Remembering

I remember a day in elementary school when I spent an afternoon with my dad. After a quick lunch at Cozy Dog, we went to Jewel Osco for groceries. Dad picked up a few items for the house and then grabbed some cat food. We didn’t have a cat. After we checked out, we walked […]

Whenever Peggy saw me, she smiled, her cheeks touching the bottoms of her gold wire rims, and her peace sign earrings dancing a little as she raised her arms to embrace me. Peg’s signature jewelry held more weight than a few ounces tugging at her earlobes, more than some hippie symbol from the 1960s. Peggy […]

Tony Leone was a self-proclaimed ambassador for Springfield with deep roots in the capital city. His parents and grandparents lived their entire lives in Springfield. Tony owned his grandfather’s home, which had been in the family for 100 years. Always the entrepreneur, he was developing it into a coffeehouse featuring Springfield memorabilia prior to his […]

The Illinois GOP of 1998 had room for candidates like Corinne Wood of Lake Forest, who, as a freshman House representative, threw her hat into the ring to serve alongside Republican Governor George Ryan as lieutenant governor. She would be the first woman to ever hold the post in the state’s history. For some of […]

Peggy Ryder was fearless, vibrant and alive in all ways, says her youngest son, Tim. Everyone who knew her was touched by her warmth, beautiful smile, generosity, good humor and positive attitude. She left her mark on Springfield as an extraordinarily dedicated community leader and volunteer. Sadly, she passed away on Sept. 16, after valiantly […]

One of the benefits of growing up on South St. Mary’s Road in rural Libertyville, Illinois, was being a neighbor to Adlai Stevenson II. The elder Stevenson was the grandson of vice-president Adlai Stevenson (the Grover Cleveland administration), former governor of Illinois, twice-nominated candidate for the presidency on the Democratic ticket and the U. S. […]

Before succumbing to COVID-19, the Rev. Tinnie Randall had a final word for her family: Pray. She was a spiritual dynamo packed into a 5-foot-tall body. She died Dec. 17, 2020, at age 63, after a 54-day stay at Springfield Memorial Hospital. Her husband of 35 years, the Rev. Nate Randall, recalled with a laugh […]

Bill Boyd was always there to help, whatever was needed. That’s what you hear when you talk to people who knew Bill well and served alongside him during the decades he devoted to Springfield. He was a tremendously effective leader, a devoted husband and father and an esteemed mentor to many individuals. His kindness, sound […]

We always heard the first year of loss was the toughest. For that first year, every day was the first without you. November was the hardest so far, with your birthday and our anniversary among the days. You were our rock, our foundation and our compass. You still remain so. Your legacy will always be […]

This year, Springfield lost Jim Cox, who had portrayed Santa in downtown Springfield for the past 10 Christmases. His seasonal job made him proud. He loved interacting with kids, many of whom visited year after year. Jim would listen to their wish lists and hand them a candy cane. Sometimes he even got to pose […]

His obituary mentions his 40 years as a chiropractor in central Illinois, but there was also his work at IDOT/Division of Waterways helping with several of the man-made lakes coming to fruition in this state, his work as a Springfield police officer and a narcotics officer with the Illinois Narcotics Bureau and his run for […]

When Len Lieberman was hired in 1981 to be the Government Affairs Director for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, he had found his dream job. In his previous positions working for the state, he had acquired an impressive knowledge of state government and of the legislative process that would serve him in good stead. […]