Cap City

Court and Karen Conn of Springfield know business. They own and operate the Inn at 835, Conn’s Catering, and La Vita Grand Day Spa, and they may soon have a fourth business to run. The Conns are seeking permits to turn the Obed and Isaac House, formerly known as the Maisenbacher House, into a restaurant […]

Almost everyone knows about St. Jude Children’s Hospital, the not-for-profit research hospital that specializes in cancer and never charges children in need who don’t have insurance. Not everyone knows about their Dream Home Giveaway program, which raffles off big fancy houses and puts the proceeds toward helping more kids. A recent giveaway in Dunlap, near […]

William Lane knew from the time he was 14 that he wanted to play the French horn professionally. As a 10-year-old boy growing up in Jacksonville, Lane saw his first professional orchestra when the St. Louis Symphony played at MacMurray College, and his mother brought home a French horn for him the very next day. […]

Prescription drugs are like fire: they can be useful tools if used appropriately, but they can cause terrible damage when abused. According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, one in five teens have used prescription drugs to get high, and each day 2,500 teenagers use a prescription drug to get high for the first […]

One of only three of its kind in Illinois, Williamsville’s 24-hour Huddle House earned the restaurant franchise’s top honor last month at the chain’s annual convention in Georgia. Lynne and Dan Harbin, who have owned and operated the Williamsville Huddle House for four years, this year took first place in the chain’s “Best of the […]

Poet, professor and presidential aficionado Dan Guillory is taking his work to China later this month. Professor emeritus of English at Millikin University in Decatur, the author and Illinois Times contributor will be bringing the life and lore of Abraham Lincoln to students in Taiwan at the Tunghai University in Taichung. The University expects 50 to […]

Abe Lincoln may be Springfield’s most famous former resident, but Andre Iguodala has Lincoln beat in height. At 6 feet 6 inches, the Lanphier High School grad and NBA pro for the Philadelphia 76ers has two inches on old Abe, and he even has a basketball team named after him here in the capital city. […]

A museum in the making needs a logo, and organizers are looking to the community to create it.  The Springfield Illinois African American History Foundation plans to open the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum sometime in spring 2011. Community members of all ages are invited to submit original logo designs for the […]

Springfield is full of artists, from brilliant painters to inspiring sculptors and everything in between. Pop into the Prairie Art Alliance exhibit at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, for example, and you’ll be greeted by numerous skillfully crafted works – all for sale by local artists. It makes sense that to find local artists, […]

Once again, a fat cat has come out on top. No, we’re not talking about a Wall Street banker or a well-connected politician. This time, it’s literally a portly feline gaining the spoils. Merry Noel, a chubby kitty at Springfield’s Forever Home Feline Ranch, has won some new furniture for her fellow felines in a […]

Vice President Joe Biden is apparently a fan of Illinois, and maybe even a bit of a dreamer. In a recent report from the White House, Biden touted the present and future accomplishments of $787 billion in federal money doled out under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The VP is in charge […]

Dogs are often said to be man’s best friend, but with a military working dog, that saying takes on a whole new meaning. Working dogs sniff for bombs and drugs, and often provide a measure of protection for their handlers. When it’s time for them to retire, however, the highly-trained dogs are sometimes put down […]