Cap City

Pot prices are, so to speak, sky high, with folks spending hours in line to procure marijuana. Some shops shut down less than a week after weed for the masses turned legal, saying there’s either a shortage or staff can’t handle all the overtime. Even before tallying $10 million in sales during the first week, […]

Every new year, it’s the same old thing: Who got born first? In 2020, it was A’Nylah Essence Hamilton, who came into this world at 1:40 a.m. on New Year’s Day at St. John’s Hospital. Congratulations. It’s a nice name, and names are not what they used to be. Every day, seems, we run across […]

If you have burned-out Christmas lights, don’t throw them in the trash. Recycle them.  Thanks to BLH Computers, in collaboration with units of local government, there are several drop-off sites in Springfield and surrounding communities. You can recycle your Christmas lights in drop boxes at Springfield City Hall/Municipal Center West (300 S. Seventh St.),  Springfield’s […]

Pity Menard County sheriff’s deputies who drew short straws earlier this month and were tasked with doing a job no one wants: Slithering beneath a home in search of human remains. It began when a Petersburg homeowner hired a contractor for a weatherization project in a crawl space and a basement. What’s this? Looks like […]

Stumped for a gift for a friend or family member? Do they live near or travel to Chicago, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, New York City or Los Angeles? If so, give them a Museum Hack gift certificate, and treat them to a fun and unconventional museum experience. This is not your grandma’s museum tour, but […]

The holiday season holds dark days for those who will be missing a family member for the first time this year. Telling a loved one’s story makes things a little brighter. It is an Illinois Times tradition to use our last edition of the year – Dec. 26 this year – to remember those local […]

For the second time, Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow has ruled in favor of Illinois Times in our quest to figure out what the heck was going on when Secretary of State Jesse White hired Candace Wanzo, a convicted felon who’d embezzled more than $233,000 from Southern Illinois University before she landed a […]

We’re a tough sell when it comes to Facebook, which we consider inherently evil, what with privacy violations and Russians and too darn much power in too few hands. But the state and local cops are making an offer that’s tough to refuse. Starting now, Lyft and the state Department of Transportation and police are […]

Kate Schott, State Journal-Register editorial page editor turned interim editor after her predecessor was walked out of the building and a successor had second thoughts about accepting the job, has left the newspaper. Informed sources say she’s gone to work at the University of Illinois Springfield in the campus advancement office, which concerns itself with […]

Want to reduce crime? Consider extending deer hunting season. That’s an apt takeaway from a paper recently produced by Ball State University economist Paul Niekamp, who found that arrests for violent crime don’t go up and may decrease in some rural areas during firearm deer hunting seasons. On the other hand, firearm violations increase by […]