Cover Story
Combating homelessness
There are signs of progress, as well as frustration, in the efforts to reduce homelessness in Springfield. Advocates say more work is needed to expand housing options and street-level outreach to help people who cycle in and out of homelessness amid a 40% increase in rental costs in Illinois since 2020 and a lack of…
Student-led senior safety and city mowing costs
Students took the lead on a project that brought together generations —teaching internet safety to over 125 senior citizens and logging 600-plus volunteer hours. The board also broke down how grass cutting complaints trigger city action, why mowing a single lot costs $250 and why the city can’t always recoup those costs. A resident shared…
Unlikely bedfellows
Some Republicans in Illinois have taken to regularly bashing Republican state legislative leaders for seeking support from the Illinois Education Association, a teachers’ union that has for decades worked to help elect Republicans who are sympathetic to their issues. With longtime wealthy Republican contributors and fundraisers dying, moving to warmer climes and/or retiring, the IEA…
Massey Commission strives for long-term change
While Illinois law enforcement agencies will soon be required to ask for, and provide, entire employment records for any applicants seeking to become a police officer, the Massey Commission is seeking to continue its work in order to actualize its upcoming recommendations. The law was a response to the killing of Sonya Massey, who called…
Weapons an unnerving look at missing kids, Red Sonja falls short
Weapons worthwhile despite questionable choices Zach Cregger’s Weapons is getting a great deal of press and it’s easy to see why. Not only did the film bring in nearly $43 million in its first weekend of release, an impressive number for a film of this sort, but its ending has left many viewers with a…
Editors note 8/14/25
Illinois Times readers are willing to patiently read to understand difficult issues. This week’s cover story by IT senior staff writer Dean Olsen is another opportunity to grapple with those who daily grapple with the complex issues of homelessness. Over the years, Springfield has had considerable success with the “housing first” approach to homelessness, backed…
Springfield woman elected president of the National Organization for Women
Kim Villanueva of Springfield is the newly elected president of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She is moving to Washington, D.C., to become the paid CEO of NOW after serving in a volunteer capacity with the organization for decades. She previously worked at the Illinois Community College Trustees Association for 40 years as director…
Lead lines in legal limbo
Springfield, like so many other metropolitan areas, has thousands of service lines connected to the city’s water mains that are made of lead. While those lines have a protective coating lining the interior of the pipes and are chemically tested twice a year, environmental organizations and the Environmental Protection Agency argued all lead pipes need…
Astronomer
A tribute to Charles Schweighauser, a University of Illinois professor emeritus of astronomy and physics who died July 14 at the age of 88. We audited Charlie’s classes from Mercury to the Oort Cloud and beyond; we helped burn his prairie so that new prairie could prosper. We kept secret where his telescope, (state-of-the-art) was…
Letters to the editor 8/14/25
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. — SUPPORT DOWNTOWN Downtown Springfield is becoming a ghost town, and it feels like nobody in leadership cares. The mayor, the aldermen, city departments, economic development, tourism – no one is stepping up to protect…
Scrumptious school lunches
Let’s be honest – packing lunches can be a drag. Whether it’s for a picky preschooler, a ravenous tween or just yourself, the daily grind of filling a lunchbox is not something many look forward to. The reality is, however, that eating fresh food prepared at home is one of the single most effective ways…
WWII Illiopolis ordnance plants
Thelma L. Ball, compiler, Illinois Munitions: A News Journal of the Oak & Sangamon Ordnance Plants, 1942-1950, Illiopolis, Illinois. Self-published, 2025. 350 pp., illustrations, newspaper list, index. Illiopolis today considers itself a village, with a population of 846 recorded in the 2020 census. It was even smaller in 1942 – about 700 people – when…
More fair time music
Step right up as we consider the last weekend of the Illinois State Fair for 2025. Take a look around the area and generally go gallivanting anywhere and everywhere we can to search out the music-makers making music for you. With “no time like the present” as our motto, may I present to you my…
Landlord registry debate and housing enforcement challenges
The City Council debated a new proposal to crack down on repeat property violators, including a landlord registry and higher fines. Some felt the plan didn’t go far enough, calling for mandatory inspections before and after tenants move in. Others argued the registry is long overdue and should cover every landlord, while concerns were raised…
Traveling show prepares to dazzle capital city
Springfield, get ready for a circus like no other. Cirque Italia’s “Water Circus” is in town, featuring an international cast and crew of aerialists, jugglers, clowns, acrobats, contortionists and others performing a high-energy show with a custom-designed, traveling stage holding 35,000 gallons of water. The first show is 7:30 p.m. Friday. “We are not like…
