Get your poetry on
Two great events for National Poetry Month are unfortunately both on Thursday, April 10. A Night of Poetry will be held at the Anne Lloyd Gallery of the Madden Arts Center, 125 N. Water in Decatur. From 6:30-8:30 p.m. there will be original readings from Springfield Poets and Writers President Hugh Moore; Benedictine University professors Amy Sayre…
A.D. Carson rides again
Last summer, teacher, poet and recording artist A.D. Carson left Springfield to pursue his Ph.D. at South Carolina’s Clemson University, leaving a notable gap in local culture (the fact that he was awarded his second Torch Tuesday “Lyricist of the Year” Award in absentia speaks volumes to his status in the hip-hop community). Carson is…
Cougar, cougar, shining bright
In the fall of 2012, I remarked (“They’re b-a-a-a-c-k”) on video evidence that confirmed the presence in a Morgan County woods of an adult cougar. The animal was then only the fourth known to have been sighted in Illinois since the 1870s, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. I went on to say…
Wrong-headedness about schools
This morning Rich Miller over at Capital Fax.com responded to a recent report comparing Chicago charter schools outcomes to those at the city’s neighborhood schools. [The] over-emphasis on taking tests (with the resultant uproar over what are likely quite meaningless results) and driving kids to attend college is philosophically wrong-headed, whether in Chicago or the…
Christian pleads guilty
Calvin Christian III Calvin Christian III says that Springfield police have harassed him for no good reason. But Christian recently pleaded guilty to charges of reckless driving and fleeing police that he cites in a federal lawsuit as examples of harassment that began when he filed complaints against officers and sued the city to gain…
Tonight and tomorrow: Art openings at SAA and The Pharmacy
This Friday and Saturday will provide Springfield art appreciators multiple opportunities to do just that at three separate receptions of exciting contemporary art . Tonight, the Springfield Art Association will be presenting Trigger: New Work by UIS Art Faculty in the new M.G. Nelson Family Gallery from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The show will…
Wait control
Thinking about epistolary romancing for last week’s column (Please mister postman), I wondered, Do romantic emails excite the same kind of response as the old-fashioned love letter? I used to think that they could not. Yes, the process of composing one is letter-like, but the speed of their transmission puts them into a different category. The…
Images of Illinois
Guess where IT was last night? At the Hoogland Center for the Arts where our star helps hold down the floor in the lobby. Last night was the reception for winners of the Prairie Art Alliance Images of Illinois Photography Contest, sponsored by Illinois Times. Congratulations to everyone! This is the entrance to the beautiful…
Images of Illinois
Best of Show and Adult Professional – Place winner is a photo of the Peoria Civic Center by Brian MacKenzie. “Great execution and composition.” “Lines,” a black-and-white photograph of the Peoria Civic Center, evoked this comment and earned Brian MacKenzie of Springfield “Best of Show” in Prairie Art Alliance’s 2014 Images of Illinois Photography Contest,…
The fastidious and the furious
My boyfriend of nine years is extremely messy, while I prefer things tidy and clean. Cajoling, asking and flat-out begging him for consideration and help on this hasn’t worked, nor have tactics like establishing certain areas for clutter. He contends I’m too picky about how he cleans. He says this started when we moved in…
Come together
Classic Albums Live is coming to the Sangamon Auditorium, UIS, Friday, April 4, to perform songs from the Beatles classic album Abbey Road. That’s what the group Classic Albums Live does. Founded in 2003 by Craig Martin, the musicians perform the songs cut for cut, note for note, without “gimmickry and cheesy impersonations” as stated…
A gambling mecca
This Qik-N-EZ on Peoria Road isn’t near an interstate but is still deemed a truck stop by the Illinois Gaming Board, which has granted a license for round-the-clock gambling. PHOTO BY BRUCE RUSHTON Illinois has gone ga-ga over video gambling, with Springfield leading the state in numbers of machines and dollars wagered, according to the…
Telling voters what they don’t want to hear
Gov. Pat Quinn The governor’s plan to give homeowners $500 back each year is a generous idea but may not work out, according to tax expert Ralph Martire. Gov. Pat Quinn presented his annual budget address March 26 at the Capitol. In the 25-minute speech, Quinn emphasized his plan to stabilize revenues and prevent deep…
Illinois may decriminalize small amounts of marijuana
Rep. Michael Zalewski sponsors one of three bills that would lower penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Photo BY PATRICK YEAGLE Illinois could follow the example of several other states in decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, thanks to legislation under consideration in the Illinois General Assembly. The three bills prescribe tickets – effectively…
musicpoem, sort of #1
musicpoem, sort of #1 when we were kids we took our musiclessons in madison every saturday atthe wisconsin school of music a big oldhouse with sound pouring out of every fissure from squeaks squawks scales to csardas and the goldberg variationswhen you entered the house you faced a fireplace never any fire but on themantle…
Anderson in fine form
Tom Wilkinson, Tony Revolori and Owen Wilson. PHOTO COURTESY FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES It’s tempting to say that if you’ve seen one Wes Anderson film, you’ve seen them all, an ironic comment that I can’t help but think the director would appreciate. Each and every one of his movies from Rushmore on (The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic…
Editor’s Note 4/3/14
Our comprehensive report this week on video gambling [see “A gambling mecca,” by Bruce Rushton, p. 12] includes the fact that Springfield is leading the state in the number of machines. Aren’t we proud! In the past two years since the machines have been legal, Springfield and Sangamon County gamblers have lost about $18 million…
Hooten Hallers
Formed in Columbia, Mo., circa 2006, as a duo of John Randall on gunslinger guitar and Andy Rehm on destroyer drums, The Hooten Hallers toured the country espousing the glories of modern hillbilly life through blues, soul, country and a whole lot of hootin’ and hollerin’ from all reports. With the recent addition of Paul…
Reading recipes
It’s one of my biggest fears, something that sometimes even keeps me awake at night: Writing recipes that are inaccurate, incomplete or incomprehensibly worded. When I started teaching cooking classes, I was determined to write accurate, easily understood recipes. Cooking involves all of the senses, not just taste. I knew what I meant when I…
Letters to the Editor 4/3/14
TOWER POWER In response to the Illinois Times article “A beacon for ex-cons” (Patrick Yeagle, March 13), I think this is a wonderful program. I want to thank the creators and staff of the Tower of Refuge for realizing this need and creating a system that works. And I want to thank all of the people…
Contemporary media
The latest exhibition at Springfield Art Association is the new work of University of Illinois Springfield faculty. An opening reception is Friday, April 4, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Featured faculty artists include Brytton Bjorngaard, Shane Harris, Tim Kowalczyk, Allison Lacher, Mike Miller, Michael Prault, Megan Rigoni-McCormic, Jeff Robinson and Clay Stalter. The event is in conjunction…
Another day, another lawsuit
The Ball-Chatham School District is once again being sued by a citizen watchdog group that last year prevailed in a lawsuit filed over alleged violations of the state Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Better Chatham Schools and Duane Sieren, president of the group formed last year, say…
No fooling around this April
Famed jazz drummer Barrett Deems (born in Springfield on March 1, 1914 and died in 1998) was honored last Sunday at Sangamon Auditorium during a performance by the SFJazz Collective. Oh, how I wait for April Fools’ Day to fall on a Thursday again. But alas and alack, we have a few years left to…
Wild hog hunting
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources wants to eliminate “feral swine,” or wild hogs, in the state. The department has established new rules regarding hog hunting. Hogs may now only be hunted during Illinois’ firearm deer seasons. “Feral swine are detrimental to wildlife and wildlife habitats and can spread disease,” IDNR Director Marc Miller said.…
No more backsliding
We have had several thought-provoking conversations recently about a new and surprising description of women’s status in America. According to the latest Shriver Report, A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink, a study by journalist Maria Shriver and the Washington think tank Center for American Progress, American women are at risk of “backsliding” from…
The Pharmacy spreads its artistic wings
Member artist Jeff Williams and his painting “Velolincolnlandia” in The Pharmacy’s new upstairs studio space. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Started in 2011, the once-scrappy art collective known as The Pharmacy is preparing to mount its eighth group show this Saturday, April 5. Fittingly entitled “Metamorphosis,” the exhibit is a progress report on a grass-roots group…
The symbolism of one adjunct professor’s death
If one obscure college professor dies, does it make any difference? If you’re Margaret Mary Vojtko, yes. Margaret Mary died last summer at age 83 – and her death has turned her name into an emotional rallying cry for adjunct college teachers who’re seeking justice from their schools. Vojtko had taught French classes for 25…
Litigation nation
Curses, foiled againCarlos Ruiz, 42, stole a sound system and other values from a home in Haddon Township, N.J., according to police, who identified him as their suspect after he returned a half-hour later for the remote he forgot the first time. (NJ.com) Christopher Brent Fulton, 30, surrendered to authorities after seeing his photo as…
Please Mr. Postman
Vachel Lindsay and Sara Teasdale Just when I thought I could learn to forget herRight through the door come a tear-stained letter.– “Tear-stained Letter,” Richard Thompson “We will go out and write poetry in red chalk on the State House walk, where he who runs may read. That will be a conjunction of planets, and…
Illinois may end ‘planned abandonment’
Toni Hoy speaks to lawmakers during a legislative hearing on a bill to end “planned abandonment” of adopted children who need intensive care for emotional disturbances. Photo BY PATRICK YEAGLE When Dan Hoy was just six months old, he was taken from his biological parents by the state. He was lethargic and starving to death,…
Gov’s budget proposal
It turns out that the governor and the two Democratic legislative leaders met privately for at least several days to negotiate details of Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget address. The highly unusual move means that most, if not all aspects of Gov. Quinn’s budget proposals last week have already been agreed to by the Democrats who…
Friends expand land
Friends of the Sangamon Valley recently acquired a 110-acre farm in Christian County. A couple will be leaving the farm to the organization as a part of their estate plan, according to Friends President Vern LaGesse. The group plans to farm it for 15-25 years and restore it to woodlands. The Friends of the Sangamon…
Libation creations
Illinois State Museum joins downtown First Fridays with an event for science, art, history, music and beer lovers. Art + Science Craft Beer is set from 5-8 p.m. Find curators and scientists who will discuss and answer your questions in the Art + Science of Drink Changes exhibition that includes vintage beer bottles (some from…
