We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. VOTERS DIDN’T WANT IT I was the Springfield corporation counsel who represented the city in the McNeil v. City of Springfield Voting Rights Act lawsuit. I believe that there is a factual error in Jim […]
Opinion
Posted inJames Krohe Jr.
Tree trimming
At night, what sounds like the leaves of Springfield’s street trees rustled by the breeze is really those trees whispering to each other. And the word they say most often is “Langfelder.” When Jim Langfelder became Springfield mayor in 2015, one of his first hires was a city arborist. In 2019 he reinvigorated the city’s […]
Posted inRich Miller
Inside the Bears stadium saga
Six days before the last day of the spring state legislative session, Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) gave me two big reasons why it was so difficult to push a Bears stadium bill across the finish line. Cunningham, as you know, is the chief sponsor of the Senate’s Bears bill. 1. Every stadium-related legislation passed in […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor 06-04-26
GOOD WORK I always knew that The Outlet under Michael Phelon’s leadership would be a success, and this shows that “the proof is in the pudding” (“Early intervention, May 14). Congratulations to the graduates and their mentors. Kathryn Harris Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes DON’T NEED LAND I can think of 1,000 different public buildings that could have […]
Posted inRich Miller
Pappas’ megaprojects “study” not her best work
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas released a “study” last week about the state megaprojects proposal including a new Bears stadium complex that was mostly uncritically received by local news media. But it’s not her best work, to say the least. OK, before we go any further I should say I find corporate tax breaks distasteful […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Letters to the editor 5/28/26
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. NEED MORATORIUM I wish Sangamon County would do the same thing (“Logan County enacts 12-month data center moratorium,” May 22). This mindset of growing the tax base needs to be slapped down. Our local elected […]
Posted inJames Krohe Jr.
Through the looking glass
What follows is a fun story about a city, a court and a cause. I am moved to write about it because it’s important and few Springfieldians younger than 35 will have heard of it. I was tempted to quote Faulkner about how the past isn’t dead, it isn’t even past – until I realized […]
Posted inRich Miller
List of proposed budget cuts circulates
In response to a question last week from my associate Isabel Miller, Gov. JB Pritzker said he didn’t think a group of progressive legislators could pass their progressive revenue bills through both chambers by the end of the spring session. “They’ve been working very hard on getting something done,” Pritzker said of the bicameral progressive […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Letters to the editor
FOLLOWING PROCEDURE I work in state procurement and this is just how it is, unfortunately (ABC loses State Fair contract,” May 7). It’s whatever is most advantageous to the state. It’s a sealed quote; everyone has the same opportunity as everyone else. There isn’t a saddest story exemption. In two years, the American Business Club […]
Posted inRich Miller
Legislation stalled as May 31 adjournment nears
Every year when the legislature arrives at mid-May, it’s always tempting to look around, see the absence of real bicameral movement on legislation and conclude that nothing’s gonna happen in time for the scheduled May 31 adjournment. Succumbing to that temptation this year may not be a bad bet, but things can change. Right now, […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Letters to the editor 5/14/26
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. GREAT MAIL CARRIER I remember being a teenager and always curious about what (mail carrier) OJ Crowder did back then (“OJ Crowder interview,” April 20). Then i went to work for the post office. OJ […]
Posted inJames Krohe Jr.
Reopening soon
Springfield was a grand hotel town in the ’20s. It was the state capital, a tourist mecca and a “good convention town” too, meaning it offered gambling, booze, women and a police force under orders to leave the customers alone as long as they didn’t do it in any of the churches or public parks. […]
