“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 […]
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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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 […]
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NPR is “not just nice; it’s essential”
The NPR Illinois Community Advisory Board is a 20-member group that meets regularly to offer perspective to the station’s management team. The board reviews NPR Illinois’ programming goals, services and significant policy decisions, and helps to facilitate sustainability through fundraising, memberships, underwriting, grants and contracts. Community Advisory Board members also serve as ambassadors on behalf […]
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From blight to benefit
What Jacksonville needs most is a few more good homes, and that’s the aim of a new development in the center of the city that will turn dilapidated properties into new single family residences and brownstone-type condominiums. A partnership has been formed between local developer Rabbi Rob Thomas, his wife Lauren Thomas, and Springfield-based commercial […]
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Urban farming in Jacksonville
Juan Caballero plants seeds a little differently than most people. “I use my finger to make a hole in the potted soil and that way I can judge how deep the seed will go,” Caballero said. “When I’m in the potting room sometimes I would rather have the light off than on, but it depends […]
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A loss for Illinois farmers and food banks
The decision to eliminate federal funding for programs that support farmers and food banks goes against the Trump administration’s commitment to “Make America Healthy Again” according to advocates for local producers and nonprofit hunger abatement organizations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in February cut two federal programs, the Local Food for Schools program and the […]
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Federal government should keep its promises
What is the status of the federal Local Food Purchase Assistance Program funding in Illinois? There were two batches of monies, $28.8 million and then $14.7 million, adding up to a collective $43.5 million. The original $28.8 million was frozen, but now we are being told that we’re able to access those funds and complete […]
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The future of electric vehicles
Electrons are gradually replacing hydrocarbons as the propulsive power of choice for many Americans as electric-powered vehicles continue to make inroads with the motoring public. According to Kelly Blue Book, electric vehicle (EV) car and pickup truck sales reached 1.3 million in 2024, which is a 7.3% increase from 2023. EVs made up 8.7% of […]
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Tiny houses project faces big hurdles
A nonprofit that wants to build tiny homes on Springfield’s southeast side faces more big hurdles after the Springfield City Council on Feb. 11 unanimously voted to withdraw a resolution to commit funding for the project’s resource center. Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory, who represents the area where the homes would be built, said he […]
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A critical loss for District 186
Hundreds of families in Springfield that count on after-school and summer learning programs are about to have the rug pulled out from under them as federal funding has evaporated for key agencies that supply those services. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Illinois informed Springfield School District 186 in early December that a grant […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
ROBERT E. “BOB” CHIPMAN June 27, 1952-July 20, 2024
The Jacksonville community owes a debt of gratitude to local businessman, volunteer and all-around good guy Robert E. “Bob” Chipman. “Bob was good at whatever he did, whether it was loaning money, selling real estate or giving his time to organizations that were important to him and to Jacksonville,” said Joy French Becker, president and […]
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UIS Performing Arts Center to close temporarily
Sangamon Auditorium and the UIS Studio Theatre, housed within University of Illinois Springfield’s Public Affairs Center building, will temporarily close starting in June 2025 for an extensive, state-funded, 15-month plumbing improvement project that will address ongoing issues with the facility’s 50-year-old infrastructure. Plans call for the auditorium and theater to reopen following the completion of […]
