Cover Story
2022 Elections
When there is so much confusion in this nation’s politics, when misinformation itself is on the ballot and election deniers campaign for election, it is more important than ever to vote. A vote is an endorsement of the process, and marks each voter as a participant in a system under attack. If the process thrives…
Republicans are feeling blue
On a night when Democrats held off a potential “red wave” at the national level, a Springfield Democrat won a seat in Congress and the capital city’s first Black state senator defeated her Republican challenger, despite attack ads calling her a corrupt liar. Results of the Nov. 8 general election also saw a Democratic challenger…
More Democrats seeking seats on Sangamon County Board
Democrats hope to make inroads on the Sangamon County Board by fielding nine candidates who are challenging Republican incumbents in the Nov. 8 general election. It’s the highest number of challengers to GOP power on the board in the past 20 years, according to Bill Houlihan, Sangamon County Democratic chairman. “I feel good about it,”…
Senate candidates explain their ads
It’s less than a week before the Nov. 8 general election, and state Sen. Doris Turner is pushing back against political ads questioning her honesty and ethics. The Springfield Democrat’s campaign is airing an ad that says state Rep. Sandy Hamilton, R-Springfield, is “lying to you.” It says Turner “helped the FBI” put a state…
Synchronicity Poem
Synchronicity Poem I was nearby at grandkid’s birth a wee new soul upon the earth I marveled as her mother bore her I had birthed that child before her I a child my mother bore me she her mother her before me I have come to realize feelings seldom synchronize moments of the deepest…
Letters to the editor 11-03-22
NEW INFO I am a retired Illinois Trade Association executive and lobbyist. I enjoy Scott Reeder’s writing because he expends at least some effort to be objective in his political coverage. The “Regan Deering takes on Nikki Budzinski” story was very well-written, but recent developments have changed that narrative (Oct. 20). Of course, I’m…
Adoptions are up, euthanizations down
It is a very exciting time at the Sangamon County Animal Control and Adoption Center. We feel it is important to share with the many pet owners and residents of Sangamon County the numerous changes we have made. We are always looking for ways to improve in order to better serve all our clients, both…
Much confusion over Amendment 1
Some people have taken to calling it the stealth amendment: an effort to amend the Illinois Constitution in a manner that will benefit organized labor. But just how it would work and what exactly it would do has many folks scratching their heads. Amendment 1, which voters will decide Nov. 8, would amend the state…
Democrats hope abortion issue drives more voters to the polls
Republicans downplay the possibility, but Illinois Democrats and at least one veteran political observer believe the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will bring more pro-choice voters to the polls Nov. 8. “Abortion is on the ballot. There’s no doubt about it,” state Rep. Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, chairwoman of the…
The humble, underappreciated parsnip
A fall frost warning announces the end of the road for most of the garden vegetables we’ve enjoyed over the summer. Happily, there are a few vegetables that reach their pinnacle of deliciousness when the cold weather arrives. Winter sweetening is a phenomenon that enhances the flavor of cole crops such as kale, collards and…
Novembering music
Ooh-la-la and howdee-hey, let’s wind our way into November. The Halloween-ers are behind us, so it’s now time to gaze forward into the distance with fall flings and Thanksgiving ahead, the holiday season to come, and do I dare say, there’s a little 2023 peeking around the corner, ready to say hello. But first let’s…
Why can’t cousins marry?
Great balls of fire, Jerry Lee Lewis died Oct. 28, but his legacy lives on. What legacy, you might ask? Well, the legacy of marriage. Lewis had two famous cousins, televangelist Jimmy Swaggart and Myra Gale Brown. But it was his relationship with Brown that captured the headlines. Lewis made her famous in 1957 after…
Powerhouse performance in Tar, Call Jane a call to action, My Policeman a complicated love story
Miscalculation keeps Tar from greatness Filmmaker Todd Field knows that the more heinous the villain, the greater the satisfaction we get in seeing them fall. This simple but satisfying precept is at the foundation of Tar, a fictional portrayal of a groundbreaking classical music conductor who falls victim to her own hubris. Cate Blanchett gives…
A love story about community journalism
Dave Hoekstra has written a love story about community journalism in an age when many newspapers are dying and small towns are transforming. The retired Chicago Sun-Times reporter traveled the nation talking to families that have operated newspapers for generations, an increasingly rare proposition as advertising dollars have shifted to the internet and conglomerates such…
Editor’s note 11-03-22
When there is so much confusion in this nation’s politics, when misinformation itself is on the ballot and election deniers campaign for election, it is more important than ever to vote. A vote is an endorsement of the process, and marks each voter as a participant in a system under attack. If the process thrives…
