Untitled Document The interim executive director of the Illinois Association of Minorities in Government, Jerrie Blakely, says that the embattled organization is “whole again.” Now it just needs to find a permanent director, an administrative assistant, and a receptionist. The IAMG has advertised the positions in publications across the state. The top job has drawn […]
R. L. Nave
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Green day
Untitled Document To get on the ballot in past elections, candidates from the Green Party have first had to beat off challenges from Democrats and Republicans. Now that the Greens belong to an “established” party in Illinois, though, they will be able to slug it out in February with one another — just the way […]
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Xanadu
Untitled Document Cathy Schwegmann traveled to Bloomington in May and stood on the sidewalk outside the offices of Iowa-based Lee Enterprises’ The Pantagraph, chatting with employees and handing out surveys. In a few brief hours, employees say, she changed the internal dynamics of the 47,000-daily-circulation Pantagraph. A full-fledged unionization campaign is now taking place in […]
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Oops!
Untitled Document Historians researching the life and times of Springfield merchant Seth Tinsley have uncovered new information about another famous Springfield resident. What they’ve discovered may come as a shock to thousands of people who’ve toured a downtown landmark. It turns out that the renovated Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, at Sixth and Adams streets downtown, said […]
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Exodus
Untitled Document At the end of next week, State Journal-Register editor Barry Locher, who started interning at paper before he graduated from the University of Missouri in 1977, will be gone. Joining him will be his second-in-command, veteran managing editor Robert Pope, and his boss, publisher Sue Schmitt, who’s been in Springfield for about a […]
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Change of plans
Untitled Document Members of the Friends of Brad Will — the Illinois-born videojournalist killed one year ago — recently disrupted congressional hearings on a new security cooperation initiative between the U.S. and Mexico that President George W. Bush announced in October. Dubbed the Merida Initiative by the White House and Plan Mexico by some detractors […]
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In the black
Untitled Document Neither of Springfield’s two black newspaper owners was lured into the business by the potential for a large profit margin. In 1983, T.C. Christian participated as a member of a group called People United for Rights and Equality, which protested the lack of black entertainers booked for local performances. The group forced a […]
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The state of the State Journal-Register
Untitled Document Almost as if on display, Sue Schmitt and Barry Locher — publisher and editor, respectively, of the State Journal-Register — were seated in the front of a Crowne Plaza ballroom at this year’s Illinois Press Association “Best of the Press” awards luncheon in September. The event’s theme was “News on the Edge: Riding the […]
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A push for Obama
Untitled Document Seeing Marc Miller hover over a stack of papers scribbling energetically, you might think he’s doing his taxes or cramming for a midterm that starts in 10 minutes. Instead, Miller, a volunteer for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, is tallying the number of potential voters he’s talked to and assigning them codes […]
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Nature’s medicine?
Untitled Document Grafton resident Jamie Clayton participated in a study from 2003 to 2005 with 50 others suffering from peripheral neuropathy, a painful nerve disorder that often affects people with HIV/AIDS. According to the researchers, patients who smoked three marijuana cigarettes each day for one week reported a decrease in pain. “I was amazed at […]
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Back to square one
Untitled Document After plans to construct a county health-facilities building met several roadblocks, Springfield developer Mike Pittman, who initially entered a bid to develop the project, now says he no longer wants any part of it. Earlier this month, the Sangamon County Board voted to cut off negotiations with the original winning bidder, Springfield East […]
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Paper tiger
Untitled Document The state of the state is surprisingly weak, according to a comparative analysis of Illinois’ economy published by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. The 10-member bipartisan commission, which provides the Legislature with information on economic issues, found that despite high regional and nationwide total rankings for Illinois in gross domestic product, […]
