Letters to the Editor

We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. —- SYBC WAS OVERLOOKED Imagine my surprise when I read in Illinois Times that the Springfield Youth Ballet Company was given a passing mention in your article about local arts and COVID, yet no one […]

We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. —- FAILURE TO TEACH I do not know if she intended this, but Cinda Klickna’s recent column on the importance of teaching grammar raised far more questions than it answered (“Phonics needs grammar on its […]

PROBLEM PROPERTIES A big thanks to Bruce Rushton for his recent articles highlighting Springfield’s problem with problem properties (“Blight fight,” Feb. 25 and “Code violations pile up, city slow to act,” March 4). Through his in-depth research and clear reporting, I felt he shared the pain that Springfield residents feel as they deal with problem […]

We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. —- SANGAMON AUDITORIUM TURNS 40 On Feb. 21, 1981, Sangamon Auditorium was sold out for its inaugural public offering starring Hal Holbrook in “Mark Twain, Tonight!” After years of political maneuvering to seek funding, as […]

IT STINKS I read with interest the article about the former AMC movie theater on Lindbergh Boulevard being converted not only into a retail, but also a grow facility, for marijuana (“Pot garden and dispensary planned for west side,” Feb. 3). Before this happens, a word of warning. I have an old hometown buddy who […]

We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. —- SANGAMON AUDITORIUM TURNS 40 On Feb. 21, 1981, Sangamon Auditorium was sold out for its inaugural public offering starring Hal Holbrook in “Mark Twain, Tonight!” After years of political maneuvering to seek funding, as […]

SENATORS, DO THE RIGHT THING As grown-ups, you probably did not read the article about the attack on our democracy in the New York Times Magazine for kids. But you should. Here are some excerpts: “When Donald Trump was president, he told a very big lie. And he told it many times. He said he […]

We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. —- VACCINE LOTTERIES The existing policy for COVID-19 vaccination appointments in Sangamon County is confusing at best (“Vaccination challenges,” Jan. 28). At worst, it is shortsighted and cumbersome. We could do better. I have family […]

WHAT ARE POLICE AFRAID OF? Springfield police union president Don Edwards is quoted as saying, “Our membership is disgusted and frankly frightened of what this will do to both their livelihoods and, equally important to them, what it will do to the criminal justice system,” regarding the legislative reforms reported by Bruce Rushton (“Reform or […]

We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. —- WHO GETS VACCINE FIRST? All large, bureaucratic programs quickly devolve into picking winners and losers. Our economy has been devastated because government at all levels chose those to survive and those that were expendable. […]

BACK TO SCHOOL NOW? I teach third grade at a school with a diverse student population in a neighborhood of working-class people. I have been in this school nearly a decade now, and I have come to know the businesses and families I serve. I want my students in class. I want to be in […]

We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. —- CUSTOMERS CAN CHOOSE I trust a business owner to react to customers’ expectations faster and with more innovation than a government employee with no skin in the game (“Restaurant, bar owners say reopening rules […]