Forgive me father, for I have Harley-ed
My first motorcycle was a 1975 Honda Goldwing, unless you count the summer when I occasionally rode a 1973 Honda CL350 that didn’t always start, which wasn’t a bad thing, given I had no driver’s license at the time. The Goldwing, purchased from my father, was a heavy slug of a bike, reportedly developed so…
Getting tough on sexual harassment
Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, spent more than a year holding hearings and overseeing negotiations which eventually produced SB 1829, a massive omnibus bill on sexual harassment. The proposal would do everything from limiting non-disclosure agreements that could prohibit disclosure of sexual harassment, to preventing unions from representing both an accuser and an alleged harasser in…
Letters to the Editor
AGREES WITH GAS TAX INCREASEIf I were running for office, supporting the proposed state gas tax increase likely would doom my chances. Nonetheless, a gas tax increase at this time makes great sense and definitely is justified. The gas tax hasn’t been increased for almost 30 years, (and the same for the federal gas tax,…
Editor’s Note
If talking sense about border security is what you want, send somebody from Springfield. Sen. Richard Durbin, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, was in El Paso last week to get a firsthand look at the situation on the southwest border. “President Trump’s border policies have failed. His fixation with a wall and…
How politics have changed
I became active in politics in the late 1950s, got elected to Congress in 1964, and have remained engaged in one way or another every year since then. I’ve had a ringside seat for a long time. So I suppose I should not be surprised that I get asked a lot these days how American…
Crepusculum
The SAA Collective is hosting another installment of Night Gallery. Gallery director Corrin McWhirter will lead the tour of “Crepusculum,” featuring works by Joe Ciaccio, Leslie Stalter and Mehr Tumulty. The work of these three artists combine to tell a story of confronting the unknown, exploring our inner spirit and understanding the relationship between place and identity. Local writers Eli…
Alchemist Review launch
The University of Illinois Springfield presents the 8th annual Student Technology, Arts and Research Symposium (STARS). UIS undergraduate and graduate students will showcase their research and creative activities through short talks, poster presentations, art exhibitions, and musical and theatrical performances throughout the three-day event to be held at the UIS campus. The symposium gives the…
Frontline under fire
With 15 directors in 16 years, court-ordered compliance, government reviews, stormy legislative hearings and several recent highly publicized deaths of children, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has become everyone’s punching bag. The newly nominated DCFS director, former department employee Marc D. Smith, faces the unenviable task of trying to run the…
Family fun day highlights a year of autism support events
On Saturday, April 27, central Illinois families are invited to enjoy several hours of sensory-friendly activities during Autism Support of Central Illinois’ Family Fun Day and Walk. The annual fundraising event raises money and awareness for Autism Support of Central Illinois, an organization that provides outreach to local autism families via sensory-friendly events, grants, educational…
This ain’t your grandma’s garden club
For 90 years the Springfield Civic Garden Club has been helping to beautify neighborhoods across the community. The club’s annual plant sale has earned a reputation as an affordable source for old-school garden favorites such as hostas, grasses, daylilies, iris, ferns, shasta daisies and more. The vast majority of plants on offer at the sale…
The SHS grad who helps families make babies
The Springfield High School (SHS) Hall of Fame honors graduates who have achieved national eminence. Pamela Cohen Hirsch, class of 1964, is the most recent honoree, inducted March 29 at a ceremony in the Springfield High School auditorium. After a highly successful business career, Hirsch founded the nonprofit Baby Quest Foundation in 2012. The organization…
Opting out of opioids
A bill being considered in the Illinois House that has received bipartisan support would make the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program a permanent option for Illinois patients. The program launched Jan. 31 and is set to expire next year. The Opioid Alternative Pilot Program, which allows patients who are prescribed an opioid to seek medical cannabis…
STOP AND SMELL THE LILIES
Polar vortex and all, it’s been a long winter, no? Heck, it snowed less than a week ago, the same day Amazon delivered a bevy of banana-palm starts we ordered, either because we had blind faith or were cautiously optimistic. The starts are safely, we hope, in the ground. For inspiration, we like to visit…
A QUESTION OF FUNDING
On April 23 the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to allow a citizenship status question on the 2020 Census. The high court will need to reach a decision quickly once oral arguments are presented, because the Census Bureau intends to have questionnaires printed no later than June 30. In 2016, Pew Research estimated that…
Marshall’s Hellboy for true fans only
I don’t know how to say this without it sounding condescending, but if you don’t read Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, then you simply won’t get Neil Marshall’s new version of the demonic superhero’s adventures. While you have to admire the filmmaker’s adherence to the source material (with Mignola as one of the producers he may have…
Hoppin’ music happenings
Easter weekend is finally here, coming in late due to some lunar versus equinox decisions made by the Catholic Church several hundred years ago, but who’s counting, anyway. Because of the Sunday holiday, this weekend is usually a bit slower than most, but it appears we can find a way to enjoy our live music…
Koe Wetzel
When this fiery group gets to kickin’ out the jams, look out below as the songs come crashing down like fallin’ rain on a hard-baked highway, Texas country style. Hailing from Stephenville in East Texas, Koe Wetzel (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) takes the band of Andres Rocha (drums), Mason Morris (bass, harmony vocal), Michael Odis…
music (?) poem #22
one reason I go to the UU group on sundays is to listen to Bonnie E play I wanted to learn piano as a kid so did my sister yet there were too many notes all at once we did much better on strings but here’s how we gained keyboard aplomb we’d take a hymnal…
A chef’s wedding
When I announced that I would be getting remarried on April Fool’s Day and cooking the food for my own wedding reception, many people thought I was joking. In truth, I was just carrying on a family tradition. We have a long family history of hosting elaborate gatherings with attendance sometimes exceeding 100. Events of…
