“What do we want? Clean water! When do we want it? Now!” So went the chant of a group of demonstrators gathered July 28 in front of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources building. The Woolsey Operating Company, based in Kansas, is the first to submit a permit application to IDNR to build a high-volume […]
Scott Faingold
Scott Faingold is a journalist, educator and musician. He has been director of student media at University of Illinois Springfield, founding editor of Activator magazine, a staff reporter for Illinois Times and co-host of Old School Bleep, a music-centered podcast.
Posted inNews
Closing the summer gap
“If you don’t want to come to Camp Compass, that’s too bad for you because we have a lot of fun here,” said Donovan, a fifth-grader attending the free six-week summer program serving low-income students from kindergarten to fifth grade Monday through Friday, administered by the nonprofit Compass for Kids at Ridgley Elementary School on […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Ecstatic and blue
Since launching in the autumn of 2013, DEMO Project – the alternative art gallery located on the campus of the Springfield Art Association – has steadily developed a reputation regionally and nationally as a unique space for contemporary work, attracting artists working in a variety of approaches ranging from painting to sculpture to video to […]
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Funding plan ‘harmless,’ but expensive
The sounds of a rehearsing gospel choir, complete with organ accompaniment, bled through the walls of Union Baptist Church during a sparsely attended town hall meeting there July 13. The meeting was organized by the Faith Coalition for the Common Good to address school funding as outlined in Senate Bill 1 (SB1). The soulful ambient […]
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Dying for better health care
On July 18 grassroots group Organizing for Action (OFA) staged a demonstration in front of the Illinois Policy Institute office on Second Street. The “Die-In” saw volunteers, community leaders and other Illinois constituents brandishing tombstone signs and sharing personal stories in defense of the embattled Affordable Care Act (ACA, a/k/a Obamacare) and in protest of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Legacy’s Newsies is dazzling, topical
“Wrongs will be righted if we’re united. Let us seize the day!” These words might sound more like fiery pro-union rhetoric than a lyric from a high-spirited musical romp. Turns out it’s both. The production of the Disney musical Newsies, which opened this past weekend at the Legacy Theatre in Springfield, is one of only […]
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Illinois to Trump: “No”
It all began with a June 28 letter sent to the secretary of state of each state and signed by commission vice chair Kris W. Kobach. The letter requested that states share “publicly available voter roll data” with the commission, including “dates of birth, political party (if recorded in your state), last four digits of […]
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Repairing the world
Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932) helped turn Sears, Roebuck and Co. from a middling mail order firm into a retail megalith. According to Wikipedia, between 1895 and 1907, annual sales of the company climbed “from $750,000 to upwards of $50 million” under his guidance. He used the resulting fortune to help build more than 5,000 schools in […]
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A walk on the artistic side
“I’m not interested in what I think.” So proclaimed multidisciplinary artist Astrid Kaemmerling when queried about her personal opinions regarding the Enos Park neighborhood and her experiences of Springfield in general during a brief question and answer session at the well-attended opening of her exhibition, “Walking Enos Park: Who is your neighborhood?” this past Wednesday, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Mural fiber
Downtown Springfield Inc.’s image and design committee’s most recent project will come to fruition this Thursday evening with…a party in an alley. Of course, that’s not the whole story. Two young artists will unveil new murals, turning the alleyway between the Reisch Building and the Old Town Mall between Fourth and Fifth streets – immediately […]
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‘This has really got to stop.’
“It’s an interesting time to lead in an educational environment,” said District 186 superintendent Jennifer Gill during a recent interview. “I mean, no business would say, ‘We have no idea how much money we’re going to have but, yeah, let’s go ahead and keep our doors open.’” Gill was elaborating on a statement she had […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Modernism and residency
The Springfield Art Association is currently in high gear with a unique exhibit featuring nearly 300 specimens of modernist furniture and décor. The SAA is also now hosting the first two visiting artists to participate in the recently established Enos Park residency program for visual artists. “Many [20th-century] designers and consumers rejected traditional styles and […]
