Green doesn’t always mean good. That’s the message that Tom Clay, the executive director of the Illinois Audubon Society, and Vern LaGesse, an ecological restorationist and president of the Friends of the Sangamon Valley, want to send with their new plan to revamp Adams Wildlife Sanctuary. The 40-acre preserve, nestled between Clear Lake and Forrest […]
Amanda Robert
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Utility reform emerges from legislative chaos
Last Sunday, amid state budget haggling, lawmakers passed an innovative three-pronged energy package that toughens Illinois Commerce Commission ethics rules, promotes energy efficiency and assists low-income families with utility bills. The Illinois Attorney General’s office worked with consumer and environmental groups, community action agencies, business organizations and utility companies to craft Senate Bill 1918. The […]
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Under a mountain of debt, WSEC-TV struggles for survival
Public radio and television stations across the nation have been hit hard by the recession, losing membership support, program sponsorships and grant funding. Dr. Jerold Gruebel, president and CEO of Network Knowledge, the nonprofit parent company of WSEC/PBS Springfield and its sister stations in Quincy and Macomb, says that his television stations are also struggling […]
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Mixed-martial arts fighter opens Springfield gym
Justin Robbins, a Sacred Heart-Griffin wrestler turned mixed-martial arts fighter who appeared on the cover of IT last June, has punched up efforts to supply Springfield with a new brand of competitors. On April 15 he opened Robbins Mixed Martial Arts at the corner of Jefferson and Veterans Parkway. The new gym, which specializes in […]
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Crossing Lines, the documentary
For Indira Somani, growing up in Springfield wasn’t always easy. Her parents moved to the capital city from Pittsburgh in 1974, and the next year, Somani became both a kindergartner and the first Indian student at Owen Marsh Elementary School. In the ’70s and ’80s, Springfield wasn’t as diverse as it is now, she recalls, […]
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Group helps prostitutes recover; struggles for recovery itself
Positive Options, Referrals and Alternatives, a Springfield nonprofit that provides housing for survivors of prostitution, as well as food and free HIV testing at several sites around Springfield, has seen its share of financial and personnel struggles over the past six months. PORA’s board of directors announced two weeks ago that the organization would temporarily […]
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Visit central Illinois wineries for close-to-home tourism
If you’re craving fun in the sun or a relaxing romantic rendezvous this summer, bypass the travel headache and head for a nearby central Illinois winery. The Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association lists five wineries within an hour of Springfield, and one more that’s just outside of Peoria. Each of these is family-owned and […]
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Sierra Club to Shimkus: Clean energy is no ‘assault on democracy’
As U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, continues to condemn cap-and-trade legislation to limit carbon emissions, the Sangamon Valley Group of the Sierra Club prepares to fire back. During a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on April 22, Shimkus sparked outrage in environmental groups across the nation, including the local Sierra Club, when he made […]
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Bike and run, a pace for everyone
As the summer sun emerges and time-consumers like Lost and Dancing with the Stars end (just for the season!), the capital city’s trails and parks come alive with walkers, joggers and bikers. Some are veterans. They’ve been doing this for years, know their split times and don’t mind donning spandex. Others are more casual. They […]
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Attorney General gets tough with craigslist
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan traveled to New York last week to deliver this message to craigslist chief executive officer Jim Buckmaster: remove your Web site’s erotic services section. Madigan, along with Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, notified craigslist’s lawyers that the online classifieds company breached an agreement made […]
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The high cost of behavioral health cuts
Community behavioral healthcare providers recently claimed that Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposal to slash state mental health and substance abuse treatment funding by $26 million and $12 million, respectively, in next year’s budget will translate to substandard services for more than 46,000 patients. In a survey released April 20, the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois […]
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Pleasant Plains group wants to rescue Clayville
Annie Rieken, a historic archaeologist from Carbondale, was flabbergasted by what she found on a recent trip to Clayville. Vagrants or delinquent kids had broken into every building on the 13-acre site, located along Route 125 just east of Pleasant Plains, and destroyed dishes, furniture and other antiques that once set the scene for the […]
