A Springfield businessman is facing federal drug charges and loss of his home in one of the city’s toniest neighborhoods following a September bust. Joshua D. Lindvall, president of Nelson’s Catering, was indicted in October following the September arrest of Tod Dunbar, a convicted drug dealer who was reportedly living at Lindvall’s home in The […]
Bruce Rushton
Bruce Rushton is a freelance journalist.
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Gone with the wind
One of the planet’s most valuable collections of Abraham Lincoln artifacts has left the building, according to officials at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The artifacts, which include such relics as a pair of bloody gloves that Lincoln wore to Ford’s Theater and a cipher book that the Great Emancipator used as a […]
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Calvin Christian III headed to prison
Calvin Christian III, whose battles over Springfield police files won him a six-figure settlement with the city while helping topple former Mayor Mike Houston, is headed to federal prison. U.S District Court Judge Sue Myerscough on Aug. 25 sentenced Christian to 24 months on six charges of possessing equipment to make phony credit cards and […]
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With a little help from my friends
Chris Schaller, a former mortgage broker imprisoned in June for fraud, had partners who included two state employees, according to a 2018 court affidavit used to obtain a federal search warrant for contents of Schaller’s cellphone. In addition, three appraisers whom Schaller relied on have been disciplined by the state Department of Financial and Professional […]
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Mayor picks economic development director
Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder has picked a career banker to become director of the city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development, a position that’s been vacant for more than a year. Lynne Wooden will start work Aug. 1. She will be paid $105,000 a year, Langfelder said, about what her predecessor Val Yazell earned before […]
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Chris Schaller goes to prison
A former mortgage broker turned minor Springfield celebrity turned scam artist will spend nearly three years behind bars. Sentenced recently to 30 months for wire fraud by U.S. District Court Judge Sue Myerscough, Chris Schaller, formerly of Rochester, did not go quietly. After pleading guilty in August 2020, Schaller reversed course, asking to withdraw his […]
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Kin of deceased inmate sue
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell and his underlings at the county jail, as well as the company that provides medical care to inmates under contract with the sheriff’s office, are targets in a federal lawsuit filed April 28 on behalf of the estate of Jaimeson Cody, who died last year after an altercation with guards. […]
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Kin of deceased inmate sue
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell and his underlings at the county jail, as well as the company that provides medical care to inmates under contract with the sheriff’s office, are targets in a federal lawsuit filed April 28 on behalf of the estate of Jaimeson Cody, who died last year after an altercation with guards. […]
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The taxman cometh for your virtual yard sale
Death and taxes remain certainties, and in Illinois, the latter has become more certain than ever. This tax season marks the second year that the Land of Lincoln has targeted the gig economy by requiring companies that process digital payments – think PayPal or Venmo – to report payments at thresholds below what the Internal […]
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Green to go
Would-be pot growers soon may get a green light thanks to a recent ruling from Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Gail Noll. At issue was a state Department of Agriculture decision to disqualify 11 growing-license applicants for failure to provide information about law and accounting firms named on applications. Disqualified applicants sued, maintaining that since […]
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They’re baaaacck
One year after an acrimonious divorce from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, a private foundation that raised funds and supplied the state-owned institution with exhibits has established a partnership with the National Park Service. “The Lincoln Presidential Foundation, formerly known as the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, is taking on a new role […]
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They’re baaaacck
One year after an acrimonious divorce from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, a private foundation that raised funds and supplied the state-owned institution with exhibits has established a partnership with the National Park Service. “The Lincoln Presidential Foundation, formerly known as the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, is taking on a new role […]
