Boiling point
Harsh statements and public and private threats by Senate President Emil Jones in the past two years have prompted Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson to reach out to some labor leaders. Jones has been sharply critical of the construction-trades unions, accusing them of freezing out African-Americans and Latinos from apprenticeship programs and job sites. Black…
letters 4-14-05
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com A SIMPLE APOLOGY WOULD DO Kudos to Dusty Rhodes for an outstanding…
Finally
Some 25 years after the idea was first hatched to honor Abraham Lincoln with his own presidential museum, folks will finally get a chance to see what all the fuss has been about. The doors swing open to the public on Saturday in advance of a big dedication ceremony that many hope will bring President…
Whack job
If you feel like we’ve been bashed with a load of lumber, it’s not your imagination. It’s true. It happened on Sunday, when the mighty Chicago Tribune published a feature-length review describing our new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum as a “flop.” The writer, Blair Kamin, is a Pulitzer Prize winner who prides himself on being…
now playing 4-14-05
Those of you gazing and gawking this Saturday at the downtown Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum festivities will sooner or later need nourishment and refurbishment, both mental and physical. If sooner is better — say, 12:30-2 p.m. — drop by the Trout Lily Café, just two blocks south of the Lincoln Presidential Palace on…
Jacqueline Jackson 4-14-05
poolpoem #2 I should take my Y membership off my income tax it’s in the pool I percolate the unpaid poems for this publication don’t all those alliterative lines sound like beowulf © Jacqueline Jackson 2005
common sense 4-14-05
Isn’t it just pure pleasure to fly the friendly skies these days? I’m sure there are mule trains that offer more joy per mile. I know that airlines have been hard hit financially. But what management genius decided to cut back on employees that serve the public, eliminate everything from meals to movies, jam people…
earth talk 4-14-05
Dear “Earth Talk”: What are the environmental impacts of our voracious appetite for coffee? — Augie Dent, Capitola, Calif. According to the Specialty Coffee Association, Americans consume some 300 million cups of coffee every day. Globally, coffee is second only to oil in terms of dollars traded, and it leaves a tremendous social and ecological…
quick takes 4-14-05
PUT ON YOUR DANCING SHOES You’ve gotten square with Uncle Sam, and now it’s time to party. Local peace-and-justice organizations host a Tax Day fundraiser to benefit the Springfield Peace Camp for Kids. The event starts at 6 p.m. Friday, April 15, at the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 745 Woodside Rd. Music is provided…
music notes 4-14-05
Rest easy, friends of all ages: Your pals at Bread Stretchers (322 E. Monroe St., 217-753-3366) are back on the booking trail, bringing the finest in all-ages entertainment to downtown Springfield. Paradyme, Forum, and Din fill the floor on Friday, April 15. On Saturday, April 16, So Long Forgotten, Missing the Point, Midnight Falls, and…
Hey, George!
He showed up in Little Rock for the dedication of the Clinton Presidential Library — and Bill Clinton was, um, no Abe Lincoln. But will he come to Springfield to honor a real Republican? At press time, we still don’t know whether President George W. Bush plans to show up to dedicate the new Abraham…
backstage pass 4-14-05
Many of this weekend’s theatrical offerings are focused on the celebration of the official opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. A big downtown block party, with history as its theme, is planned for a large area stretching from the Lincoln Home neighborhood north to the museum, 212 N. Sixth St. On the grounds of…
sound patrol 4-14-05
Never mind that Beck looks approximately 15. Never mind that he previewed songs from Guero, his eighth album, on The O.C. He’s 34 years old, married, and a new father. Is it any surprise that his decision to re-enlist the Dust Brothers, the beat scientists behind his double-platinum Odelay, has been roundly dismissed as the…
Are you an idiot?
Broadcast journalism has never been this awful. If you’ve ever watched a few minutes of Fox News, CNN, or even Springfield’s own WICS (Channel 20) news and wondered how such programming could be aired, the answer is simple: Most of the major broadcast outlets have been gobbled up by a handful of companies in recent…
movie review
Alejandro Amenábar’s The Sea Inside (Mar adentro) is a film filled with contradictions. Based on the real-life struggle of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who spent 30 years fighting for the right to end his own life, the film is both a celebration of life and a plea for the right to die. The premise may sound…
flicks 4-14-05
Why do so many actors become directors, and why has this resulted in a conspiracy against Martin Scorsese? His recent Academy Award loss to Clint Eastwood marks the third time he has lost the Best Director award to an actor. Previously Robert Redford and Kevin Costner snatched the award Scorsese deserved. Is Million Dollar Baby…
appetite 4-14-05
If you’re one of the lucky 600-or-so people who paid $500 to eat a piece of Mary Todd Lincoln’s white cake, don’t read any further. But if you already know the menu or you didn’t want to fork over that much dough — even if it is for a good cause — then read on…
The gifts of the Greeks
In the summer of 1942, the District Convention of the Order of AHEPA (the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) was held for three days at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in downtown Springfield. The executive officers of the convention and their wives welcomed chapter members from around the state of Illinois to meet, enjoy each other’s…
Celebration schedule
SATURDAY APRIL 16 Tour the Museum 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (with paid admission) Looking for Lincoln Block Party A two-day celebration featuring living history, music, theater troupes, choirs, folk dancers, and artists; 10 a.m.-9 p.m., downtown from Old State Capitol to the neighborhood of Lincoln’s family home to the presidential museum Culinary Courtyard Cuisine from Springfield-area…
gardening 4-14-05
Come spring, what do you do with the perennial herbs in your garden? Check all of the woody perennials for new growth — mainly lavender, oregano, sage, tarragon, thyme, winter savory, and (if you’ve provided a bit extra protection in the central-Illinois hardiness zone) rosemary. Once the fear of hard frost is over, usually by…
