David Bourland had been curator for the governor’s mansion, pictured, for at least three decades before being hired as exhibits manager for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Photo BY Teemu08 VIS WIKIPEDIA.ORG More than a year ago, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum launched a nationwide search for a director of exhibits. […]
Bruce Rushton
Bruce Rushton is a freelance journalist.
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Springfield cop acquitted of DUI
Springfield police officer James Stewart has been acquitted of charges that he was driving under the influence of alcohol when he crashed his car in 2014. Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Rudolph Braud acquitted Stewart today after a bench trial held last week. Braud, however, decided that Stewart was guilty of illegal transportation of alcohol […]
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Woman brings gun to courthouse
A Springfield woman got a loaded gun into the Sangamon County courthouse on Monday in an incident that sheriff’s officials say is best described as a fluke. Lakeshia Ann Stapleton, due for a 9 a.m. court appearance on a misdemeanor charge of damaging property, went through the front-entrance security line at 9:10 a.m., according to […]
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Horrific health care
When Rubin Watts arrived at the Dixon Correctional Center infirmary in 2007, his legs and feet were red and swollen, with stinking open wounds that were oozing pus and a bloody discharge. He had a skin infection called cellulitis and a history of mental illness. Shortly before Watts’ arrival in the infirmary, he’d been seen […]
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Cop stands trial for DUI
A Springfield police officer who crashed his car in 2014 with an open bottle of whiskey inside stood trial last week for driving under the influence. James Stewart was initially placed on administrative leave, then put on desk duty after crashing his car into a concrete median on the 1600 block of Stevenson Drive on […]
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Mansion curator moves to museum
The curator of the governor’s mansion has been tapped to go to work for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. David Bourland, a former art gallery owner who became mansion curator in 1983, will become manager of exhibits for the museum beginning July 1. He could not be reached for comment. Bourland, 62, is […]
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Park police future in doubt
Leslie Sgro PHOTO COURTESY LESLIE SGRO FOR PARK BOARD PRESIDENT ON FACEBOOK The Springfield Park District board may consider getting rid of the district’s police department. “I think it’s kind of trending that way, as far as disbanding the department completely,” said park board member Gray Noll. “I think it’s something we have been considering […]
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Downtown housing rejected
The Springfield City Council on Tuesday said no to $700,000 in public money to build housing on a downtown parking lot at the intersection of Fourth and Madison streets. The unanimous vote came amid myriad questions about the project, including the extent of environmental contamination on the property, who owns the parking lot that would […]
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Frank’s fixer-upper
Code enforcers knew that this home on Sangamon Avenue, placarded in 2007, had code violations but no enforcement action was taken for nearly five years after City Clerk Frank Lesko bought it in 2009. Photo by Bruce Rushton. For more than a decade, a vacant home crumbled on Sangamon Avenue across the street from St. […]
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Law enFARCEment
CARTOON BY CHRIS BRITT The Springfield Park District police department doesn’t sound like a tight ship or a fun place to work. Consider a memo titled “Rumors” that former Capt. Jonathan Davis wrote to his officers in January 2014. “Recently, it has been brought to my attention that there are many rumors floating around the […]
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Charity for all
St. John’s Breadline, circa 1930. Photos courtesy catholic charities In the midst of the Great Depression, George Eisenberg underscored the spirit of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Springfield. It was 1935 when Eisenberg, en route home to Chicago, saw a line of men standing outside St. John’s Hospital from his train seat during a […]
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No guarantees
The Ball-Chatham School District has wrongly paid more than $2.2 million to a company with ties to the district’s former superintendent, according to a lawsuit recently unveiled in Sangamon County Circuit Court. The lawsuit centers on a state law designed to allow school districts to reduce energy costs at no upfront expense. Under the statute, […]
