Fletcher Farrar

For once the city of Springfield and Sangamon County have plenty of new money. The city will have $33.8 million and the county $37.8 million in federal pandemic-relief funds with few restrictions on spending. As Sangamon County administrator Brian McFadden and Springfield budget director Bill McCarty told the Citizens Club July 23, spending guidelines for […]

The pandemic is sort of over, but we’re waiting to see what will happen when school starts, and worrying whether we have enough social distance from Missouri. The garden, not so long ago full of hope, is growing up in weeds, waiting for a decision on whether to plant more seeds or just let it […]

When everyone says the U.S. has to “do something” in Haiti, the Biden administration has resisted sending in troops or billions of dollars, typical crisis reactions which have led to corruption. Many fear all is lost in Afghanistan now that Biden is pulling out U.S troops, but it’s too soon to count out home-grown resistance […]

Christina Shutt, the new director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, is already making small waves in the capital city by suggesting that we “humanize” the historical figure too many of us know only as a “great” man. Lincoln’s views on race evolved, she recently told host Brian Mackey on NPR’s “The 21st”, […]

For the past year, Springfield historian Mark Flotow has been doing newspaper transcription work about Springfield during the Civil War era. He found a gem from the Illinois State Journal, dated July 6, 1866, that noted celebration of July 4 by the city’s Black residents: “Feeling that they also now have an interest in the […]

As life continues to reemerge, we’re being more selective about what meetings to attend, how much socializing to do, how we spend our time. Businesses, happy to have survived, are looking for ways to do business differently, more boldly. Activists, empowered, are gathering ideas for next steps. State politics is on the move. The new […]

CWLP chief Doug Brown was right when he said in a recent interview that proposed energy legislation is shortsighted for focusing on the environmental goal of getting rid of coal, while ignoring other factors. Reliability, affordability, safety and nuclear waste should also be considered in planning the state’s energy future. But Brown is probably wrong […]

Gun violence is getting worse, with more deaths, increased frequency of incidents and new tactics by killers. America sits by helpless, enthralled with the old notion that the status quo is protected by the Constitution and there is nothing anybody can do. Abraham Lincoln faced a similar addiction to slavery, but “viewed the whole nation […]

For many years Illinois Times has welcomed summer with the “summerlong” Summerguide, including a big calendar of events so you can plan your leisure, because summer is a terrible thing to waste. Last year our SG was a shutdown shadow of its usual self, but here we are back, 68 pages with ads aplenty, ready […]

It was a privilege to be present for Springfield Business Journal’s recognition this week of Women of Influence, sponsored by Security Bank, which has hallmarked appreciating women and their achievements. Six were honored for their various accomplishments – one for leading Parkinson’s patients to dance, another who moved from politics to health care in a […]

Because the environmental community can only concentrate on one culprit at a time – carbon is the latest – nuclear power is now considered “clean” energy. That requires ignoring the dirt Commonwealth Edison/Exelon spread by bribing Illinois politicians, not to mention the crime against the planet of making Illinois the home of 10,000 metric tons […]

Ending this crisis all comes down to overcoming hesitancy. What is wrong with these people? They know the right thing to do, but instead stubbornly rely on excuses like not trusting the science, or needing time to see if it really works, or needing a friend or a faith leader to nudge them along. Come […]