I mail letters to get results. This month, I noticed a leak under my kitchen counter and called a plumber. He told me how much it would cost and asked for payment in advance. Over the next week, plumbers visited our house multiple times but the project was never quite done. My wife and I […]
Scott Reeder
Scott Reeder is a staff writer at Illinois Times.
Posted inNews
See for yourself
Kokela Slaughter is proud of her son who will soon graduate from Lanphier High School, but she wants to know why he was punched in the head by a Springfield police officer. On Nov. 17, police officers responded en masse to a fatal stabbing at Lanphier High School. A 15-year-old girl has been charged in […]
Posted inOpinion
The lost art of cursive
I called the bank last week to inquire about a check I had written. When I asked the person on the phone if he could look it up in his system, he read back the correct amount of the check. But I had several checks written for similar amounts, so I double-checked by asking him […]
Posted inOpinion
Multilevel mistakes
I don’t find joy in anyone being swindled, but I do find a bit of irony that the DeVos family, founders of Amway, were bilked out of $100 million. Amway is a pioneer of multilevel marketing, a concept where participants are expected to not only sell something but recruit others to sell it, too. Avon, […]
Posted inNews
UIS plans downtown campus
A once-vaunted downtown hotel project that the Springfield City Council voted to subsidize to the tune of $7.65 million is dead. The $56 million project was to be built in the 300 block of Washington Street, across from the Amtrak station, where a dilapidated parking garage now stands. In 2019, the council voted to provide […]
Posted inOpinion
A degree or an education?
We live in a society that extols the virtues of degrees and diplomas – but not lifelong learning. In Springfield, we honor Abraham Lincoln, our state’s native son, who, despite having little formal schooling, was able to teach himself and become our greatest president. But today when it comes to politicians, Americans have a different […]
Posted inNews
Art show provides funding for kids in foster care
The reasons youngsters end up in foster care hardly paint a pretty picture of our society: abuse, neglect, addiction, abandonment. But a Springfield-area nonprofit is using pretty pictures to help foster kids throughout Sangamon County. Artsy: An Art Fair for Kids in Care! is an annual event where art donated by local professionals and amateurs […]
Posted inNews
Business incubator slated for Southtown
A historic area on Springfield’s east side could soon spawn businesses that benefit the entire community. That’s the dream of Dominic Watson, president of the Springfield Black Chamber of Commerce and executive director of The Springfield Project, a nonprofit organization that aims to unite the community by improving the quality of life in its neighborhoods. […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
A spiritual dynamo
Before succumbing to COVID-19, the Rev. Tinnie Randall had a final word for her family: Pray. She was a spiritual dynamo packed into a 5-foot-tall body. She died Dec. 17, 2020, at age 63, after a 54-day stay at Springfield Memorial Hospital. Her husband of 35 years, the Rev. Nate Randall, recalled with a laugh […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
The father of academic medicine in Springfield
They call themselves “Zookies,” the physicians scattered across the planet who trained under Springfield’s legendary plastic surgeon, Elvin Zook. But Zook was more than an accomplished teacher and brilliant plastic surgeon, he was a father of academic medicine in the capital city, said Ed Curtis, president and CEO of Memorial Health. Zook came to Springfield […]
Posted inNews
Parents say police stifled investigation
Weeks after a detective’s son was arrested on charges of sexually abusing their 14-year-old daughter, her parents say the Springfield Police Department made it difficult to learn details of what happened or to file complaints against officers perceived to have acted wrongly. On Oct. 26, Illinois State Police arrested Zane Merreighn, the 22-year-old son of […]
Posted inOpinion
Yes, there is a Santa Claus
Ok, I’ll admit it. I have Santa Claus issues. It’s not that I suffered some Santa trauma as a child. I believed until I was 4, and then I cross-examined my mother. She was sitting on the toilet and I demanded to know if Santa was real. She tried to deflect my questions. But I […]
