A poll released today by the Illinois Licensed Beverage Association, a trade group, finds that a slight majority of people in Springfield favor a relaxation of the citywide smoking ban, which went into effect on Sept. 17. Ask Illinois, a Springfield-based market-research firm, conducted the automated survey of 31,000 registered Springfield voters on ILBA’s behalf […]
R. L. Nave
Posted inNews
Legacy project
Since 2004, the African American History Foundation has interviewed more than 30 notable African-Americans living in Springfield during the 20th century. Some of these individuals can trace their family’s roots in the area back as many as five generations, and the tales they’ve shared include first- and secondhand accounts of the 1908 Springfield race riots; […]
Posted inOpinion
A modest proposal
It has to be tough for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama — who’s been asked repeatedly whether he’s considering a run for president or would accept an invitation to be a vice presidential candidate someday — to keep coming up with clever ways to skate around the question. Obama’s standard response: I’m flattered, but I love […]
Posted inNews
Ultimatum
In the past two years, a U.S. soldier has died in Iraq on Sept. 21, a day that has been designated by the United Nations as the International Day of Peace. Organizers of the nationwide Declaration of Peace coalition, which include antiwar activists here in Springfield, hope that this Sept. 21 is different. The coalition […]
Posted inNews
Salt and vinegar
Sometimes Larry Beckom gets excited — most noticeably when he’s talking about what Beckom says is a mandate from God. Beckom, a self-described miracle, says he didn’t used to be a very nice guy. Now he’s giving back, although some residents of the Vinegar Hill neighborhood, on Springfield’s west side, say Beckom can keep his […]
Posted inOpinion
Juxtaposition
With less than eight weeks to go before the November general election, Green Party gubernatorial long shot Rich Whitney has 6 percent support among likely voters, a Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV poll released Monday finds. Most third-party candidates pray to get 5 percent on Election Day, and it wasn’t long ago that Whitney was an afterthought, relegated […]
Posted inNews
Holding steady
Springfield’s homeless problem has been brought to the forefront in recent weeks by an unlikely source, and the issue appears to have regained some momentum. This week, the City Council resoundingly rejected three ordinances proposed by Ward 5 Ald. Joe Bartolomucci, a Republican, ostensibly to alleviate homelessness but really to keep homeless people from hanging […]
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Capitol police unionize
Members of the new Capitol police force have voted to join the Policeman’s Benevolent Labor Committee in an effort to improve their pay and benefits. The PBLC beat out the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s biggest police union, by a one-vote margin on Friday, Aug. 25. The force of about 40 law-enforcement officers was […]
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Avoiding jail
Last month, Diane Lopez Hughes was preparing for the possibility of a prison sentence for protesting at a Chicago-area military installation after she and fellow activists Ceylon Mooney and Jeff Leys were arrested for trespassing when they entered the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command in Evanston and began reading the names of soldiers killed in […]
Posted inOpinion
So let’s be fair
One year ago this week, Hurricane Katrina nearly wiped out New Orleans, one of the oldest, most culturally rich, poorest, and, indeed, important cities in America. In the weeks leading up to the anniversary of Katrina’s onslaught, a glut of television specials have “looked back” at and “remembered” the storm that killed 1,800 people along […]
Posted inOpinion
Life and debt
Before embarking on a five-nation tour of Africa last week, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama expressed concern about the perception that he could deliver to the continent, as he told the Chicago Tribune, “the largesse of the U.S. government.” Though one of the most prominent and respected black politicians in America, Obama frequently tries to underplay […]
Posted inNews
“Only one vision”
Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin has weighed in on a proposed initiative to redevelop part of the city’s East Side by reassuring residents in a letter that the city has not backed the idea. The proposal, known as Raising South Grand Avenue, “is only one private developer’s vision,” Davlin writes, referring to Mike Suhadolnik, head of […]
