Familiarity Makes
More times than not, there’s a recurring problem where most faith-based movies are concerned – they’re often less-than subtle in delivering their message, which is ironic because for the most part they’re preaching to the choir. Such is the case with Thomas Carter’s When the Game Stands Tall, a fact-based film based on the book…
Former teacher pleads guilty
“Believe it or not, I care for you. I love you. You’re like a son to me.” Not words one expects to hear a child molester tell his victim after finally being held accountable years after the fact. But that’s what Steven R. Battles, a former Springfield school teacher, told his victim in the courtroom…
Chuck’s Classic Movie Picks 8/25 – 8/31
Classic Pick of the Week – The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) Orson Welles was more than up to the task of following up Citizen Kane (1941) as he planned to make a sweeping, familial saga set at the turn of the century by adapting Booth Tarkington’s novel The Magnificent Ambersons. Unfortunately, the studio heads at RKO…
Big words
In next week’s column, “What do you mean by that?” I ask the perennial question: Big words – what are they good for? One man who has some very good answers to that question is writer James S. Murphy, who offers them in “The case for SAT words,” published on-line on Dec. 11, 2013 at…
Sears, No-buck
In a 2012 column I recalled the bad deal made by the State of Illinois in 1989 when it caved it to threats from Sears, Roebuck to move its Merchandise Group out of Illinois. The package authorized a new TIF-like Economic Development Area (EDA) that diverted property tax revenues from local schools to the company, nearly 800 acres…
Bass, blues, folk, fun
Otis Gibbs sings for his supper at Donnie’s Homespun on Thurs., Aug. 21 at 7:30 p.m. Good heavens! Just when you think there’s nothing to do, there’s more than ever before. Here we go with a jam-packed weekend of assorted happenings. Here’s a snippet of Thursday events. Otis Gibbs, a bespectacled, bearded, Indiana native and…
Magic in the Moonlight
Emma Stone and Colin Firth in Magic in the Moonlight While Magic in the Moonlight doesn’t rank as one of Woody Allen’s finer efforts, it certainly isn’t without its charms. Of course, one should keep in mind that the writer/director’s lesser films are better than the best that most modern filmmakers can come up with,…
Missing history
As a supervisor in the department of state archives for the secretary of state’s office, Karl Moore makes a living by preserving records from courts and government offices throughout Illinois. His doesn’t have property records from Menard County for years prior to 1841, including two assessor’s books from 1839. Would he like to have them?…
TAKING STOCK
While our colleagues at the State Journal-Register go without raises while toiling to deliver all the news that’s fit to print, they can take comfort in the fact that they are helping make someone rich. The stock of New Media Investment Group, the SJ-R’s parent company that rose from the ashes of the GateHouse Media…
Things are looking up
Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival A mere 30 minutes north of Springfield, the Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival, Aug. 22-24, combines small town charm with the magic of hot air balloons. The fun takes place at two locations, on the square in downtown Lincoln and at the Logan County Airport. There is truly something for…
Under new anger management
When my boyfriend and I started dating, he was kind of a hothead. His first encounter with my friends was a game of touch football on the beach. He and another guy collided, and he lost his temper. There was a good bit of yelling, and I think people were pretty shocked. To his credit,…
norwaypoem #2
norwaypoem #2 I am in norway how refreshing to be in a spot where everyone speaks a tongue that is not mine norwegian is a musical language light its phrases end in upbeats reflecting the country and people at home I can always tell when a person speaking english is native norwegian the accent the…
Being there
Former president Richard Nixon The passage of the Civil Right’s Act 50 summers ago has gotten lots of media attention this year, and rightly so. But there’s been little – at least that I’ve heard – of the 40th anniversary of another milestone in American history. I’d forgotten that Watergate and Nixon’s resignation happened in…
Merge, right?
There is no traffic situation so bad that drivers can’t make it worse, as I was reminded while driving on I-55 recently. Work on the Des Plaines River bridge required rerouting traffic onto one lane in each direction, resulting in the mother of all merge bottlenecks. Took 40 minutes to get through. It didn’t need…
Getting to be a habit
Curses, foiled againPolice in Bloomsburg, Pa., arrested Jacob Close, 25, for jumping bail after he took part in the local newspaper’s “Your Opinion” feature and allowed his photo to be published. An officer noticed Close’s photo and tracked him down. (Associated Press) After Quamier Claiborne, 20, asked a passerby for a coat hanger, explaining that…
Fair share for Edgar?!
I’m not sure why, but the surprise appearance by former Gov. Jim Edgar at the Illinois State Fair’s Republican Day last week didn’t generate much media coverage. Despite the fact that Edgar is a Republican, this was not an easy “get” for Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Rauner. I’m told it took weeks of careful wooing…
Faith Coalition presses Quinn for rail jobs
Linda Byrd (right) of Springfield asks Sen. Andy Manar (left), D-Bunker Hill, to continue pushing for reform of the state’s education funding formula, which leaves many high-poverty schools with inadequate resources. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE In an East St. Louis church, just 12 miles from Ferguson, Missouri, where people are protesting the killing of a…
GOP’s ‘hell no’ faction
Ah, August – that time of year when the going gets tough … and Congress gets going. On vacation that is. And, to be fair, maybe Congress needs a vacation. All the stress of not passing laws and constantly thwarting any attempt by President Obama to fix America’s problems seems to be straining their sanity.…
Why government fails, and what we should do about it
As election season approaches, I’ve been pondering a crucial issue about the role of government in our society. It’s that our government often fails – and that we need to address this. What’s odd is that while the frequent failures in government’s performance are very much on ordinary people’s minds, politicians don’t talk much about…
Only in America
There were neither gun-control advocates nor concealed-carry proponents nor anyone from Ferguson last Thursday in the courtroom of Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge John Schmidt. Just an out-of-town lawyer, a couple of prosecutors and Hamoud Hizam, the cousin of Ahmed Altayeb, a tried and convicted felon. Altayeb wasn’t able to make it. He was locked…
Two nights of funny
Portuguese Rodeo Clown Company The popular Portuguese Rodeo Clown Company returns to the Hoogland Center for the Arts Aug. 22 and 23 with live improvised comedy theater. Get your tickets now by phone or online – these shows have been known to sell out. PRCC consists of five local performers who take audience suggestions and spontaneously…
Settling affairs
Paul Carlock Sangamon County sheriff Neil Williamson called me on Monday night, less than an hour after a county board committee finally deciphered writing that’s been on the wall for nearly seven years now. The county, even if it had prevailed in court, could not possibly win a lawsuit filed by the family of A.…
Letters to the Editor 8/21/14
JUDGING CHARACTER Mike Lang reported in Illinois Times on various “Conversations on race” (see “Diverse faith groups talk about race,” June 12) that have been initiated by clergy and congregations – our experience is that these have helped us transcend not only racial but also theological boundaries. As we have shared our different stories, the…
HEAR HOW PEORIA DOES NEIGHBORHOODS RIGHT
Should Springfield have a public official whose job it is to help revitalize neighborhoods? The Inner City Older Neighborhoods (ICON) coalition thinks so, and they’re hosting a public forum on Monday to talk about the idea. Joining the forum will be York Powers, the recently installed coordinator for the City of Peoria’s neighborhood revitalization program,…
Great taste ’n’ tunes
The Lee Boys Kicking off a fast approaching fall festival season, the ever-popular Old Capitol Blues and BBQS has great blues music paired with a food favorite, barbecue. Put on each year by Downtown Springfield, Inc. the festival has another amazing lineup. Headliners this year are Victor Wainwright and The Wild Roots on Friday and…
