A beer summit at Obed and Isaac’s? It could happen. Karen Conn, the wife half of the husband-and-wife team that owns the popular Springfield microbrew pub, confirms that President Barack Obama, scheduled to address the General Assembly on Feb. 10, is on her radar screen. The staff of Gov. Bruce Rauner has been in touch, […]
Bruce Rushton
Bruce Rushton is a freelance journalist.
Posted inNews
Shove it
Newsroom employees at the State Journal-Register tonight rejected a final contract offer from GateHouse Media, the company that owns Springfield’s daily newspaper. The vote was unanimous, according to Shannon Duffy, administrative officer for the United Media Guild, which represents newsroom workers. There are approximately 25 workers in the bargaining unit. Reporters and other newsroom employees […]
Posted inNews
Carelessness or something more?
Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino There is, at least so far, no proof that Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino has broken any laws. But the more one looks at Mautino’s campaign disclosure reports filed while he was a state representative, the more it becomes apparent that the man who has become the state’s top auditor […]
Posted inNews
Gaming board nomination on hold
The nomination of Springfield attorney Don Tracy as chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board has been put on hold. The reasons aren’t clear. Tracy, who was named to the board by Gov. Bruce Rauner in February of last year, was attending a meeting of the board and could not be reached for comment. He is […]
Posted inNews
Money for nothing
As a state representative, Illinois auditor general Frank Mautino took no chances come election time, judging from his campaign finance disclosure forms filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections. In the weeks leading up to the general election of 2010, Mautino spent $8,000 on poll watchers, plus $2,750 for precinct walkers plus an additional […]
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Questionable campaign spending
While a state representative, Illinois auditor general Frank Mautino spent more than $213,000 from his campaign fund at a Spring Valley service station in less than 11 years, according to reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections. It works out to more than $54 a day each day between March, 2005 and December […]
Posted inOpinion
Rauner releases calendar
Last fall, I got a tip. Gov. Bruce Rauner, my tipster said, doesn’t appear to have a state email account. The issue was germane. Besides Hillary Clinton’s infamous failure to do business on a State Department email account and her ensuing apology, Rauner has said that state employees shouldn’t conduct public business on private email […]
Posted inNews
Pay up, please
The Springfield City Council has approved a resolution aimed at convincing the state to pay delinquent utility bills. But city officials say it’s unlikely that the city will shut off service to state facilities. “At this point, I don’t see it happening,” said Mayor Jim Langfelder after Tuesday’s council vote. The state is City Water, […]
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SHIPWRECK
ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS BRITT Amy Mizeur didn’t hold back on her way out the door when she was terminated from her job at The Gold Center in Springfield last spring. “This is what you get when you refuse to screw your boss,” Mizeur yelled over her shoulder, according to a Gold Center manager tasked with […]
Posted inNews
Mum’s the word
Jeff Parsons PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Faced with a federal criminal investigation, entrepreneur Jeffrey Parsons can keep his mouth shut in court fights pitting the trustee in his bankruptcy case against car dealer Todd Green and a Texas auction company. Trustee Jeffrey Richardson wants Green to return money he made in deals with Parsons for […]
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Rauner releases calendar
Gov. Bruce Rauner. Photo by Patrick Yeagle Faced with a lawsuit from Illinois Times and three opinions from the state attorney general, Gov. Bruce Rauner has released his appointment calendar. Download Rauner’s calendar releases here and here. The release today that came via Brown, Hay and Stephens, the Springfield law firm that is representing the […]
Posted inNews
Mentally ill behind bars
Tiffany Rusher doesn’t belong in prison, according to a lawyer for mentally ill inmates at the cusp of winning major reform from the state. Locked up for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, Rusher, 26, spends her days in a so-called crisis cell at Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, under constant watch, says Alan Mills, […]
