On a Wednesday afternoon in early July, five teachers huddle in a cluttered second-floor office in the Hoogland Center for the Arts to plan the third and final session of summer theater camp. In a week, the Hoogland will be overrun by dozens of noisy fledging thespians, but on this day, as Jason Goodreau puts […]
Mikel Weisser
Posted inNews
Will success change Ted Keylon?
“A total convert” Ted Keylon is still trying to change the world. Just ask him. Go ahead. The 37-year-old musician/artist/television host/producer/underground zine publisher/poet/dishwasher/paperboy and semicelebrity has never needed much prodding to get a lecture going on his ideas to improve society. For the last dozen years or so, Keylon has worked the scene in Springfield, […]
Posted inOpinion
Fallen foot soldiers
On Friday, Dec. 3, another of President George W. Bush’s foot soldiers for faux freedom announced his departure: Tommy Thompson was quitting. The secretary of health and human services, who’d called himself the director of “America’s Department of Compassion,” had waged the good fight for four years. Thompson was tapped by Bush four years ago […]
Posted inNews
Illinois fall getaways
llinois. It is a land of more than corn. From the gritty sprawl of Chicagoland to the silent forests of the Shawnee National Forest to the rolling western plains, Illinois encompasses 55,000 square miles, many of them exquisite. It’s the kind of place featured on postcards — the kind of place you might want to […]
Posted inNews
All that’s fall
Harvest festivals are as old as agriculture itself, and Illinois is a farm state. Of course, folks these days will celebrate just about anything at all — and fall remains the season for festivals. Although many here are likely to spend this weekend sweating out the nationally ranked Springfield Mile or munching out at the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Cooperation makes it easy
Passersby can’t help but notice the vibrantly decorated furniture and vivid display windows. Colors of every shade and objects of every shape draw visitors to the violet building on Sixth Street that once housed a Mel-O-Cream shop. Inside, works of art cover the bright-blue walls; hundreds more fill shelves and counters. Where customers used to […]
Posted inNews
Lincoln the poet
There should be no question that Springfield is a poet’s town. Since the days of the legendary Vachel Lindsay, the capital city has been replete with poets. Poetry readings thrill audiences at least twice monthly, and new chapbooks pop up more frequently than Section 8 housing, with any major new publication sending shock waves through […]
Posted inNews
People, Places, Goofing Off
Oddest LandmarkHilton Hotel 700 E. Adams, 789-1530 1. Deviating from what is ordinary, usual or expected; strange or peculiar. In defining the word “odd,” the American Heritage Dictionary could have used a photo of the Springfield Hilton. The hotel is modern and well-run, but over the last 30 years nearly everyone has wondered why it […]
