With his distinctive beard, long black coat and hat, Mendy Turen has been mistaken for a Lincoln impersonator and even an Amish farmer. But he is a Hasidic rabbi serving Springfield as part of the Chabad movement, a subsect of Judaism that stresses traditional worship, adhering to strict dietary and cultural rules and experiencing the […]
Scott Reeder
Scott Reeder is a staff writer at Illinois Times.
Posted inOpinion
Be curious, not judgmental
Passover, Ramadan and Lent all came to an end during the past few weeks and I’ve found myself thinking of the oddest thing: a cow. When I was about 5, a life-size statue of a cow appeared in our neighbor’s front yard. The Hereford stood a silent sentinel on Academy Street in Galesburg and left […]
Posted inNews
An “old-school” candidate in a new district
Pragmatic, bipartisan, driven. Those words are used by both Republicans and Democrats to describe Nikki Budzinski, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 13th Congressional District. But her friend U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, uses a different term: “old-school.” The Springfield native said Budzinski has the best-run congressional campaign in the nation. Bustos added […]
Posted inNews
Political problems for Prisoner Review Board
When they were young, they murdered and were sent away to prison. Now they are old, infirm and still incarcerated. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board has voted to parole some of these individuals. And those votes have thrown the once obscure, Springfield-based board into controversy. Illinois has been phasing out parole since 1978. Anyone sentenced […]
Posted inOpinion
Needless angst over kneeling
Our society has developed quite a bit of consternation over folks who kneel on football fields. First there was quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality. Then-President Donald Trump’s response: “Get that son-of-a-bitch off the field.” Sigh. On April 25, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case of Joseph […]
Posted inOpinion
Gas tax attacks
Illinois politicians must think we are really a dumb bunch. They just passed legislation that requires every gas pump in the Land of Lincoln to bear a sticker telling us that the state could be screwing us over even worse at the gas pump. Of course, they don’t phrase it that honestly. They are quite […]
Posted inNews
A journalist and a political candidate
After decades of covering candidates for public office, journalist Terry Martin has decided to become one. Martin, executive director of the Illinois Channel, is seeking the Republican nomination for the 13th Congressional District. The district, which snakes its way from East St. Louis through Chatham, Springfield and Decatur to Champaign-Urbana was drawn by state lawmakers […]
Posted inOpinion
No transparency for state budget process
Illinois politicians talk a lot about transparency but rarely practice it – even amongst themselves. State budgets are negotiated behind closed doors between whomever is governor and legislative leaders. Sometimes members of the minority party are included, but other times, such as this year, not so much. This month, once a budget agreement was reached […]
Posted inNews
The doctor will see you now – wherever you are
If you won’t go to the doctor, the doctor may end up coming to you. Southern Illinois University’s School of Medicine is targeting underserved communities by bringing health screening teams to churches as well as community organizations that primarily serve Black and other minority communities. “We’re trying to establish a partnership. And most importantly, we’re […]
Posted inOpinion
Guilty by association
Defending the accused shouldn’t be a mark of shame. But in the world of politics, there may not be a more loathsome creature than a criminal defense attorney. I’ve been thinking about that these past few weeks as I watched Republican senators attack U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson and Democrats assail Illinois GOP […]
Posted inNews
Southeast High gives teen court a try
Springfield’s Southeast High School is experimenting with a program designed to divert students who misbehave away from the criminal justice system. For example, if a student is caught stealing, the current approach is to have the police officer who is assigned to the school write a citation and the matter is referred to the Sangamon […]
Posted inOpinion
Leading a privileged life
A few months ago, I was pulled over by a Springfield-area police officer for a minor traffic violation. He shined a flashlight in my car and said, “Mr. Reeder, are you carrying?” I replied that no, my firearm was home locked up in a safe. He replied, “You should always carry. It doesn’t do you […]
