Fletcher Farrar

We who value churches share the pain of the United Methodists as they struggle through their latest battle, as reflected in the news story on this page. Churches and other religious bodies throughout the country have lived through difficult times over the past two years of pandemic and racial upheaval. Political divisions, also, can’t help […]

The Springfield air was full of possibility this week as children and teachers returned to school, all vowing to make this year better than the one before. New outfits, backpacks and planners marked determination for success. New buildings, furniture and paint throughout District 186 showed children and educators that the rest of us are willing […]

The Springfield-based Illinois Innocence Project this week won the full exoneration of Marilyn Mulero, who spent nearly three decades in prison for a 1992 murder she did not commit. She was one of seven victims of corrupt former Chicago Detective Reynaldo Guevara who were exonerated in a Cook County courtroom. It was the largest mass […]

Children and face-painting, neighbors and hotdogs, cops and city officials on a perfect evening in August made for some holy togetherness in parks around Springfield Tuesday. It was National Night Out, which used to be called a “night out against crime,” but now it’s as much “for” as against. For building relationships, for dismantling racial […]

At the Association of Alternative Newsmedia conference in Chicago last week, some sessions were almost like the old days, 40 or so years ago, when a group of us who wanted to do worldsaving journalism got together to learn from each other smart business models that might support our noble cause. It was here I […]

This isn’t summer school. Nor is it like other camps. Compass for Kids, the 10-year-old Springfield nonprofit, is partnering with Springfield public schools District 186 again this summer to bring Camp Compass to more than 600 low-income elementary school children. As this summer’s camp session wound down this week, Compass for Kids brought its adult […]

In the wake of the Highland Park mass shooting, Illinois, with a reputation for having tough gun laws, has joined the rest of the nation in looking for answers. Darren Bailey, Republican candidate for governor, quickly called a press conference to say Illinois already has a red flag law, but in the case of the […]

Democrats have long known they can’t beat Republicans by trying to act like Republicans. Pretending makes them look insincere. Same goes for Republicans trying to beat trumpers. By claiming the Trump mantle for his voting record and for serving as state co-chair of Trump’s reelection campaign, Rodney Davis came off as trumper light. The only […]

When historian Jon Meacham addressed the Abraham Lincoln Association banquet in Springfield Tuesday, he recounted Lincoln’s advocacy of a peaceful transition of power were he to lose the 1864 election. It is telling that this was one of the biggest applause moments of the evening. That a huge slice of the electorate is captivated by […]

This year’s primary campaign demonstrates again how much the Illinois governor’s race has become a battle of big money. The multibillionaire Ken Griffin is heavily backing Republican governor candidate Richard Irvin, while Richard Uihlein, apparently only a multimillionaire, is supporting the other Republican front-runner, Darren Bailey. JB Pritzker, the billionaire Democratic governor, is not only […]

A campaign ad by Rodney Davis has hit a new low in Republican Party politics. In the TV commercial, Davis portrays his opponent, Mary Miller, as advocating compassion toward illegal immigrants. The spot is convincing because it shows actual footage of her saying that if we know an immigrant in need of help we should […]