Cover Story
Renovation revelations
Horse hair, hidden trusses and fire damage: Welcome to the $245 million North Wing renovation project at the Illinois State Capitol building in downtown Springfield. Project workers have experienced the surprise of finding previously unknown, original elements of the building such as wall insulation made from horse hair and grass, hidden trusses and fireplaces, historic…
Delay in Scheels Sports Park groundbreaking
Groundbreaking for the $67 million Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe, originally expected in July, now could take place in September after action Aug. 29 by impatient Springfield City Council members. “I’m tired of excuses and the changes and the ‘this-and-that,’” Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams said before the council decided to place three ordinances…
SOB Festival
OK, oyster lovers, it’s time for that annual rite of summer – the Springfield Oyster and Beer Festival at the Inn at 835. Festival organizers are preparing a whopping 6,000 oysters for the event. Now that’s a whole lot of oyster shucking and char-grilling. Not into oysters? Not a problem. The event will feature 150…
‘Dream big’ about future growth
The University of Illinois Springfield is excited to share its vision for the new innovation center that will open in downtown Springfield in 2025. The center is being designed to positively impact our economy, community and citizens. As a 30-year resident of the city’s north end —with a background in education, economic development and workforce…
Not at all Rotten
Hark, good citizens! Attend thee a mirthful spectacle unfolding upon the Hoogland stage. The most wondrous Something Rotten! – book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, music and lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick – is a musical comedy set in the 90s….the 1590s to be sure. Huzzah! ‘Tis the Renaissance, where struggling playwright…
Giardiniera means “from the garden”
Summer’s end is just around the bend. My tomatoes and cucumbers are starting to get scarce, but the capsicum plants I’ve been faithfully tending are heavy with peppers and ablaze with color. It’s time to preserve some of this bounty for enjoyment over the winter months. Homemade giardiniera is a delicious way to preserve the…
Violins of beauty, history and remembrance
Lilting, soulful and harmonic melodies played on violins will fill Springfield Sept. 7-13. Twelve violins from the international project Violins of Hope will be on display at the Illinois State Museum. Six of the violins will be featured in concerts across town and played by local musicians. The week of music is sponsored by the…
Music for Labor Day weekend
Good day to you, fellow followers of the Springfield-area music scene, and welcome to the official end of summer as Labor Day weekend is here. I don’t really go with official assessments usually, but it’s definitely a reminder that summer is behind us and fall is approaching before the upcoming you-know-what rears its cold, frosty…
Editors note 8/31/23
Henry David Thoreau wrote wistfully of the sounds of trains from the railroad that passed near his house on Walden Pond. He knew the men who worked on it, and its daily whistle was a reminder that civilization is not far away. The sight and sound of the train was a part of his daily…
Lessons learned
Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher has pledged to hire an emergency operations coordinator for the city and create a “long–term recovery group” to respond to any future disasters following the June 29 storms that hit Sangamon County. And Doug Brown, chief utility engineer for City Water, Light & Power, is planning more cross-training for his employees…
Esports facility opening at UIS
A state-of-the-art intercollegiate sports facility opens Sept. 6 at University of Illinois Springfield, but don’t expect to see any of the competitors run, jump or throw. They’ll spend their time sitting, staring and clicking. Videogaming, or esports, has become the latest team activity on the college campus. “Esports is a rapidly growing sport that is…
Southern Illinois casino opens
Gov. JB Pritzker joined hundreds of people from across southern Illinois Aug. 25 to celebrate the opening of the state’s 14th casino on a rural estate just outside of Carterville, near Carbondale. The Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort is the fourth casino to open in recent years that was authorized by a 2019 gambling expansion law…
Park District plans projects citywide
Using a blend of state, private and local tax dollars, Springfield Park District is undergoing an aggressive program to upgrade its 34 parks, Leslie Sgro told Illinois Times. Sgro, who has been president of the Park District Board for 32 years, said several factors have resulted in the district becoming more aggressive in improving its…
Girl in Pram Fights Monkey
I spent a year in England, saved a clipping: “Girl in Pram Fights Monkey” I omit here the London suburban street, etc. “A two-year-old fought with a monkey which jumped into her pram yesterday.” She was eating a banana, bitten, scratched, but held tight to her prize. The mother is quoted, “I was paralyzed with…
Grand Turismo a missed opportunity, Retribution lets Liam Neeson shine
Turismo falters on the track Chalk up Neill Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo as one of the biggest missed opportunities of the 2023 cinematic campaign. The film has an intriguing based-on-true-events backstory that’s compelling fodder for a sports movie – a nobody from England gets a chance to compete on an international stage in a highly dangerous…
Echoes of Yesteryear: A walk through Oak Ridge Cemetery
The popular Sangamon County Historical Society’s cemetery walk at Oak Ridge Cemetery will take place Sunday, Oct. 1, from 12-4 p.m. Actors dressed in period costumes will portray seven individuals who made significant contributions to the Springfield community. All of the stories have been researched thoroughly. Oak Ridge Cemetery, founded in 1856, is now the…
My week with the world’s religions in Chicago
The 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions (POWR) convened at Chicago’s McCormick Place Aug. 14-18. To reach the registration hall, I passed under banners invoking previous parliaments, including the original one hosted in Chicago in 1893, as part of the Columbian Exposition. The more modern incarnations started in 1993, also in Chicago. This year’s theme…
The power of words
An unexpected conversation with a college acquaintance this past week has me thinking about the power of words. I first met Bill 40 years ago when I was a freshman in college. I was going through a rough time. I was away from home for the first time and was assigned a roommate that I…
Phase One Armory renovation underway
With usable office space being reduced by the ongoing North Wing project at the Capitol, and the Stratton Office Building slated for demolition in approximately 12 years, a new location must be found for hundreds of state employees in several agencies who work in those two buildings. The solution is the Illinois State Armory building,…
