“The sad part is, I never smoked.” Zevernett Holloway had been inhaling the equivalent of 28 cigarettes per day for the past 43 years by simply living in her Springfield home. “I did not know about radon until I heard about it about five years ago,” Holloway said. “Then I met Nick through this program, […]
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 Petersburg.
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Holiday blessings
A home, sobriety, a future, a new career, and the chance to live. These aren’t your typical holiday gifts but they are greatly appreciated by the recipients, whose lives have been changed, and saved, during 2021. In these pandemic, politicized and polarized times it’s humbling and encouraging to learn that good things still happen to […]
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Building on Black history
The Judge John Taylor House, the long-planned anchor of a neighborhood development at 12th and Cass streets in Springfield, is getting emergency stabilization work this winter that should buy some time for organizers to raise the needed funds for its full restoration and adaptive reuse. The Springfield Economic Development Commission on Nov. 2 voted to […]
Posted inNews
Building on Black history
The Judge John Taylor House, the long-planned anchor of a neighborhood development at 12th and Cass streets in Springfield, is getting emergency stabilization work this winter that should buy some time for organizers to raise the needed funds for its full restoration and adaptive reuse. The Springfield Economic Development Commission on Nov. 2 voted to […]
Posted inNews
The making of a respectable lobbyist
Randy Witter has learned a thing or two during his 48 years of lobbying work at the Illinois State Capitol. “I learned early on that if you treat everyone the same way, whether it’s the governor or the janitor, with the same respect, you’re going to get further ahead,” said the 72-year-old Witter. “You don’t […]
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George Ryan looks back
George H. Ryan has faced some harsh critics during his 87 years of life, much of it spent in the public eye. But there was no tougher crowd than the roomful of murder victims’ families that he invited to the Illinois Executive Mansion in 2002. “They were bitter. They were terribly angry,” Ryan said. “I […]
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Will state workers come back to offices?
It happened in Chicago. Could it happen in Springfield? Governor JB Pritzker has taken the first steps to restructure the state’s real estate portfolio with an eye toward reducing the workplace cost for state employees. The governor announced in January that the state of Illinois will sell the James R. Thompson Center and place many […]
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NPR Illinois to lose university funding
Public funds for public radio in central Illinois will be phased out over the next five years. But National Public Radio (NPR) Illinois plans to use this fiscal lemon to make lemonade through enhanced fundraising and increased news coverage. The $7 million deficit sustained by University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) during the COVID-19 pandemic has […]
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A senator’s life story, full of firsts
Ladda Tammy Duckworth’s life is full of firsts. The 53-year-old junior U.S. senator from Illinois is the first Thai American woman and the first person born in Thailand to be elected to Congress, and is the second of three Asian American women to serve in the U.S. Senate. Duckworth is the first senator to give […]
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Destination Petersburg
Could Petersburg become the next Illinois destination community, like Galena or Grafton? A $3 million project funded by a local investor aims to take the Menard County seat a major step in that direction. A home-grown design and construction team is busily transforming the northwest corner of the town square into a multi-use showpiece with […]
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Springfield’s man on Capitol Hill
When he first arrived in Congress after defeating incumbent Representative Paul Findley in the 1982 election, Richard J. Durbin wasn’t sure how long he’d be there. “Congressional staff wanted to talk to me about my retirement system choice. I said, ‘If I think I’m going to lose the next election, what should my choice be?’” […]
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National Park Service boundaries to expand
The Lincoln Home National Historic Site may soon be larger and tell more of Springfield’s history if several local organizations are successful in their efforts to expand the site’s boundaries to encompass the old and the new. The Elijah Iles House Foundation Board on Dec. 29 passed a resolution encouraging the National Park Service to […]
