – by gillum I espy betoin our stars and a full nelson we’llwatch (with rbg’s film) the sinema©2018…
Foundations of flavor: The Noma Guide to Fermentation
I first learned of the Danish restaurant Noma five years ago from an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown.” Bourdain had visited the restaurant and spent time hanging out with its head chef and founder Rene Redzepi. Noma was considered to be the best restaurant in the world, according to the panel of 800 international…
