Josh Powell loved to say “tatonka,” the Lakota word for “bison” that was made famous in the film Dances With Wolves. “Josh would say ‘tatonka’ about any good thing and he would put his fingers up like a pair of horns and everybody got a kick out of it,” said Josh’s father, David Powell. “So […]
David Blanchette
David Blanchette has been involved in journalism since 1979, first as an award-winning broadcaster, then a state government spokesperson, and now as a freelance writer and photographer. He was involved in the development of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and more recently the Jacksonville Area Museum. David and his wife, Sue, live in Jacksonville.
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Rewriting history?
An exciting tale is told in a new $73,000 state-funded video presentation at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. The animated production brings to life the story of Robert Smalls, an enslaved man who purloined a Confederate boat, picked up other enslaved people, and piloted the boat to freedom as they reached the Union naval blockade […]
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Primaries for contested County Board seats
There are two contested races for the Sangamon County Board in the March 17 primary election, one each on the Republican and Democratic ballots. Incumbent Republican David Mendenhall faces challenger Samantha Auby in District 3, while Democratic incumbent Sam Cahnman is opposed by Miguel Valente in District 18. Mendenhall vs. Auby Both Republican candidates for […]
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Urban League has ambitious development plans
“At a time when it’s easy to take a step back, the Urban League is stepping up.” Those were the words of Springfield Urban League President and CEO Dr. Marcus Johnson during a Dec. 2 Springfield City Council meeting. Johnson was trying to convince the alderpersons to sell eight city-owned parcels of land on Springfield’s […]
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From substitute teacher to superintendent
Dr. Terrance Jordan did not like attending school as a youth. “I had bad experiences in school growing up in rural Mississippi,” Jordan said. “I was mistreated by teachers and by some of my peers, so going to school was not something that I had any desire to do.” Jordan, a self-professed slow learner at […]
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Behind the scenes at District 186 schools
The 2025 Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Report Card that tracks performance at the state’s public schools showed that six Springfield District 186 schools had improved their designations and four schools’ designations had declined (“State report card improves for District 186,” Dec. 4). Related The ISBE Report Card ranks schools’ performance with the summative […]
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State report card improves for District 186
Six schools moved up, four moved down, and overall things seem to be improving with proficiency, graduation and chronic absenteeism rates. That in a nutshell is the finding for Springfield’s District 186 schools in the 2025 Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Report Card that tracks performance at the state’s public schools. Lanphier High School […]
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Superintendent search underway
Jennifer Gill’s 12-year tenure as Springfield School District 186 superintendent will come to a close when she retires at the end of the current school year in June 2026. Meanwhile, the District 186 School Board has been hard at work finding Gill’s replacement, and announced an updated interview and hiring schedule at the Nov. 3 […]
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Protecting properties in perpetuity
The property is accessed by a bucolic, barely two-lane road that winds its way through a canopy of trees, occasionally revealing hardy corn stalks on each side reaching for the rural Menard County sky. An inconspicuous sign near a private residence marks the spot where Abraham Lincoln’s first sweetheart, Ann Rutledge, died in a log […]
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A civic center for Jacksonville
A Jacksonville organization has signed an option to purchase the historic Illinois Theater building in the city’s downtown and has embarked on an ambitious three-month, $8.8 million fundraising campaign to finance the purchase and pay for the building’s transformation into a new multipurpose civic center. “This civic center will become not only a cultural hub […]
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Adventure awaits at the Illinois State Fair
“Adventure Awaits” is the theme of the 2025 Illinois State Fair, and that adventure this year includes a few new wrinkles such as a pickleball tournament, craft beer contest and the return of the Budweiser Clydesdales. But it all starts on Thursday, Aug. 7, with the Twilight Parade, and this year’s grand marshal is the […]
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NPR Illinois celebrates 50 years
Its two-word mission is simple: Explain Illinois. It’s something that Springfield-based National Public Radio Illinois has been doing for 50 years, and accomplishing that mission is a multifaceted, innovative and fiscally capricious effort fueled by public and private support. NPR Illinois delivers a combination of locally produced programs and syndicated National Public Radio shows such […]
