Cover Story
When DCFS makes mistakes, children die
Over the past 15 years, abused children put under the care of the state of Illinois have been beaten, tortured, starved, suffocated, fatally drugged and burned alive. In one particularly disturbing case, a convicted child abuser who once used a 2-year-old boy as a BB gun target managed to deceive child protection investigators to live…
Organizations work to reach “functional zero” homelessness by 2028
Springfield and Sangamon County’s 2022-2028 Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness was finalized in the fall of 2022. The plan’s ambitious goals aim to help our community reach “functional zero” homelessness in 2028. Functional zero is the point when a community’s homeless system of care can prevent homelessness whenever possible and ensure that when homelessness does…
217 Burger Week extended two days
Seven days was not enough time to try all the burgers, so most locations have added an extra two days to Burger Week. Be sure to check 217foodweek.com to confirm the number of days being offered at each location, their hours and their offerings. Then get together with your friends and start making plans. While…
Chicago mayor walks back promise to welcome asylum-seekers
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget that he passed last November deliberately underfunded programs for asylum-seekers. The meager appropriation authority could be exhausted by April, but nobody knows yet what the city plans to do when it reaches that point. Also last November, Gov. JB Pritzker made it clear to reporters that, “the state doesn’t run…
B.B. & T. Club: My mom Vera’s memory
As a little girl I lived in Chicago; my friends took piano lessons, “elocution lessons,” and sometimes dancing lessons. Our parents had a music club which met at alternate houses. We listened in as the president hit the gavel and called the meeting to order. The secretary read “minutes” and ended with “Respectfully submitted.” We…
Letters to the editor 1/25/24
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. —- STUDY FIRE DEPARTMENT This was an interesting article (“City-operated ambulance service to be considered,” Jan. 4). The firefighters tout the need for more ambulances with the increase in EMS calls. But as a taxpayer,…
Come get your Stevie on
Calling all fans of Stevie Nicks to The Legacy Theatre this weekend for the show you’ve had “Dreams” of ever since “Rhiannon” avoided a “Landslide” by hanging out with a “White-Winged Dove,” just to name drop a few of Nicks’ greatest hits. Titled Sisters of the Moon and designated as a reading of the Stevie…
A Springfield view of immigration
An impressive group of speakers will headline two evening forums focused on immigration in Springfield. Sponsored by the Citizens Club of Springfield, the programs will be held Feb. 1 and Feb. 15 6-7:30 at St. John’s Hospital’s Dove Conference Center, 619 E. Mason. Citizens Club President John Kelker, Program Director Beverly Bunch, and lead organizers…
Sourdough baking an ancient process
Countless cooks caught the sourdough baking bug in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown. Yeast was scarce and with time on their hands, modern bakers discovered the joys of this ancient process. I was fortunate to grow up with artisanal sourdough baking, but as a Midwestern kid in the 1990s it was anything but…
January-ing music ends
Here we are already at the last weekend of January and finally just in for a full slate of dates permitted by the weather for all of us music lovers. The last two weekends were a bit on the cold side to say the least (and I always try to say the least), but we…
Two-part panel discussion to examine immigration here, U.S.
America is a nation of immigrants. Wave after wave of immigrants built this nation – “the great melting pot” – and put their mark on it. The Citizens Club of Springfield is planning a two-part panel discussion about immigration in the U.S. as well as here in the capital city. “This program aims to highlight…
Events and Happenings Example Email
@import url(‘https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Montserrat:400,700&display=swap’); Events and Happenings – Molly Schlich Independent | International Film Series a { text-decoration: none; } .fdn-newsletter-footer-row { font-family: ‘Open Sans’, ‘Google Sans’, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; } a { transition: 188ms linear; } a:hover { opacity: .8; } Events and Happenings Thursday, January 11, 2024 | Full Events Calendar Molly Schlich Independent |…
Lawmakers clear path for assault weapon registration rules
New permanent rules will soon go into effect spelling out how people who own assault weapons and related items that are now heavily regulated in Illinois can register them with the Illinois State Police. The legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted along party lines Jan. 16 to let the rules go into effect, ending…
The Kitchen plods along, Beekeeper falls flat
Plodding pace hinders Kitchen There’s no questioning the good intentions behind Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares’ The Kitchen, a dystopian thriller suffused with social commentary. This examination of the ever-growing disparity between the haves and have-nots and how this gulf affects not simply society but an individual’s outlook and behavior is a cautionary tale that, while…
Editors note 1/25/24
No wonder he got Nikki mixed up with Nancy; they’re both from his same nightmare. The worst fear of a would-be strongman is a strong woman, and Nikki Haley is strong in the right places. Running against a character, she has character, along with political experience and life experience. She knows race and racism from…
City of Springfield penalized for violating Fair Housing Act
The seven-year-old court case that determined Springfield illegally discriminated against people with disabilities through residential zoning is approaching a conclusion. The late U.S District Court judge Richard Mills ruled in March 2020 that the city violated the federal Fair Housing Act through a spacing ordinance prohibiting two homes for people with disabilities from operating within…
Making city government more helpful to businesses
Springfield’s Office of Planning and Economic Development will focus on data and innovation to make city government more efficient, helpful to businesses and in line with Mayor Misty Buscher’s goal of creating more good-paying jobs in the city. Those are among plans for the office under Val Yazell, who was hired back to head OPED…
Show me the money
The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes have $10 million in ideas about how to improve Robin Roberts Stadium. But the question is: Who will pay for it? “First and foremost, it starts with the ownership group,” said Jamie Toole, an executive and an owner of the team. “Our ownership group has shown a commitment and a willingness…
