Mellencamp’s evolution on display at Sangamon Auditorium
John Mellencamp played a dynamic set at Sangamon Auditorium on April 10. Patrick Yeagle John Mellencamp has come a long way since writing his most famous ditty, “Jack and Diane,” at the age of 22. “Who wants to go back to doing what they were doing when they were 22 years old?” Mellencamp, now 64,…
Judge sides with officer
Sangamon County Associate Judge Rudolph Braud has upheld the decision of an arbitrator who ruled that a Springfield police officer who tested positive for steroids cannot be fired. Loren Pettit, who was fired in 2014 after testing positive for clenbuterol, an asthma medication banned in the U.S. that is used as an illegal performance enhancer…
April music showers
Kris Bell Band with Owen & Dooley Presents perform at 6 p.m., at the Curve Inn, Sunday, April 10. As we stroll along the boulevard of winter-spring balancing acts, music matters move along no matter whether the weather is this or that. Along with the continuous supply of local bands at different bars, some new…
Faith Coalition calls on governor to restart union contract negotiations
Pastor Silas Johnson (front), Pastor T. Ray McJunkins (right) and Rev. Martin Woulfe (left). Photo by Patrick Yeagle The Springfield-based Faith Coalition for the Common Good today called on Gov. Bruce Rauner to restart negotiations over union contracts. The stalling of negotiation comes as Illinois enters its 10th month without a state budget, gutting many…
Being all you can be
This week I dust off a Prejudices column from June 3, 1993, when same-sex marriage was illegal in Illinois and many Springfieldians still believed that same-sex love should be too. Tom Chiola, by the way, went on to serve as a judge of the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County from 1994 to 2009; he…
Letters to the Editor 4/7/16
These are panels from last week’s cartoon by Jen Sorensen. For the full cartoon go to www.illinoistimes.com. GOD AND NORTH CAROLINA This is in response to the recent posting of Jen Sorensen’s nationally syndicated cartoon published in the March 31 edition of Illinois Times. The cartoon was a sarcastic repudiation of North Carolina’s recent…
Editor’s note 4/7/16
Several states require politicians to shut down their campaign funds after they leave office. Susan Garrett, board chair of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, says “in a perfect world” Illinois should have a similar requirement. But even Garrett has kept her campaign fund open three years after leaving her state Senate seat. As this…
Too much secrecy in government
We have a secrecy problem. This may seem odd to say during an era in which the most intimate details of individuals’ lives are on display. Yet government is moving behind closed doors, and this is definitely the wrong direction. In fact, I’m dismayed by how often public officials fight not to do the public’s…
Summer camp fun
PHOTO COURTESY CAMP ONDESSONK’s FACEBOOK PAGE Enjoy a full week of summer camp condensed into one fun evening during Camp Ondessonk’s Saturday Spectacular on Saturday, April 9, from 3:30 to 9 p.m., at St. Agnes School in Springfield. Some of Camp Ondessonk’s very own staff will supervise children ages 6-14 during the drop-off event which…
The voice of the heartland
PHOTO BY ARMANDO L. SANCHEZ/TNS See one of the most highly regarded songwriters of a generation Sunday, April 10, when John Mellencamp performs with special guest Carlene Carter in support of Mellencamp’s 2014 record, Plain Spoken. Mellencamp’s accolades are numerous and span his more than 35-year-long career. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll…
Make a difference
If you or your organization is involved in charity work, you won’t want to miss this two-day conference led by Bob Lupton, author of Toxic Charity and Charity Detox. The conference is designed to teach leadership teams how to make sure their resources are helping to foster systematic change, as opposed to creating dependency and…
Slight of hand
PHOTO COURTESY AMY ALKON Amy Alkon My boyfriend mistakenly sent me a text meant for somebody else – a real estate agent with my same first name who’s showing him apartments. This made me feel like I’m unimportant – easily confused with just anybody – and I got really upset. Of course, I know that…
Jackpot
CARTOON BY CHRIS BRITT Nearly 20 years ago, former Gov. Pat Quinn looked like a proverbial pauper. Quinn had less than $150 in his campaign war chest as of June 30, 1998, a seminal moment for campaign funds in Illinois. As part of a campaign-finance reform bill passed by the legislature that year, money collected…
Police and Fire pensions don’t respond to call
It’s been more than four years since a bipartisan, government-backed study recommended that hundreds of Illinois small police and fire pensions be fused into a single, unified investment group. And what’s happened since? Nothing. Inertia has set in, despite the backing of Gov. Bruce Rauner, key lawmakers, public pension experts and municipal finance professionals who…
Back to work
Eric Smith of Chicago is ready to take over his grandmother’s funeral home when she retires, but he can’t. That’s because Smith earned a criminal record when he was 17, and that mistake 27 years ago prevents him from obtaining the state license he needs. “I went to school for three degrees and two certificates,”…
Elkhart residents challenge coal ash disposal plan
Waste impoundment dams at Viper Mine near Elkhart. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE The mine which supplies coal to Springfield’s municipal utility faces opposition from neighbors against a plan to expand a coal ash disposal site near Elkhart. The contested plan comes as the coal industry faces significant market pressure and pollution challenges. On March 31,…
Fraud alleged in bankruptcy
A U.S. bankruptcy court trustee has leveled fraud accusations against Maureen Suhadolnik, former owner of Gold’s Gym, which closed last year amid bankruptcy proceedings, In court papers filed last month, trustee Nancy Gargula says that Maureen Suhadolnik, whose gym declared bankruptcy in 2014 and was closed after being taken over by Illini Bank last fall,…
No city jobs for medical marijuana users
If you’re licensed to use medical marijuana and are employed by the City of Springfield, you may want to start looking for a new job. Because of the city’s drug policy, workers face uncertainty about holding a city job while using medical marijuana, even if they’re legally allowed to. While licensed medical marijuana consumers can…
Police just log in
In 1947, a police officer’s call to the communications desk was the best method to get information about potential suspects. Today, all they have to do is log in. Access to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have changed the way law enforcement officers receive tips and leads pertaining to criminal behavior. Police…
BRICK BUDDIES
Many adults can trace their interest in science and art back to their play time as children, and for many of us, LEGO bricks played a central role in our love for learning. It makes sense, then, to use LEGO to teach kids the basics of problem solving. That’s the purpose of the Central Illinois…
REMARKABLE REUSE
When Springfield native Julia Ann Cain got hitched last month, she did it in style – wearing the same dress her mother and grandmother each wore at their own weddings decades ago. Cain is an award-winning style blogger (ohjuliaann.com) who grew up in Springfield and now lives in St. Louis. Her grandmother’s wedding dress came…
Doris more than it appears
Sally Field as Doris in Hello, My Name is Doris. The most surprising thing about Michael Showalter’s Hello, My Name is Doris is how thematically dense it proves to be. The comedy about one woman’s misguided attraction towards a much younger man also touches upon issues of abandonment, loneliness, loss of identity and, ultimately, self-awareness.…
Livin’ Thing
Another creative, hard-hitting, pull-no-punches band from Springfield’s continuously burgeoning punk-and-DIY scene knocks off a cool show and record release event. Livin’ Thing is putting out a five-song cassette tape along with an available digital download called It’s a Livin’ Thing through Rat King Records out of Urbana. Bandmates Brian Galecki, BJ Pearce, Mike Tirehaus, Mario…
Where does the GOP’s right-wing grouchiness come from?
Jim Hightower PHOTO BY LARRY D. MOORE I’ve found it! I’ve discovered the original document from which today’s tea party pontificators have drawn their political creed. Tea-infused Republicans are the “anti” party – anti-science, anti-public, anti-worker, anti-environment, anti-Obama … anti-anti-anti. Where does all this unrelenting bombastic negativity come from? It turns out that their sour…
lincoln half-marathon 2016
awaiting the lincoln half-marathonyellow directional abe signs up forweeks no parking ones since yesterdayI’ll put on my lincoln top hat genuinevintage liberated from clayville whenour school sold that priceless villagedown the river no inventory record sonobody missed it it’s since seen lots ofmad hatter use (at 2/6) but today all abewill there be more blade…
Little house of horrors
CARTOON BY CHRIS BRITT
For Passover, taste a culture
The Seder meal is a culinary retelling of the Israelites’ flight from slavery, and marks the beginning of the eight-day Passover holiday, which begins this year on April 22. Around this time every year, I contemplate what I will make for a weekend brunch as I flip through various culinary magazines. Along with the standard…
