Adams Street in Springfield is getting more colorful. In June Jonna Cooley attended the second annual Pride Brunch on the Adams Street patio in Springfield when she took notice of an empty storefront next to Elf Shelf Books and Music. During the outdoor event, complete with booze and burlesque performances, the Phoenix Center, which Cooley […]
Rachel Otwell
Posted inNews
Running against racism
The age of 33 is widely known as the Jesus year. It’s the age Jesus is considered to have ascended from his earthly body after crucifixion. As many have noted since, it’s also the age in which some adults start to get serious about their life’s purpose. Nattalyee Randall, who turned 33 in November of […]
Posted inNews
Sangamon County releases mask statement
On July 27, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced it would align with new federal recommendations that people wear masks in public places, regardless of vaccination status. “CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends that everyone, including fully vaccinated individuals, wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas with substantial […]
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Constructive learning
In 2020, Black people made up 13.4% of the overall U.S. population, but only accounted for 8% of those considered construction laborers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only 3% of construction managers were Black, according to the same data. A program in Springfield aims to diversify the field and the city is […]
Posted inOpinion
Asian American history is U.S. history
On July 20, at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) in Springfield, Simon Tam shared his story of growing up as a Chinese American, starting the first all-Asian American dance rock band and then going to the Supreme Court over a fight about his band’s name, The Slants. “What an incredible honor to […]
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Illinois adopts CDC guidance that all students and teachers mask up
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is now recommending that all students and teachers should wear masks this coming school year. The guidance falls in line with recommendations released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday, July 27. The new recommendations come as COVID-19 cases continue to rise and […]
Posted inNews
Sky’s the limit
After a six-year term as the executive director for Downtown Springfield Inc. (DSI) Lisa Clemmons Stott is setting her sights on new ways to help Springfield grow. “I was always interested in relationships and therefore politics,” Clemmons Stott told Illinois Times. She graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1994 with a journalism degree. […]
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Help for home care
Home care can be back-breaking work. Sherry Morris of Riverton, 64, is a home health aide. She cares for a man about her own age who suffers from a degenerative disease. “I do all the driving to his doctors’ appointments, to his pharmacy, to his groceries or anything he needs.” Morris said after years of […]
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East-side teen empowerment zone
Parks are the place to be over the summer. But not every area of town has had the same amount of investment and programming. A new effort aims to help change that. On July 7, community leaders and children gathered at Comer Cox Park (301 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) where they played games […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Punks on the prairie
What do you do when you want to be part of a music scene, but you live in a small Midwestern city or town, where most culture is slow to filter through? You build it yourself. That’s what the book Punks in Peoria: Making a Scene in the American Heartland, published in June by University […]
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American as apple pie
Immigrants in the U.S. are as American as apple pie – as well as rice and beans. That was the premise of an action in Springfield July 2, when members of the Faith Coalition for the Common Good took both pies and rice and beans to the offices of members of Congress. They were advocating […]
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Family and feelings behind the new park name
Springfield residents of various backgrounds and political persuasions gathered to celebrate the name change of a Springfield park, previously honoring the legacy of Stephen A. Douglas. The park at 943 W. Mason St. is now named after Otis B. Duncan, by means of a park board vote last November. On June 22, park board members, […]
