There were neither gun-control advocates nor concealed-carry proponents nor anyone from Ferguson last Thursday in the courtroom of Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge John Schmidt. Just an out-of-town lawyer, a couple of prosecutors and Hamoud Hizam, the cousin of Ahmed Altayeb, a tried and convicted felon. Altayeb wasn’t able to make it. He was locked […]
Bruce Rushton
Bruce Rushton is a freelance journalist.
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Missing history
As a supervisor in the department of state archives for the secretary of state’s office, Karl Moore makes a living by preserving records from courts and government offices throughout Illinois. His doesn’t have property records from Menard County for years prior to 1841, including two assessor’s books from 1839. Would he like to have them? […]
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Settling affairs
Paul Carlock Sangamon County sheriff Neil Williamson called me on Monday night, less than an hour after a county board committee finally deciphered writing that’s been on the wall for nearly seven years now. The county, even if it had prevailed in court, could not possibly win a lawsuit filed by the family of A. […]
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Settlement in Carlock case near
Sangamon County taxpayers will pay $2.575 million to the family of Amon Paul Carlock, an accused pedophile who died in the Sangamon County jail awaiting trial nearly eight years ago, under a settlement offer approved Monday night by the civil liability committee of the Sangamon County Board, which is expected to take a final vote […]
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Steely Dan sounding fresh
If Walter Becker and Donald Fagen know one thing, it is how to hire musicians. The two-man songwriting brain trust that is Steely Dan has built a legacy on a revolving door of top-flight studio players dating back to the early 1970s, a decade that saw the band dominate airwaves and endure, with the first […]
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Boston plays Springfield
Lead singer Tommy DeCarlo, right, entertains the crowd while Boston founder Tom Scholz, left, sings backup. PHOTO BY BRUCE RUSHTON Those – and there were a substantial number in attendance – who saw Boston at the Illinois State Fair on Tuesday will, I suppose, have one of two reactions. It was really cool! They played […]
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Going to pot
Growing marijuana is a complex and expensive enterprise. Yet the cost of doing business has not scared off hundreds of entrepreneurs. Sean Norton, of Medicine Man in Denver, cleans grow light covers inside the warehouse where the company grows 20,000 squa PHOTO BY KAI-HUEI YAU/MCT On the surface, the medical marijuana business sounds at least […]
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The silliest catch
PHOTO BY BRUCE RUSHTON I am sitting at the Brick Tavern when I feel someone tug on the back of my t-shirt. It is a fluorescent yellow hue, the color favored by highway workers, Kid Rock fans and the dentally challenged. This one came from Las Vegas, purchased from the back of one of countless […]
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Board member’s dogs attack
The vet bill for Bella Abzug, left, came to $700 after the pooch was bitten by dogs owned by a member of the Sangamon County citizens advisory board on animal control. PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRISTINE GROVES A member of the Sangamon County citizens advisory board on animal control has been repeatedly caught allowing unaltered dogs […]
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No man’s land
PHOTO BY BRUCE RUSHTON This unpaved parking area adjacent to Foursquare Church is actually inside Bunn Park. Kirk Jefferis has a fantastic buying opportunity for anyone interested in the tranquility inherent in owning a building adjacent to a public park. The Foursquare Church on South 13th Street next to Bunn Park is in excellent condition, […]
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Troubled man contacts judge
A Springfield man is being evaluated for mental issues after he went to the home of Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Leslie Graves and otherwise made unwanted contact with the judge. Graves had presided over a driving under the influence case of Tyler Dixon, 30, until April of last year, when the judge recused herself […]
Posted inMusic
Wave the flag
Despite a revolving door of members, Black Flag still has it going on after all these years. PHOTO BY RICHIE FALZONE After nearly 40 years, Black Flag is still a whole lot of fun. With just one original member, the legendary hardcore punk band from California is, in at least one respect, a shadow of […]
