The tool slid across the glass with the steady hand of an artist teaching her craft. Former state Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez has been paired with Springfield-area artist Morgan Behnke to create a stained-glass window as part of a Springfield Art Association project pairing 16 local artists with well-known people in the community. The couples […]
Scott Reeder
Scott Reeder is a staff writer at Illinois Times.
Posted inNews
Fighting hunger
Hunger stalks Sarah Rockwood’s family and soon she and her four teenagers may have to make do with less. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress temporarily boosted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by 15%, but in March benefits will return to their pre-pandemic level. Her only sources of income are Social Security and SNAP benefits, […]
Posted inOpinion
When you don’t drink
“Why aren’t you drinking?” My former boss slurred those words as he looked across a table while he and my coworkers downed a pitcher of beer at a mandatory staff pizza party. Drinkers ask that question. Not only is it off-putting and rude, it’s ubiquitous. I’ve never quite understood why that’s anyone’s business but my […]
Posted inNews
Debt disagreement
Springfield City Treasurer Misty Buscher, who is running for mayor, is calling for greater transparency when the city forgives debts or waives fines. She contends that her opponent, incumbent Mayor Jim Langfelder, is unilaterally writing off debts without informing the council or the public. The mayor responded that is not the case. “I’m not saying […]
Posted inNews
City council ponders a ban on electric surfboards
A group of Springfield city council members are looking to foil the hydrofoil. The hydrofoil in question is owned by Matt Scherer, an entrepreneur who wants to offer electric surfboard lessons on Lake Springfield. Scherer said he took out a $27,000 loan from the city of Springfield to start the business but now the city’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Trust but verify
Hoodwinked, fooled, deceived, misled, bamboozled. Those are just a few words to describe what a teenager allegedly did to a community journalist with 40 years of experience. In the small town of Eldridge, Iowa, just north of the Quad Cities, lives a young woman named Madison “Maddie” Russo. Scott Campbell, the longtime editor of the […]
Posted inNews
Free parking
The two candidates for Springfield mayor have different visions for downtown parking; one wants to make it free and the other is taking a wait-and-see approach, hoping further economic development will bring more people downtown. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, parking downtown has been free. But enforcement personnel continue to patrol the area […]
Posted inOpinion
The cycle of language
I purchased a new bicycle for my 12-year-old daughter this month and received a tongue-lashing from a salesperson in return. The Springfield salesperson asked if she was interested in a “cross-through” bike. I had no idea what he was talking about. I was familiar with mountain bikes, road bikes and hybrids, but I’d never heard […]
Posted inOpinion
Choosing which laws to enforce
“We don’t make the laws; we just enforce them.” Such statements have become nearly a cliché in police departments across the nation. But the statement is not always true. Some laws are enforced more readily than others. And over the years, more than a few sheriffs have issued press releases saying they won’t enforce one […]
Posted inNews
Shouting your message
Painting a mural is like shouting your message, contends Barbara Mason, a Springfield native and professional artist commissioned to paint a scene on the city’s east side. “From an artist’s perspective, mural art is not very much different than if you were just painting on a canvas that would go on your wall at home,” […]
Posted inNews
New names for Sports Hall of Fame
Seven athletes will be inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame next month as part of a 31-year capital city tradition. “To be considered, you have to have been retired from the sport for at least 10 years and played for one of Springfield’s high schools,” said Chris Leming, president of the hall of […]
Posted inOpinion
Pick nation over party
Instead of a coronation, we ended up with an election. How is that a bad thing in a democracy? It took 15 roll-call votes to elect Kevin McCarthy speaker of the House. The political chattering class is calling it a national embarrassment and labeled each prolonged vote a humiliation for McCarthy. Well, maybe. By its […]
