Donna Brown is a woman with a vision to have every child in Springfield learn to read. The 62-year-old founder of iMagicNation is launching an outreach in January at Matheny-Withrow Elementary School to mentor children at the school that is underperforming in reading. But her long-term dream is to build a literacy center on Springfield’s east […]
Scott Reeder
Scott Reeder is a staff writer at Illinois Times.
Posted inNews
General Assembly takes no action on Invest in Kids program
Springfield Catholic schools are scrambling to raise money to provide scholarships to low-income students in the wake of legislative inaction. At issue is a program that provided indirect state support for students attending private and religious schools. The Invest in Kids program will sunset as scheduled on Dec. 31, meaning donors to six state-approved private […]
Posted inNews
Diversity training for law enforcement
A $700,000 federal grant to University of Illinois Springfield will be used to help central Illinois cops arrest their biases when dealing with people of different cultures and races. The grant to the university’s Alliance for Experiential Problem-Based Learning will be used to develop tolerance, diversity and anti-bias training for law enforcement. The funding was […]
Posted inOpinion
Countering antisemitism
“It’s the Jews’ fault.” I remember those words like they were yesterday, even though they were uttered by a co-worker more than 30 years ago. The newspaper we worked for had just undergone a major layoff and later that week I found myself eating a plate of spaghetti in a dive restaurant listening to what […]
Posted inNews
Springfield High next on the list
Soon, Springfield High School will undergo a renovation every bit as large as the $93 million one currently underway at Lanphier, Superintendent Jennifer Gill told Illinois Times in October. “We’re really at the 50% mark of the conceptual design,” she said. “We’ll be looking to finish those designs and go out for bid and start […]
Posted inOpinion
No justice for Jane Doe
Imagine being a woman locked in a state prison who is repeatedly raped by a male staff member. Recently, a federal jury in Springfield awarded a woman referred to in court documents as “Jane Doe” $19 million for such violations she suffered while incarcerated at Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln. And how much did Attorney […]
Posted inNews
The future of community journalism
Two foundations announced Nov. 6 that they are setting aside $2 million toward improving news coverage in Springfield and surrounding communities. “I don’t know if we’re what they call a news desert, but it’s gotten awfully dry,” said John Stremsterfer, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln during a grant […]
Posted inNews
A child care crisis
A lack of affordable day care options is contributing to a workforce shortage in the Springfield area, contends Kayla Edwards, managing partner of Express Employment Professionals. “I don’t use the word ‘crisis’ lightly. But we are in a crisis right now when it comes to finding enough people to fill positions,” she said. Her firm, […]
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
Springfield jury awards $19 million to former inmate
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 […]
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 […]
