The members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church have been anxious for weeks as their way of worship has come under attack from a powerful source – Pope Francis. Parishioners at the church on Springfield’s east side worship the way Catholics have for more than 1,000 years, in Latin. But what was once a ubiquitous rite […]
Scott Reeder
Scott Reeder is a staff writer at Illinois Times.
Posted inNews
Year-long waits for FOID cards
Brent Urfer is a man who follows the rules. He’s an upstanding citizen who teaches school, pays taxes and obeys the law. The Christian County man never has been convicted of any crime. Nonetheless, he was turned away when he attempted to buy ammunition from a Springfield farm supply store. Why? His Firearm Owner’s Identification, […]
Posted inOpinion
Fair compensation?
So who is “James Doe?” That’s the pseudonym assigned to a man who accused former U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert of sexual assault. The man alleges that when he was in school decades ago, Hastert, then a wrestling coach, molested him. More than 30 years later, in 2010, when Hastert was raking in […]
Posted inNews
Jesse Sullivan enters governor’s race
Jesse who? He’s raised how much? Is there any chance he could win? Those were questions being asked across Illinois last week when Jesse Sullivan announced he was seeking the Republican nomination for governor. Sullivan, a venture capitalist who has invested in high-tech startups in Silicon Valley, has raised $11 million to launch his campaign. […]
Posted inOpinion
Innocence lost
I find myself grieving for someone I’ve never met every Sept. 17 – for the past 31 years. Back in 1990, I was working as the night police reporter for the Quad-City Times when I was dispatched to a fire at a school playground at 9 p.m. I was one of the first on the […]
Posted inNews
State Journal-Register building up for auction
The State Journal-Register building will be auctioned this month, raising questions about the future of Springfield’s daily newspaper. “I remember moving into that building in the 1980s – it had so much room,” said retired columnist Toby McDaniel. “I can’t blame them for wanting to sell it now. Their staff is so small that they […]
Posted inOpinion
CRT: Critical of race teaching
Willie Moore was a Black man who endured segregation and saw the school where he taught integrated after a long fight for racial equality. He loved teaching history but there was one topic he avoided: The civil rights movement. “It was just too controversial to talk about. The students came from families that had different […]
Posted inOpinion
Is there room in Illinois for state-sponsored mercy?
Should government temper its justice with mercy? I’ve been pondering that question for at least three decades, ever since I was a young reporter and heard a Texas prosecutor stand before a jury and say, “These aren’t halls of mercy; these are halls of justice!” Justice is rendered when people receive their due, according to […]
Posted inOpinion
Springfield businesses struggle to find enough staff to stay open
Leann Fox would seem to have most everything a small business owner would want: loyal customers, an established location and a recognized brand. But one thing the owner of Leann’s Parkway Café doesn’t have enough of is employees. “We’ve had to temporarily close because we just haven’t been able to hire enough people. I’m eager […]
Posted inOpinion
The costs of war
As Americans fled Kabul and desperate Afghans sought to follow, Jerry and Brett Young stood in the yard of their rural Rochester home Aug. 20 and remembered their boy who never got to see his 26th birthday. “He loved to skateboard when he was younger. And he loved all kinds of music. He especially liked […]
Posted inOpinion
Small-time landlords are struggling too
In the maelstrom of economic chaos roiled by the COVID-19 virus, small-time landlords are struggling to stay afloat. “We are the only business out there that has to provide its service but doesn’t have to be paid,” said Anthony Nudo, a Springfield landlord. While there may be a touch of hyperbole in that statement, there […]
Posted inOpinion
Concession civility is more than polite politics
A candidate concession speech is an important rite in a democracy that is done not for the benefit of the winner or the loser but as a means of honoring the voters and our system of government. Sometimes the speech is done at a podium before a crowd, but more often than not it happens […]
