Lawyer disciplinary board hits Cahnman
A hearing board that is part of the disciplinary arm of the Illinois Supreme Court has recommended that the law license of former Springfield alderman Sam Cahnman be suspended for 90 days. A hearing board for the state Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission found that Cahnman behaved dishonestly when he represented Calvin Christian III in…
“Sinister 2” Lacks Direction
Some sequels are a complete waste of time and Sinister 2 is surely one of those. If there is a logical way to continue a story or if a series of films have been planned and each segment moves an epic tale along, then follow-up movies can and have had merit. However, when a sequel…
“American Ultra” Half-Baked
Nima Nourizadeh’s American Ultra isn’t necessarily a bad movie as much as it’s a production made with a script that needed another rewrite. This is a “close, but no cigar” kind of a flick, one that contains some good ideas, features a solid cast and has an inventive director at the helm. There are times…
New top cop at park district
Andre Parker, new interim head of the Springfield Park District police department, is a hands-on leader.Don’t believe it? Check out the restrooms in department headquarters, which Parker, a self-acknowledged clean freak, scoured himself on his first day of work.“I like things to be orderly and clean,” says Parker, who started work on Aug. 4. “There…
Fore! Do I hear five?
Illinois National Bank has foreclosed on the owner of Piper Glen Golf Course and taken over the facility. The bank this week filed an emergency motion in Sangamon County Circuit Court to take possession of the course, and Walters Golf Management, based in St. Louis, is now in charge. Bryce Voisin, revenue manager for Walters…
Is a hot dog a sandwich?
We have a confession to make. Illinois Times has been an office divided for the past several weeks. We know you’re all wondering what topic could possibly be polarizing enough to divide a newspaper that has been on the central Illinois scene for 40 years, so we’ll just tell you: The subject is hot dogs.…
Will the REAL Pat Yeagle please stand up?
On Aug. 10, the Illinois State Fair Museum Foundation announced the winners of its “Illinoisan of the Day” promotion, honoring people around the state who have made contributions to Illinois through “service activities, educational projects, and/or youth programs supporting agriculture; and have an affiliation with state and/or county fairs in Illinois and show their true…
Lincoln’s Union problem
The Quartet by Joseph Ellis Bells in Springfield – church bells, hand bells, even cell phone ringers – rang at 2:15 p.m. on April 9 to mark the 150th anniversary of the end of major Civil War fighting. Except, as I explored in part in “Naming rights and wrongs” (July 9, 2015), the Civil War…
Our democracy is now their plutocracy
Once upon a time in our Good Ol’ US-of-A, presidential contenders and their political parties had to raise the funds needed to make the race. How quaint. But for the 2016 run, this quaint way of selecting our candidates is no longer the case, thanks to the Supreme Court’s malicious meddling in the democratic process…
Still waiting for compromise
The absurd facade of this long-running state government impasse might best be summed up with two brief statements. 1) Gov. Bruce Rauner to Democrats: “Just support my plans to eviscerate organized labor and I’ll give you the rare privilege of voting to raise everybody’s income taxes.” 2) Democrats to Gov. Rauner: “Just accept our piddly…
Letters to the Editor 8/20/15
A CLEAR CORRELATION Mr. Hellner’s views on climate change are certainly comforting (“Letters,” Aug. 6). I, too, would like to believe that the earth is merely experiencing a cyclical pattern of heating and cooling, and that in the long run, all is well. Which makes me wonder, is Mr. Hellner a scientist? Does he hold…
Editor’s note 8/20/15
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources entry in last week’s State Fair Twilight Parade was a truck pulling a big trailer carrying one person. Nothing could illustrate better that the once-proud agency has been decimated by successive budget cuts over the years, and it’s getting worse. This week the Rauner administration sent out layoff notices…
Melting ice and rising ocean levels
The big Paris climate conference is now just three months away. The latest research on climate change is just in from the dean of climate scientists, James Hansen. He and his team of 16 climate scientists, using the research findings of hundreds of top scientists, along with the work of the United Nations climate science…
“Let it snow, let it snooooooow…”
PHOTO BY PATRICK RUSSELL Young fans of the hit Disney film based off Hans Christian Andersen’s fabulous fairytale “The Snow Queen” will enjoy an arctic blast of winter fun at The Legacy Theatre’s Summertime Snow Party. For this weekend only, Springfield’s oldest-turned-newest home for entertainment teams up with Urban Sassafras to offer four pre-film parties…
New faces in a familiar place
The Prairie Art Alliance presents a gallery show resulting from the first-ever group of artists from its Emerging Artists Program. The goal of the program is to further the professional development of new artistic talent and prepare artists to successfully navigate the art world. This is achieved by pairing fresh-to-the-scene artists with veteran PAA exhibitors…
Praise and positivity through music
The area’s longest-running Christian music festival, Powerlight Fest, returns to the Illinois State Fair’s Lincoln Stage on Sunday, Aug. 23, for nine hours of worship, music and fun. The festival, which began at Knights Action Park in 1991, has been an Illinois State Fair mainstay. Festival founder Greg Cooper, the longtime co-host of the Powerlight…
Gone Juan
I’m a 20-year-old woman, and for three months last year I dated a 21-year-old guy. Suddenly, out of the blue, he stopped returning my calls. I spent about a month trying to find out what had happened but he wouldn’t respond to texts or email, either. Well, last week, I ran into him, and he…
The ancient story told by Dickson Mounds
The Dickson Mounds Museum is about 60 miles northwest of Springfield, at Lewistown, near Havana. PHOTO Courtesy of the Illinois State Museum, Doug Carr, Museum Photographer. In the morning, the landscape is shrouded in mist, and a profound stillness permeates the air, interrupted only by the beating wings of a thousand snow geese as they…
Steady progress on criminal justice reform
Illinois could save millions of dollars annually by implementing reforms to the criminal justice system, according to a new report from a conservative think tank. Meanwhile, the state’s criminal justice reform group is working out the details of making changes, which aren’t always as simple as they seem. In February, Gov. Bruce Rauner created the…
Springfield police to wear body cameras
The Springfield Police Department plans to adopt body cameras for officers under a new state law which took effect last week. The law was prompted by a growing public consciousness concerning people of color dying violently during encounters with police. It’s unclear how soon Springfield police will be wearing body cameras or how much implementing…
Going slow on marijuana
While other states ease up on marijuana laws, Gov. Bruce Rauner last week took a cautious route in altering bills sent to him by legislators who aimed to make life easier both for medical marijuana patients and recreational users. Rauner rejected a bill that would have extended the state’s pilot medical marijuana program, now scheduled…
SHOW BUSINESS
Remember Timmy Lynch? He’s the little boy from Springfield whose dream came true two years ago when country superstar Brad Paisley tossed his hat to the tyke during a concert at Prairie Capital Convention Center (Hat Trick, Nov. 27, 2013). Timmy was also allowed on stage to give flowers to Carrie Underwood at his first-ever…
KING OF THE HOGS
Congratulations to Dylan McCafferty of Sherman, whose show hog won Grand Champion Barrow in the Governor’s Sale of Champions at the Illinois State Fair on Aug. 18. The hog sold for a record $76,500, demolishing the old record of $25,000. Who would spend $76,500 on a single pig? The buyer was Terry Duffy, executive chairman…
U.N.C.L.E. is an entertaining, stylish throwback
Alicia Vikander, Armie Hammer and Henry Cavill in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I doubt that there was ever a great clamor for a big screen adaptation of the 1960’s Cold War television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and the fact that it’s been in development for over a decade shows just how bankrupt Hollywood is…
More than fair
Gaelic Storm rolls into Boondocks on Thurs., Aug. 20 with O’Hare & Irwin opening at 7:30 p.m. for an all ages show. As we head into the second and final weekend of the 2015 Illinois State Fair, the dust has settled, the corn dogs are setting low and the beer tents are settling in with…
2nd Chance Band
When you get a second chance you best make the most of it, and longtime local musicians Doug Bernet (drums), Marc Camp (vocals), Ralph Carbonell (guitar, vocals), Tom Jackson (bass, vocals) and Jeff Rocco (guitar, keyboard, vocals) are doing just that. With plenty shows around town and a sweet spot on Friday at the Bud…
New operating system
David Fowler, executive director of Computer Banc, says a new type of laptop developed by his agency could help school districts cut computer costs. Meanwhile, donations of surplus computers (inset) pour in. Photo by BRUCE RUSHTON When Computer Banc first moved into its new headquarters on East Groth Street last spring, the 12,000-square-foot facility, formerly…
Petro-produce
CARTOON BY JEN SORENSON
Fair or foul farmers markets
Farmer Hans Bishop, co-owner of PrairiErth Farm in Atlanta stands in his flooded field. PHOTO COURTESTY PrairiErth Farm It’s a scene that remains crystal clear from my produce farm (aka truck garden) days. It was a dark and stormy night. Actually, it was stormy that entire summer. Most fields had to be replanted; some more…
vermont poem 2015 #2
vermont poem 2015 #2 it takes some learning to sit on it thenew composting toilet my grandkids just expertly installed (I came out here to help but haven’t because I zonked my arm on a wall in the dark) you need to climb on the gleaming alabaster throne a regal empress a small fan whirrs under …
