Untitled Document Illinois overstepped its authority when it enacted legislation to fight genocide in Sudan, a federal judge ruled last week. The Act to End Atrocities and Terrorism in the Sudan — a response by the Legislature to mass killings in Darfur — interferes with the federal government’s authority to set foreign policy, said U.S. […]
R. L. Nave
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Davlin vs. Strom
Untitled Document On crime… During the administration of Mayor Tim Davlin, Springfield’s crime problem — drug use, juvenile violence, unsolved homicides — has been ignored, says challenger Bruce Strom. On Feb. 8, Strom, a three-term alderman, outlined a plan to address crime and reorganize the Springfield Police Department. Bruce Strom • Wants to reestablish the […]
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Fission decision
Untitled Document Originally designed to serve as a nuclear-fuel-reprocessing plant, for almost 40 years the General Electric Morris Operation, in upstate Morris, Ill., has been used merely as a storage facility for high-level radioactive waste. However, that might soon change. Last fall, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $16 million in grants to 11 commercial […]
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Testing the Waters
Untitled Document When Springfield mayoral write-in candidate William D. Waters visited the offices of Illinois Times for an interview, he brought along a list of talking points, a campaign brochure, a camcorder, an “interview contract,” and a young public-relations representative who identified herself only as “Theresa.” The video camera, they explained, was to protect the […]
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A big disappointment
Untitled Document The endlessly debated but yet-to-be-resolved crisis in state education funding came up again this week when on Tuesday state Rep. Mike Bost, R-Carbondale, and Lou Lang, D-Skokie, proposed amending the state’s constitution to eliminate local property taxes as source of financing for Illinois schools. The bill is unlikely to get very far, given […]
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Davlin vs. Strom
Untitled Document On the Iraq War . . . The Springfield City Council last week rejected, in a 6-3 vote, a measure calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq. The sponsor, Ward 2 Ald. Frank McNeil, pointed out that a majority of Springfield voters supported a similar measure in November. Attempts by […]
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Davlin vs. Strom
Untitled Document Tim Davlin rides a Harley. Bruce Strom sings in a barbershop quartet. Davlin, Springfield’s incumbent mayor and a Democrat, is easygoing and gregarious. Strom, a three-term alderman and a Republican, is mild-mannered and quiet. Davlin always seems be having a good time at Springfield City Council meetings, occasionally joking around — even with […]
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Big-top Barack
Untitled Document Like it or not — regardless of whether you think he has a mortal or political death wish or are concerned that he’s too green, too black, or not black enough — Barack Obama is running for president. This weekend, the Democratic junior senator from Illinois will make his candidacy official in Springfield. […]
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A good start
Untitled Document The problem with Illinois’ system of public-education funding is well documented. Though many agree that the formula relies too much on local property taxes, others think the issue is spending rather than funding. “Our state doesn’t show the will to address what we’ve done with the money we’ve spent, so how will more […]
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Taking a stand
Untitled Document Ward 2 Ald. Frank McNeil wants the City Council to pass a resolution that calls for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. In last November’s general election, 59 percent of voters in Capital Township supported a similar advisory question. McNeil says it’s now incumbent upon on the council to tell President George […]
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Powering forward
Untitled Document Despite several ice storms in the capital city that knocked out electricity for thousands of customers of Springfield’s City Water, Light & Power — the most recent last weekend — utility officials say that construction of a new power plant is continuing on schedule. According to project manager Brian Fitzgerald, Mother Nature has […]
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Inconclusive evidence
Untitled Document If arguments by supporters of the Springfield smoking ban have held up, business at liquor-serving establishments should be booming as nonsmokers pour into the city’s formerly hazy bars and taverns. Conversely, if opponents of the ban are correct, watering holes on the city’s perimeter, near municipalities where smoking is still permitted, should be […]
