Several local small businesses, faced with plummeting sales entering this holiday season due to unforeseen circumstances, have turned to a new method of keeping the doors open – pleas for help from the public. A growing number of small business owners have recently posted heartfelt pleas on social media about not being able to pay […]
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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Langfelder versus Lesko
What could be the closest and most interesting countywide race this election cycle pits the incumbent Democrat against a well-known Republican in the contest for Sangamon County recorder. The Sangamon County Recorder’s Office is the county’s official land records office and files deeds, mortgages, releases and assignments, property liens, veteran discharge papers, corporation papers, and […]
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County Board elections in the spotlight
The July 6 shooting of Sonya Massey by a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy occurred many months after the deadline for candidates to get their names placed on the 2024 Sangamon County election ballot. But that single issue has focused interest on county elected offices like never before. Gone are the days when Sangamon County Board […]
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Tiny houses, big controversy
Tiny homes have generated big discussion recently as the Springfield City Council tries to decide if it should provide financial backing for a resource center that would serve a planned east-side housing development for homeless veterans. As of press time the proposal by the city to commit $400,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds […]
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Ongoing protests at the DNC
Every formal event during the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago was accompanied by boisterous, but largely peaceful, protests. The first and largest protest on Monday began in the city’s Union Park followed by a march toward the United Center where most of the formal convention activities were held. The crowd was well below half […]
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“A message of freedom and joy”
Observations from the reporter I was sent by Illinois Times to cover the entire Democratic National Convention. I was one person from a local newspaper competing with more than 15,000 journalists, many of them part of well-staffed operations numbering in the dozens. We operated out of a media city that included a city-block-size white tent […]
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Kamala Harris accepts presidential nomination at over-the-top event
It was meant to be over the top, and it was. Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the presidential nomination Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago amid a kaleidoscope and cacophony of balloons, waving signs, music and a roof-raising roar from the party faithful. A recurring theme throughout the convention has been the […]
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Illinois delegation focuses on the work ahead
The Illinois delegation to the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago met for breakfast one final time on Thursday as the hour drew closer to Kamala Harris accepting the party’s nomination for president. A new catchphrase was unofficially adopted at the breakfast, but it wasn’t specifically about the election. It came from remarks made during […]
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“Decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024”
At times it seemed more like a celebrity A-list party or Grammy Awards ceremony than a political event as the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago entered its third day. Wednesday evening was capped by Minnesota governor, former school teacher and football coach Tim Walz officially accepting the party’s vice presidential nomination, but not before […]
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Illinois delegation at the DNC
The Illinois delegation to the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago has been meeting for breakfast every morning to go over strategy, hear speakers and inform delegates of the day’s activities. During Wednesday’s breakfast we spoke with some of the downstate delegates about their convention experiences and what they think it will take to get […]
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Day two of the DNC: Obamas, Pritzker, Duckworth and more
Illinois’ top political names took the stage during Tuesday night’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, making rousing speeches to the party faithful who packed the United Center to hear remarks that were tinged with comedy and emotion. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s prime-time speech evoked the former with repeated digs at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. […]
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Kentucky governor, Gwen Walz address Rural Caucus at the DNC
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear knows a thing or two about rural America and politics. “My first job was bucking a stall at a horse farm,” Beshear said. “And nothing prepares you for politics like bucking stalls.” Beshear was one of the keynote speakers at the Rural Caucus during Tuesday’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The […]
