If you’re home from college or just wanting to get fit and have fun in central Illinois this summer, ultimate Frisbee may be for you. A game of “ultimate” is like soccer but is played with a flying disc and an edge of competition. The game has no referees, and players can even call a […]
Holly Dillemuth
Posted inNews
Park district raises draw union complaints
Tensions are running high over raises for Springfield Park District administrators amid layoffs last year and recent union complaints filed against the park district. Raises for at least 15 park district supervisors were not revealed until the day before the Springfield Park Board voted to pass the $11.16 million budget May 18. Raises include a […]
Posted inNews
Springfield goes Dutch
She can still remember not knowing what to say when her college roommates asked, “What’s your cultural heritage?” Cheryl Wycoff, a Springfield resident of 25 years, identified as a “farm girl” from central Illinois growing up, but didn’t know much about her ancestry. It wasn’t until her father and great-uncle started sifting through old family […]
Posted inNews
Who will pay for chemo pills?
An insurance lobbyist testified at the Illinois Statehouse May 11, but not on behalf of a company. Heather Wright spoke on behalf of a House bill that could have improved the quality of life for her late father, who died from stomach cancer in 2010. House Bill 1825 would require health insurance companies to cover […]
Posted inNews
More than able to succeed
They told her she shouldn’t even be in college. That’s the advice Alex Carrano, 24, received from staff to deal with her learning disability and test anxiety at a former university before she transferred to University of Illinois Springfield. But Carrano, originally from LaGrange, a Chicago suburb, will prove them wrong May 14 when she […]
Posted inNews
Wind turbines still in the forecast for Sangamon County
The best way to describe a wind turbine is that it’s the opposite of a fan, which uses electricity to create wind, says Chris Nickell, vice president of site establishment for American Wind Energy Management. “The wind turbine uses the wind to create the electricity,” he says. Although the miniature model turbine he holds in […]
Posted inNews
Another try to legalize medical marijuana
Springfield resident Steven McClure breathes through a tube that connects him to a 10-pound tank of oxygen, a lifeline he carries on his shoulder daily. The 56-year-old says he has emphysema, sleep apnea and bronchitis. A work injury has filled his lungs with remnants of concrete, leaving only 20 percent functioning at their capacity. But […]
Posted inNews
Police say Springfield has no organized gangs
A House bill aiming to uproot gang violence before it starts is one of many attempts by the General Assembly this session to decrease violence in Illinois. House Bill 3033, sponsored by Sen. Michael Noland, an Elgin Democrat, would seek a federal grant from the Department of Juvenile Justice to fund gang prevention and intervention […]
Posted inNews
State grant helps vets find quality dental care
When it comes down to paying rent or caring for a tooth infection, which would you choose? Many people might say they would choose to pay the rent but Kirby Carlson, 39, of Springfield, didn’t have a choice. He had to find dental care, even if he couldn’t afford it. The Persian Gulf War veteran […]
Posted inNews
My night on patrol with the Springfield police
It’s dark while I’m seated in the front passenger side of a Springfield Police Department squad car. I feel my voice box drop into my stomach to stay for a while as a handcuffed male suspect arrested for alleged criminal trespassing at Mac’s Lounge climbs into the back seat. The driver’s seat is empty while […]
Posted inNews
Hundreds rally for Illinois DREAM Act to help undocumented college students
An undocumented University of Illinois student was among nearly 900 from across the state who convened on the Capitol April 13 to support legislation that would give college students who are undocumented access to identification, a driver’s certificate, better educational counseling in high schools and financial aid. The DREAM Act failed to pass at the […]
Posted inNews
Green Business Network aims to make recycling pay
Small business owners in Springfield will soon be able to advertise their sustainable business practices as members of the Green Business Network of Springfield [See “Selling sustainability,” by Rachel Wells, Illinois Times, Aug. 5, 2010]. The Green Business Network has been meeting together for more than a year to promote recycling and other sustainable business […]
