“You’re readjusting to just walking down the street, being in crowded elevators, things that everybody goes through all the time,” said Bill Amor, whose 1997 convictions on charges of arson and murder were vacated by a DuPage County judge last week. He eventually spent 22 years in prison on a 45-year sentence. “It’s just so […]
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
LBJ meets MLK at the Hoogland
“This ain’t about the Constitution. This is about those who got more, wantin’ to hang on to what they got, at the expense of those who got nothing.’ And feel good about it.” – President Lyndon Baines Johnson, discussing opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, from All the Way by Robert Schenkkan After […]
Posted inNews
DEMO demolished, but UIS Gallery going strong
The DEMO Project art space on the grounds of the Springfield Art Association achieved its apotheosis this past Wednesday when the small house, still festooned with fanciful work by 17 artists installed last month for the “demo DEMO” farewell exhibit, was demolished by a single backhoe to make room for new SAA facilities. The demolition […]
Posted inNews
The Studio Show returns
“We missed doing the show,” said Dave Heinzel, producer, cameraperson, editor and co-creator of Springfield-based web series “The Studio Show,” in which he and hosts Arlin Peebles and Keil Isham take a humorous approach to covering highlights of area arts and culture. The final episode of the series’ second season ran in December of 2016. […]
Posted inMusic
IT ROAD TRIP PICK: Destroyer in St. Louis
Dan Bejar, the enigmatic and distinctive Canadian songwriter who has been touring and recording under the name Destroyer since the mid-1990s, will appear at Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room in St. Louis this Friday in support of his twelfth album, ken (2107), one of the most sonically and lyrically rewarding albums of last year. Bejar’s recent […]
Posted inNews
Unwelcoming U.S. tone may add to UIS enrollment woes
A recent decline in enrollment at University of Illinois Springfield may in part be a symptom of dramatic drop in graduate and international enrollment throughout the country. “One of the factors causing those numbers to go down is a perception that the U.S. has recently become less welcoming to international students coming in the country […]
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Women march for resistance
On Saturday, Jan. 20, over 1,500 people gathered in front of the State Capitol for the second annual Women’s March, part of a worldwide protest in favor of legislation and policies supporting women’s rights, environmental preservation, health care reform, immigration reform, reproductive rights, LGBT rights and other progressive issues. The first Women’s March took place […]
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Seinfeld at Sangamon Auditorium: A master class in stand-up
In both the hit ‘90s-era sitcom Seinfeld and his current web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Jerry Seinfeld habitually cedes the spotlight to others, content to play a supporting role in his own projects, providing his colleagues and co-stars the opportunity to shine. This tendency obscures the fact that the reason Seinfeld is in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Appetite for destruction
The concrete stairs leading to the DEMO Project house’s front entrance have been reduced to rubble. Considering that the current (and final) exhibit – entitled “demo DEMO” – is a celebration leading up to the alternative art space’s impending demolition, it might be assumed that the destroyed stairs are intended as an artistic statement. Not […]
Posted inArts & Culture
MLK’s legacy honored at museum
When a single rifle shot in Memphis, Tennessee, cut short the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King at age 39 on April 4, 1968, it cemented the iconic status of the civil rights leader and towering orator. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the assassination, the Springfield and Central Illinois African American […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Hybrid vigor
This past weekend, two of Springfield’s most vibrant creative organizations joined forces for a unique two-day show. The Pharmacy Gallery and Art Space – which for seven years has hosted seasonal exhibits featuring new work by its member artists in a variety of media – and the Southtown neighborhood’s Black Sheep Café – which for […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Film series fights winter doldrums
For more than 25 years, the Molly Schlich Independent and International Film Series – presented each winter by the Springfield Art Association – has brought acclaimed and lesser-seen movies to Springfield. From January through early March, each Sunday (matinee) and Tuesday (evening showings) one of the screens at AMC’s Parkway 8, 3025 Lindbergh Blvd., is […]
