With the omicron variant surging throughout the country and the Springfield area reporting the most daily COVID-19 cases of any point during the two-year pandemic, finding testing presents residents with a large array of options, some of them costly, and some untrustworthy or unreliable. For employees concerned about exposure or in need of testing not […]
Kenneth Lowe
Posted inNews
Back to school with omicron
As students returned to school Jan. 10 after the holiday break, Sangamon County reported the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases it has seen at any previous point in the pandemic, with Springfield Memorial Hospital sounding the alarm on the number of asymptomatic cases. The disease’s spread has ramped up in the two weeks students were […]
Posted inNews
Turning over a new leaf
Last week marked the end of two years of legalized cannabis use in Illinois, and as growers, distributors and dispensaries seek licenses and Illinoisans over the age of 21 ponder their options as consumers, a state-funded effort is afoot to reach out to those whose past cannabis convictions can now be expunged or vacated. New […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Playwright, dancer, mentor in the arts
In her 61 years of life, Selvarine Jones worked everywhere from restaurants and retail to city government, the faith community and in the arts, where she mentored dancers and brought a new rhythm to her church and to the Springfield Area Arts Council. To those she mentored and associated with in Springfield, she was known […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
First female lieutenant governor for Illinois
The Illinois GOP of 1998 had room for candidates like Corinne Wood of Lake Forest, who, as a freshman House representative, threw her hat into the ring to serve alongside Republican Governor George Ryan as lieutenant governor. She would be the first woman to ever hold the post in the state’s history. For some of […]
Posted inNews
Heavy traffic
In response to a consistently high number of car accidents in a residential area of the city, Springfield has begun the preliminary work of adding left turn lanes near the intersections of MacArthur Boulevard and Lawrence Avenue, along with Walnut Street and Lawrence Avenue. “These are two of our higher-accident intersections that are local streets,” […]
Posted inNews
Where does the next meal come from?
The line of cars queuing up Dec. 10 for the food distribution at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois stretched for several blocks along Capitol Avenue on a gray, foggy day. Marcia Cass was among those in line. A former home health worker who has been retired since her knee replacement surgery last […]
Posted inNews
Meeting needs with micropantries
Another response to the food insecurity that has been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic are the micropantries that have sprung up throughout the Springfield area. While some of these free-standing, small pantries have been constructed by organized groups, others were constructed and continue to be maintained by the property owners, businesses or churches where they […]
Posted inNews
Bus driver shortages
As schools brought students back into the classroom at the start of the semester under new COVID-19 pandemic protocols, they were met with a shortage of bus drivers. As the semester winds down, Springfield School District 186 reports fewer delays, but an ongoing shortage of drivers that sometimes results in doubled-up routes when drivers call […]
Posted inNews
Ending cash bail
Members of Springfield’s Faith Coalition for the Common Good are joining a statewide effort to educate the public and speak up in favor of a number of reforms included under the recently passed Pretrial Fairness Act, including a planned end to cash bail in 2023. Part of a larger criminal justice reform effort that passed […]
Posted inNews
County approves major solar power project
The Sangamon County Board approved what would be the largest solar project in Illinois earlier this month, moving forward with a plan to place solar panels on 3,250 acres of land in southwest Sangamon County over the span of a 35-year leasing agreement. The board voted 21-4 to approve the plan, which allows Swift Current […]
Posted inNews
City prepares to spend pandemic relief funding
Springfield will see $34 million in American Rescue Plan funding, federal dollars aimed at pandemic relief, which Mayor Jim Langfelder proposes to use for everything from sewer, water and broadband improvements to homeless initiatives. The plan followed citywide meetings in each of the 10 wards soliciting feedback from residents on how they feel the funding, […]
