Eyesores can last years in Springfield. Consider 2809 Poplar Avenue. In lieu of shingles, a sheet of plastic is nailed to part of the roof. A green notice posted by city inspectors who declared the building unsafe has faded from the sun. Roxana Talley, who has lived next door for two decades, said that the […]
Bruce Rushton
Bruce Rushton is a freelance journalist.
Posted inNews
Blight fight
Public officials long have sought solutions to dilapidated buildings blighting Springfield with broken windows, sagging porches, rats and worse. Many still sit vacant and crumbling despite plans and promises. Here’s a snapshot. Poplar Place The future looked bright just two years ago for one of Springfield’s ugliest neighborhoods. Poplar Place was so bad that Governing […]
Posted inNews
Pot bolsters coffers
Springfield’s two recreational marijuana dispensaries are generating $45,000 a month in revenue for the city, which levies a 3 percent tax on sales. It amounts to $18 million in annual sales for pot purveyors. Tax collection numbers emerged this week when the city council approved a budget for the fiscal year that starts next week. […]
Posted inOpinion
Cabin fever blues
I like cold weather. Forget fleece fashioned from polyester. I prefer tweed and cashmere and wool socks and sweaters that weigh three pounds and sheepskin hats with ear flaps. Nothing clears the lungs, and mind, like inhaling that first breath of sub-zero-degree air as you step outside to go cross-country skiing while Champ the Wonder […]
Posted inNews
Springfield officer on leave after barroom incident
A Springfield police officer is on paid administrative leave after an incident last month at the Blue Grouch Pub in Sangamon County, which is bordered by land under city jurisdiction. Deputies were called to the Maple Street bar shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 on a report of disorderly conduct – someone needed to […]
Posted inOpinion
Neither snow nor rain nor heat
The courtship was prolonged. White, male and lacking military experience, Greg Weickart wasn’t a priority for the postal service – it took nine years before he got an offer after applying in 1975. He said no. At the time, he was selling shoes in Wisconsin. He also recalls life as a purchasing agent and working […]
Posted inNews
A scammer with an eye for art
It wasn’t Al Capone’s secret vault, which proved an overhyped dud that held a few empty bottles and not much else. This was more colorful – and valuable. Chris Schaller, a former mortgage broker who awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to wire fraud last year in federal court, had a taste for artwork by the […]
Posted inNews
What pandemic?
Renovations at the State Capitol are expected to begin this summer and could cost as much as $170 million. Legislators and the governor’s staff will be moving out of the Capitol and into the nearby Stratton Building, according to the Capital Development Board, which plans to pay a contractor more than $1.8 million to fix […]
Posted inNews
Milhiser resigns as U.S. attorney
John Milhiser, U.S. attorney for the central Illinois, has resigned at the request of the new president. “When I accepted this position, I knew this day would come,” Milhiser said in a written statement. “My plan was simple — to do my best each day to make our community a safer, better place, until I’m […]
Posted inOpinion
Go Scorpions
At nearly six feet tall and topping 300 pounds, Dameon Johnson is big. And he thinks big. For years, the former Springfield High School lineman pleaded. Can we scrape together $60,000 or so for a feasibility study to help create STAR Village, a $300 million sports complex with outdoor ballfields and indoor playing areas and […]
Posted inNews
Sangamon County sheriff seeks armored vehicle
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell wants an armored vehicle but fears that he may be out of luck. In September, the sheriff’s office paid someone to travel to Nevada to kick tires on an RG-31, a veritable subcompact in the world of surplus military vehicles that the Department of Defense sells to police departments for […]
Posted inOpinion
Smile, you’re on court cam
Years ago, I wanted to see the inside of Tamms, the downstate supermax prison that closed in 2013. The Illinois Department of Corrections said no. But Tamms had its own courtroom, where inmates accused of attacking guards were prosecuted and those who tore up bedsheets to hang themselves faced punishment for destruction of property. Open […]
