A woman who reported being repeatedly raped by a staff member at Logan Correctional Center while she was an inmate at the Lincoln prison was awarded a $19 million judgment last month by a federal jury in Springfield. The woman referred to in court documents as “Jane Doe” was a gymnastics instructor in McHenry County […]
Scott Reeder
Scott Reeder is a staff writer at Illinois Times.
Posted inNews
Police misconduct lawsuit ends in mistrial
A police misconduct lawsuit against the city of Springfield ended in a mistrial Oct. 4 amid allegations that the city hid evidence that it was required to share with other parties in the case. U.S. District Court Judge Sue Myerscough ordered a hearing for Nov. 20 to consider sanctions against the city. It is reportedly […]
Posted inNews
Reconstructing Springfield’s high schools
Secondary education in Springfield is undergoing a metamorphosis as hundreds of millions of dollars are being pumped into revitalizing the city’s three public high schools. Perhaps no project better illustrates this transformation than Lanphier High School, which is undergoing a $93 million facilities upgrade that will largely be complete by January. The 86-year-old building is […]
Posted inOpinion
The death of checks
“Paper checks are dead and cash is dying.” When I read that headline in the Washington Post last week, I cringed. According to the Post article, back in 2000, six out of 10 non-cash payments were made with a paper check. Today it is 1 in 20. Or consider this: 57% of Americans haven’t written […]
Posted inNews
Blight brigade
The city of Springfield is hosting a program Oct. 7 designed to target 55 neighborhood blocks deemed to be in need of extra attention from municipal departments. The targeted area was identified using police data on where gunfire is most often detected and public works information on areas receiving the most complaints for problems such […]
Posted inNews
Crisis pregnancy centers in the spotlight
Memorial Health will no longer provide financial or in-kind support to crisis pregnancy centers, which counsel against abortions, Illinois Times has learned. The health system, which operates hospitals in Springfield, Lincoln, Taylorville, Decatur and Jacksonville, made this decision after the organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion team found that crisis pregnancy centers can “exacerbate health inequities […]
Posted inNews
Springfield native sets shot-putting record
Last month, Chase Ealey, the 29-year-old daughter of a Riverton truck driver, won the world shot putting championship in Budapest, Hungary, and earlier this month set the U.S. record in Oregon. The win in Budapest marked the second year in a row that the Springfield native snagged the world championship – the only times an […]
Posted inOpinion
Setting kids up for success
Nostalgia makes for lousy public policy. When I was in high school, my best friend’s dad was outraged that the state of Illinois mandated that students be taught consumer education. “My parents taught me how to calculate interest on a loan; why does the state need to mandate a class to teach something that basic?” […]
Posted inOpinion
Remembering Bill Black
Bill Black was a lawmaker who alternated between being outraged and outrageous. The former Danville high school history teacher died Sept. 9. He was one of my favorite people in the Illinois General Assembly. Black was a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1986-2011, representing the 104th district, which stretches from Champaign […]
Posted inNews
Coming back to Mass
This month, priests began taking attendance to make sure parents of students enrolled in Springfield’s Catholic schools are attending worship services – and the families who aren’t regularly attending could lose tuition breaks worth thousands of dollars. Perhaps not surprisingly, attendance at Catholic Masses has soared since the new policy went into effect. “We’ve noticed […]
Posted inNews
More motorcycle fatalities
A rash of motorcycle accident fatalities this summer has left area bikers calling for greater vigilance from other motorists as well as better training in their own ranks. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, four people on motorcycles have been killed in Sangamon County so far this year. In 2022, no local motorcycle deaths […]
Posted inOpinion
The banality of evil
As I walked through the lobby of the University of Illinois’ Veterinary School, I looked at the photos of graduates lining the walls. Of course, I was drawn to the images of two people: my father and my wife. But sandwiched between their classes of 1960 and 2001 was another image that had a nearly […]
