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 […]
Scott Reeder
Scott Reeder is a staff writer at Illinois Times.
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 […]
Posted inNews
Riverton vet helps make movies historically accurate
A Riverton veterinarian had his hand in the creation of the recently released Civil War movie Emancipation, starring Will Smith. Karl Luthin, an equine practitioner who has provided historically accurate horse-drawn wagons for movie and television productions throughout the United States, said Emancipation is his latest endeavor. Will Smith plays an enslaved person who became […]
Posted inOpinion
When politicians lie
Folks are wringing their hands over George Santos. He’s a liar. And he got caught. He said he graduated from college. He didn’t. He said he had fancy jobs at Goldman Sachs and Citibank. They say they’ve never heard of him. He said he was a successful real estate investor. He doesn’t own any property […]
Posted inNews
Mike Coffey to fill Butler’s House seat
Springfield restauranter Mike Coffey Jr. will fill the seat vacated by former state Rep. Tim Butler, Sangamon County Republican Chair Dianne Barghouti Hardwick has told Illinois Times. Coffey manages the downtown supper club Saputo’s Twins Corner, which is owned by his parents, and owns the west-side eatery Papa Frank’s. “As a business owner, he’s very […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
KENLEY WADE June 19, 1935-June 2, 2022
Kenley Wade was so accomplished in his career that he was admitted into one of the nation’s most prestigious MBA programs, even though he had never earned an undergraduate degree. The Springfield civil rights leader left behind behind a legacy of fighting racism in Springfield and beyond. “He was very, very smart,” his daughter Francine […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Kenley Wade June 19, 1935-June 2, 2022
Kenley Wade was so accomplished in his career that he was admitted into one of the nation’s most prestigious MBA programs, even though he had never earned an undergraduate degree. The Springfield civil rights leader left behind behind a legacy of fighting racism in Springfield and beyond. “He was very, very smart,” his daughter Francine […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
J. MICHAEL “MIKE” ZIMMERS Oct. 15, 1949-Oct. 5, 2022
Mike Zimmers was a giant among the teachers and administrators he mentored, the junior high students he taught and, most of all, the kindergarteners he tutored. At 6 foot, 6 inches tall, he towered over most everyone he met. But among his peers, his stature wasn’t measured in inches but in his keen intellect and […]
