Fletcher Farrar

One Springfield alderman has taken great offense at being accused by a fellow alderman of “pontificating” during city council debate. Indeed, the accusation doesn’t seem quite right. To pontificate is to speak in a pompous way, and surely no alderman would do that. The accuser probably meant the alderman was “posturing,” saying things merely for […]

 It was good to see some of the Obama swagger return during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address. When the polls and the elections are going the wrong way, when the culture wars and the race strife and the terrorist attacks are at full swing, it’s easy to start thinking this guy is not […]

For the past 10 years the Dominican Sisters of Springfield have been both learning and teaching that there’s a lot more to racism than some people not liking other people. See our cover story, “Rooting out systemic racism,” by Patrick Yeagle. By exploring the conjunction of race and power, the sisters have started a movement […]

 We commend to you this week two pieces of writing about writing. On p. 14 our Jackie Jackson happily describes poet John Knoepfle’s new book of essays. “If you ever loved the Trout Lily Café, as so many of us did,” she writes, “this is the booklet where you can revisit what a remarkable and […]

Everywhere we look there is a surprising amount of hope for the new year. Even Democrats are saying Bruce Rauner could be another Jim Thompson, an amiable dealmaker who can get things done. Racial problems fester, but in Springfield leaders have committed themselves to racial understanding and justice. The economy is rebounding, unemployment is down, […]

 Here it is, the 52nd issue of 2014, completing another year of publishing Illinois Times. This is a good time to remind us all that IT is a minor miracle, an unlikely business that somehow survives and sometimes thrives in the relatively small market that is Springfield. As journalists we don’t take for granted the […]

Every week that governor-elect Bruce Rauner comes to Springfield he learns that the state’s fiscal condition is far worse than it was when he came the week before. This time he discovered a plan to request a $760 million supplemental appropriation to make up for “intentionally dishonest” pre-election lowball budgets. We’re horrified that budget shenanigans […]

It seems downtown Springfield has been discovered by billionaires, and that’s a good thing. Bruce Rauner, who says he’ll fix up the governor’s mansion and move in, was spotted relaxing at the Brewhaus Tuesday afternoon. That’s about the time we broke the news that Dubai billionaire Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor is buying the President Abraham […]

 On Monday evening, just before the Ferguson decision was announced, the Springfield Race Unity Committee was holding a forum on restorative justice, a method that could improve race relations and make a positive difference in the lives of alienated youth. Experts on juvenile justice explained that “zero tolerance” attitudes toward youth by the law enforcement […]

This month’s Illinois Issues cover story on “Young black males” is recommended reading as the nation turns its attention again to Ferguson, Missouri. In the article by Maureen Foertsch McKinney, the guidance dean at Springfield’s Lincoln Magnet school is quoted saying her sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade black boys are “terrified” with thoughts that what happened […]

 This week’s cover story by Scott Faingold, “Punk paradise in Southtown,” p. 12, brings to light a little-known cultural phenomenon in Springfield. A half dozen youth-oriented enterprises have sprung up clustered together near 11th and South Grand. There, near the venerable Skank Skates skateboard venue, the under-21 crowd goes for live music at the Black […]