Cap City

Veto session in Springfield has been canceled. “The front page in today’s Springfield paper warns of a COVID ‘tsunami’ sweeping the region and its health care system,” said Illinois Senate President Don Harmon in a Nov. 10 statement. “It’s not safe or responsible to have a legislative session under these circumstances.” That might come as […]

Margins were much wider this time around than when Democratic challenger Betsy Dirksen Londrigan narrowly lost to incumbent U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis in the 2016 election. Londrigan, of Springfield, said in a concession statement, “Elections come and go. Representatives come and go. The job of the American citizen is constant.” Davis, of Taylorville, told supporters […]

While it was less of a nail-biter race than, say, the 13th district, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin sealed a re-election victory. He defeated Republican Mark Curran and other challengers, including Chicago businessman Willie Wilson. Durbin, one the state’s most recognizable politicians, will continue with a fifth consecutive term. Durbin’s win was one the national party […]

What do you get when you mix a presidential election with a pandemic? Likely, a record number of votes by mail. As part of a new Illinois law, Sangamon County sent vote-by-mail applications to every registered voter. “This year, we have recorded more than double the number of early votes cast three weeks before the […]

It’s been a good year, mostly, for the Asian flying carp, but, then again, most years are kind to a fish that seemingly cannot be defeated. Imported long ago from Asia (thus the name) for silly reasons, it has no natural enemies here save rednecks who for years descended on Bath to net thousands upon […]

Oh, my. Forget razor blades in apples and LSD dripped on chocolate. These days, public health is paramount, and so how will kids go door-to-door seeking goodies without everyone getting sick? Is trick-or-treating dressed as a coronavirus germ – just wait, it’s coming, because most everything else has – in bad taste or just in […]

In the midst of a COVID-19 White House outbreak, the president downplayed the seriousness of the virus. From social media, on Oct. 6, he claimed the new coronavirus is “far less lethal” than the flu “in most populations.” Facebook removed the post, due to its misinformation policy, and medical experts chided the comment. On Oct. […]

Two statues outside the Capitol have been removed. Pierre Menard was the state’s first lieutenant governor and owned enslaved people. Stephen A. Douglas, foe of Abraham Lincoln, profited from a family plantation. House Speaker Michael Madigan had asked over the summer for them to go. Many Springfield residents had asked for the same. Over the […]

The Springfield City Council on Tuesday approved $3.15 million in public financing to create 41 apartments in the beleaguered Booth-Ferguson buildings in downtown. In late August, the council voted 8-2 to table the tax increment financing plan, citing worries that Rick Lawrence, the former developer who owes $1.2 million in benefits for workers who’ve done […]

Last spring, Springfield City Council members promised change was a’coming to the police department. A proposal has arrived courtesy of Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner, whose proposed ordinance released last week says that cops shouldn’t use rubber bullets or tear gas or chokeholds or no-knock warrants unless really needed. Pretty much, that’s what we already […]

What do Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner, Springfield Vintage, Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, city housing inspectors and the Faith Coalition for the Common Good have in common? All, over the years, have won Good Neighbor awards from Inner City Older Neighborhoods, a consortium of neighborhood associations that aims to preserve, improve and promote the […]