Since 2002, when plans for a new Springfield power plant began in earnest, there’s been a lot discussion — at times escalating to heated debate — about the project’s half-billion-dollar price tag. However, too little dialogue has taken place on the new plant’s environmental impact, according to officials from the Illinois Sierra Club. From that […]
R. L. Nave
Posted inNews
To the bank
Next week the drama will unfold as all eyes inevitably turn toward the city of Chicago, where it will be decided, once and for all, who will be the next . . . Illinois state treasurer. At least it’s something to do on a Tuesday night. Banker Alexi Giannoulias and Knox County State’s Attorney Paul […]
Posted inOpinion
The Hype
Fax check Judy Baar Topinka leads the pack for the Republican nomination for governor. She’s also the only Republican who holds statewide office. Lately, it seems, Topinka’s office has been cranking out a news release a day — a marked increase in communications — on everything from lenders’ forums to an African-American History Month reception. […]
Posted inNews
Saving the last dance
In East St. Louis, at the now-shuttered Club Monastery, a dance, aptly called “the Mono” — an abbreviation of its birthplace’s name — was born in the late 1990s, though one could argue that the spirit of the Mono in East Boogie predates the young adults who reportedly made it up. Completing the Mono involves the […]
Posted inNews
Dead the violence
Bullets flying. Mothers crying. Brothers dying in the capital city. A second effort aimed at squelching the outbreak of what are believed to be gang-related shootings in Springfield will take place this evening in Municipal Building West. Earlier this month, hundreds of residents showed up at the Capitol on a bitterly cold night to support […]
Posted inNews
Leader of the pachyderms
With her short red tresses, sturdy build, raspy voice and forthright manner, Judy Baar Topinka could easily be mistaken for a favorite aunt who happily dishes to her nephews about the birds and the bees. Like that same aunt, Topinka doesn’t let anything, be it lunch or smokes, go to waste. Don’t let her forget […]
Posted inNews
“Crackpot”
By most accounts, Andy Martin has an uphill fight if he hopes to become the Republican Party’s nominee for governor. But even if he somehow manages to win his party’s nod and the general election, he may not be eligible to hold office, according to an Ohio lawyer. On Dec. 29, Canton, Ohio-based attorney Craig […]
Posted inNews
Hostile environment
Ray Coleman makes sense as a park ranger. Tall and bewhiskered, with a powerful yet easygoing demeanor that commands respect, the former conservation worker bears a strong resemblance to Smokey Bear. The likeness doesn’t stop there; like Smokey, Coleman has spent a good part of his life fighting fires, albeit of a different kind. A […]
Posted inNews
Can spring be far behind?
The U.S. invasion of Iraq officially began on March 19, 2003. A month before Operation Shock and Awe began, a worldwide push to prevent the war was under way, according to Chicago-based Voices for Creative Nonviolence, formerly known as Voices in the Wilderness. From Feb. 15 through March 19, VCNV will travel to Washington, D.C., […]
Posted inNews
Punt!
At the end of Tuesday’s City Council, a confused Springfield police officer asked reporters, “Is this a recess?” No, it was just a surprisingly short meeting, given that the council was supposed to act on the city budget, perhaps the most important piece of business they deal with each year. But thanks to a tougher-than-expected […]
Posted inNews
Increasing the peace
Kids have a pretty simple reason for why they want violence to end in Springfield: They just want to hang out with friends in a safe environment. “For us not to be able to fellowship with our friends is a shame,” says 12-year-old Katlyn Fields. With an ongoing feud between two local gangs and a […]
Posted inNews
Getting into the gap
A study group assembled last summer by Mayor Tim Davlin and the Springfield Urban League to examine African-American achievement is right on track — a third of the way through its “ambitious” timeline — says City Hall education liaison Sheila Stocks-Smith. The study group is part of a local effort to understand and, with any […]
