Cover Story
Freshman class
When freshman Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski has reached across the political aisle for bipartisan support on key issues in her district, she has frequently found that her colleagues have reached back. “To me, bipartisanship is not just a talking point,” Budzinski said. “The work I’ve been focused on is how I can build relationships across the…
Former Muni board member fired from job in Rochester district
A Petersburg man who resigned from a Springfield Municipal Opera board after parents complained he didn’t do enough to shield children in community theater programs from another man’s sexually inappropriate comments was fired from his job April 19 for allegedly making “sexually suggestive” comments to Rochester High School students. Bill Bauser Jr., who had worked…
Bring back parole in Illinois
Illinois abolished traditional parole in 1978, one of 16 states to have abolished or severely restricted discretionary parole. Of the 1.4 million people currently held in U.S. prisons, one in seven have life sentences. In states with parole, incarcerated individuals can present their cases to a parole board for release after serving minimum sentences. This…
When books are banned
I like to read things that I disagree with. Doing so not only gives me greater empathy for those with whom I differ, but every once in a while, it changes my own viewpoint. A movement is afoot to censor what books libraries and schools can offer. Such efforts are pernicious malignancies that metastasize from…
Homemade ricotta is whey better!
I just got back from a lovely visit to New York, spending Easter with my daughter Anne’s family in their Brooklyn apartment. Admittedly, New York City is a bit of a culture shock to this old Midwesterner. There’s no place to park a car, the grandkids can’t just run outside and ride their bikes, and…
So long Recycled Records
Well, that sure didn’t take long to get through the month of April. I’m giving all the happening music events credit (plus that week of welcomed warm weather) to giving us a fly-by feeling for “the cruelest month,” but however you cut it, this is the last weekend for any “Aprilian” experience. So shall we…
Details emerge during ComEd Four trial
We’re going to talk some history today. According to testimony at the federal ComEd Four trial, then-House Speaker Mike Madigan’s former 13th Ward Alderperson Frank Olivo was brought on as a subcontractor under then ComEd Chairman and CEO Frank Clark. Clark retired in September of 2011, almost a dozen years ago. He has never been…
Margaret lives up to the classic book, Clock is disturbing but Evil Dead Rise lacks imagination
Margaret matches quiet power of Blume’s classic While I was in grade school, devouring every Encyclopedia Brown book I could get my hands on, apparently my female peers were reading Judy Blume’s Are You There, God? It’s me, Margaret. Having finally gotten around to reading it at age 57 and seeing Kelly Fremon Craig’s delightful…
Editors note 4/27/23
Sometimes it’s good to thank oldsters for staying in the fight. They don’t always do so for ego or pride, but sometimes for compassion or duty. Pope Francis must know that, despite frailties and pain, nobody else would use the power of his office to voice the love of God in quite the way that…
Inmates and iPads
Inmates at the Sangamon County Jail will soon be issued their own computer tablets that can be used to take classes, communicate with family members and order movies. The county is in the process of accepting bids from four firms interested in having the tablet contract. Sheriff Jack Campbell said he anticipates this will be…
“Pervasive” deficiencies at Illinois State Police
The latest biennial audit report released by Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino found that the Illinois State Police did not properly manage equipment inventory, could not reconcile their accounting records, and may have lost confidential information contained on missing computers. The audit concluded that misstatements in ISP’s accounts were “both material and pervasive.” The findings…
A pause on the pipeline
A Sangamon County Board committee’s recommendation April 20 to continue a moratorium on construction of the proposed Navigator Heartland Greenway carbon-dioxide pipeline is the latest of numerous efforts by elected county and state officials to balance safety and economic development. “Until we have all the evidence, I can’t vote for any of this at all,”…
Shivaree poem
Red, who worked on the farm, and Rosemary, who lived nearby in Turtle Township married, moved a mile from the farm, awaited the usual shivaree (a French word spelled chaivari amongst many spellings and designates a rowdy unannounced gathering of friends often in the middle of the night – the unlucky couple is supposed to…
Letters 4/27/23
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. —- MISJUDGMENT While greatly acknowledging the potential value of the sports complex, the $45 million in subsidies to the for-profit enterprise is a grotesque public policy misjudgment (“Field of dreams,” April 20). Further, the opportunity…
