Cover Story
High expectations
The small-scale, $8 million marijuana cultivation center expected to open in June on Springfield’s northeast side would be the largest site of its kind in the state, and perhaps the nation, to produce beverages infused with cannabis and hemp oil. So says Christopher Stone, a Springfield-based cannabis entrepreneur and managing partner of CoPack Industries, 3451…
Letters to the editor 05-30-24
PRESERVING HISTORY Martha Miller is a Springfield treasure (“Growing old gay,” May 16). Her writing has helped preserve so much Springfield queer history. We owe her a debt of gratitude. Caroline Kionka Springfield PAST INFORMS FUTURE This was an amazing read. It’s wild how perspectives from the past can make us so much more aware…
Lakeisha Purchase violated IDOT policy, report says
Lakeisha Purchase took part in phone calls unrelated to her job at the Illinois Department of Transportation for almost half of the time she was supposed to be working during an 18-month period in 2021 and 2022, a state report says. Purchase, 35, a former Capital Township trustee and the Springfield Ward 5 alderperson since…
Budget deal gets ugly
Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch gave added meaning to the phrase “winning ugly” during the early morning hours of May 29. I’ve never seen anything like it, so let’s take a look. House members were told to be in their seats by noon on May 28 after the Senate had easily passed the entire budget…
100 Day Challenge results in 29 entering supportive housing
Is it possible to support individuals who have experienced years of homelessness in connecting to permanent housing opportunities? What about those who are reluctant to engage services for a variety of reasons and are deemed to be the hardest to house? A recent Heartland Continuum of Care effort saw 29 individuals with a history of…
Historical site
Want to know when Springfield got its first snowplow? Or find a reference to a relative? Maybe read about crimes and gambling dens in the early 1900s? Or learn more about the 1918 Spanish flu and the 1940s polio epidemic? You can find out about the last hanging in the county, the first person who…
Savvy gardeners enjoy garlic scapes
“Have you got your garden in yet?” It’s a question I’m often asked in springtime and I’m never quite sure how to respond because there’s never really a point when my garden is “in” or “out.” The first plantings actually happen in autumn of the previous season, after tender annuals like tomatoes and squash have…
Developing more housing downtown
Construction of a 136-unit, market-rate apartment complex in downtown Springfield will commence in the fall, the New York company spearheading the almost $29 million project told Mid-Illinois Medical District commissioners on May 23. “We’re really excited about it,” Victor Salerno, chief executive officer of Adirondack Community Development, told commissioners in a Zoom call updating the…
Lawmakers further regulate carbon dioxide pipeline development
After state regulators rebuffed several proposed carbon transport projects over the past year, lawmakers have moved to formally ban new projects until the federal government sets forth new safety rules. The technology is used to take carbon dioxide – a powerful greenhouse gas – and move it through pipelines before storing it deep underground. While…
Editor’s note 05-30-24
It was only early this month that we became aware that this governor had any interest in the vacant lot across from his Springfield house. Before that, the Y Block was a Springfield project, which had absorbed plenty of local planning and design ideas, if not consensus or funding. Now, the General Assembly has appropriated…
Fight over fescue grass
First came the threatening letters from city hall: mow your grass or we will and then we’ll slap you with a fine. Mike, a homeowner on Lincoln Avenue south of Washington Park, was dismayed. He didn’t consider his lawn overgrown or unkept. In fact, he had nurtured it to look different from his neighbors but…
I Wisht I Was a Little Rock An American Mother Goose Jingle
I Wisht I Was a Little Rock An American Mother Goose Jingle We little Dougan kids laughed as many times as we would hear Grampa Dougan shout this verse: It was on a little plaque by the front door of the Big House before 1930. “I wisht I was a little rock A-settn’ on a…
Summertime music arrives
Now that we’re officially past the Memorial Day weekend and we’ve had our first rainout night (last Friday) of regularly scheduled outdoor gigs, I believe we can safely welcome the summer season. From here until the cold days hit again, it’s fairs, festivals, homecomings, shindigs, burgoos, beer gardens, wineries, barbecues and more along with our…
Artist in the Park
Artist in the Park Fridays from May 31 to Aug. 30, noon to 1 p.m. Union Square Park 500 E. Madison St. 217-753-3519 director@springfieldartsco.org The long-running, popular Artist on the Plaza series has a new name – Artist in the Park – and will move from the Old Capitol Plaza to Union Square Park this…
