Sangamon County prosecutors have increased the number of petitions filed that require defendants to prove that sources of bail money are legitimate before they can be released from jail, courthouse insiders say. As of last Friday, 42 of 365 inmates had petitions on sources of bail filed in their cases. The petitions mean that inmates […]
Bruce Rushton
Bruce Rushton is a freelance journalist.
Posted inNews
Coronavirus roundup
Sangamon County Board Chairman Andy Van Meter says that he doesn’t understand why Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder set a Jan. 12 date to reinstitute indoor dining in restaurants. “I know nothing about Jan. 12 – I don’t know where the mayor got this Jan. 12 date,” Van Meter said. “I really have no idea.” In […]
Posted inOpinion
A-twitter over Twitter
I once worked for a company that published lies. First, there was “Give Piece A Chance,” an expose on Second Amenders who thought finances shouldn’t be an impediment to constitutional rights and so distributed firearms and ammo to the homeless. Then came “Xtreme Cuisine,” a discourse involving a secret supper club where well-heeled diners enjoyed […]
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Guns in crosshairs
Republican lawmakers, gun enthusiasts and Illinois State Police agree: The state’s system for keeping firearms out of dangerous hands is broken. According to state police who issue firearm permits, average waiting times for firearm owner identification (FOID) cards have stretched to four months; under state law, cards, which are required to purchase guns and ammunition, […]
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Mayor sets date to reopen restaurants
Mayor Jim Langfelder says that police chief Kenny Winslow is in line for a second raise next year in addition to a 5% bump this year. The mayor this month offered Winslow a 5% raise, the maximum allowable without city council approval, to keep the chief in Springfield after Winslow accepted a lower-paying job in […]
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Fraudster sentenced to prison
Chase Brown, a former Rochester High School football player who played on a state championship team, then bilked people and companies throughout the nation, is headed to prison for three years. Brown, 21, already was on state probation for writing $17,000 worth of bad checks in Sangamon County when he went on the spree last […]
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Bye Bye Bernie
After 30 years at the State Journal-Register, political columnist and reporter Bernard Schoenburg accepted a buyout and left the paper on Dec. 1. He began his journalism career at The Pantagraph in Bloomington and also worked at the Associated Press before coming to Springfield, where he became one of the state’s best-known political writers. Following […]
Posted inOpinion
Of mice and cats
I suck at killing things. This is why I got a cat. After recently trapping a mouse in my kitchen and seeing its desperate eyes while being dispatched, squeaking all the way, to the trash bin outside, I thought it better to have its friends hunted down and eaten. And so I filled out an […]
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Mayor offers raise to keep Winslow
Mayor Jim Langfelder says he’s offered a 5% raise to keep police chief Kenny Winslow, who has accepted an offer to become a deputy chief in Franklin, Tennessee. Langfelder said that it would amount to a $7,000 raise, the maximum allowable without city council approval. Winslow, who wasn’t available for comment, earned $145,433 last year. […]
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Winslow quits Springfield police
Springfield police chief Kenny Winslow is departing for Tennessee, where he will be a deputy police chief in Franklin beginning next month. The Williamson Herald in Tennessee broke the story last Thursday. According to the Herald, Winslow was one of 78 applicants and will start work on Jan. 19 overseeing field operations and special operations […]
Posted inOpinion
Restaurants, the courthouse and other stuff
Don’t look now, but the Springfield restaurant scene may not appear as dire as it seems, fingers crossed a vaccine is afoot. American Harvest Eatery closed last spring on the west side but, at last report, was moving to perceived greener pastures. Vele has left downtown to go west for perceived greener pastures in space […]
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Moving to the mall
White Oaks Mall has a new anchor tenant: the state of Illinois. After purchasing space formerly occupied by Sears for $3.5 million last August, the state now plans to move Illinois Environmental Protection Agency headquarters from North Grand Avenue to the mall. The complex now occupied by IEPA is slated for demolition to make room […]
