Legalized video gambling stalled
A gambling expansion that is supposed to raise $300 million a year and help pay for statewide infrastructure improvements has yet to be implemented, more than a year after it became law. Gene O’Shea, spokesman for the Illinois Gaming Board, which regulates video gaming, says the board has no timeline for implementing the system. The…
KFD
About five months ago, Mike Williams, former guitarist in the Lost Boys and Misspent Youth, devised a strategy to form a band. He invited fellow central Illinois music “vets” Kortney Leatherwood (Sleepwalker, 808, Stone Giants) on guitar, Perry Zubeck (Cats on Holiday) on keyboards, Steve Gragert (Dirty Ernies) on bass and Shaun Tobin (Lost Boys)…
Cicero Slim again
If you were around town in 1978 and liked live music in a bar, chances are Cicero Slim and the World War III Blues Band made it onto your favorite band radar. This Friday night Mr. Slim and a good bunch of the several musicians who rotated in and out of the band reunite at…
Fun at fall festivals
As the days become shorter, the temperature cools, and leaves turn vibrant colors of yellow, orange and brown. The Springfield area is not short on its variety of fall festivals sure to keep you and your family entertained this autumn. SpringfieldSome come for the mouthwatering barbecue. Others come for good old down home blues. Whatever…
Guards allegedly beat inmate in Sangamon Juvenile Center
The parents of a juvenile delinquent allegedly beaten by guards in a Sangamon County youth jail are taking their case to court, but official records of the incident remain out of public reach. On July 6, 16-year-old Dalton McDermott of Springfield was allegedly beaten by two guards while an inmate at the Sangamon Juvenile Center,…
A new type of med school, 40 years young
Forty years ago, the success of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine was anything but certain. Six years of planning had brought the school to the point of leasing a building for its headquarters and hiring a dean. The person chosen for the job was Dr. Richard Moy. Moy, then 38 years old and…
Visit Mt. Vernon, for art and wine
Venture into southern Illinois this fall and discover two outstanding art venues that may not have been on your radar screen — the Mitchell Museum at Cedarhurst in Mt. Vernon and the Southern Illinois Art and Artisans Center at Rend Lake. The Mitchell Museum, the legacy of oil entrepreneur John R. Mitchell and his wife,…
Corporate America speaking out
Congressional Republicans have spent the first two years of the Obama administration as the rock-solid party of “no,” “uh-uh,” “no way,” “forget about it,” “nothing doing,” “we’re-against-it-and-we’ll-kill-it.” This is one reason their job approval rating is lower than that of BP executives. But now, GOP leaders in the House say they are shifting from pure…
Fall classical fare
Classical music is reaping rewards for listeners and practitioners alike in the 21st century, thanks to ease of accessibility provided to concert planners and fans. Increasingly part of “classical” concerts are selections of “global music,” which merits listeners for its variety and diversity, compared with works composed in ancient days when Marie Antoinette still possessed…
Colorful celebration
Double your pleasure, this festival hosts two sites – downtown Lincoln and Logan County Airport. The airport boasts a carnival, food and drink, and hot air balloons amassing for Friday and Saturday morning and evening flights with a glow at dusk. Fine art, craft and children’s art fairs, flea market, entertainment, Illinois wine tasting, parade,…
Surprising Greenville
About an hour and a half south of Springfield, meandering down highway 127 to where it intersects Interstate 70, is the town of Greenville. According to the town fathers it has been hailed as “a Norman Rockwell town,” or “a town for all seasons.” With the picturesque square featuring the Bond County Courthouse, a Civil…
Group wants local rail jobs
A Springfield-based community group is hoping to make the contentious arrival of high-speed rail into a blessing by making sure 30 percent of the jobs from the project go to local disadvantaged workers. The Faith Coalition for the Common Good hosted a public meeting Aug. 19 at Union Baptist Church to discuss the coming project’s…
Fall Guide calendar
ONGOING Artist on the Plaza Aug 26, 31, Sep 02, 12-1pm, Tuesday and Thursday outdoor instrumental, vocal, dance or musical theater performance. Old State Capitol, 1 Old State Capitol Plaza. 753-3519. Illinois Products Farmers Market Through Oct 21, 4-7pm, Every Thursday, Fresh local food and entertainment. Commodity Pavilion. Illinois State Fairgrounds, 801 Sangamon Ave. 785-4873.…
Daring to imagine the future
Mayor Tim Davlin early this month announced his appointments to the City of Springfield’s new Citizens Infrastructure Review Board, intended to obtain citizen input and guidance in prioritizing needed streets and sidewalks improvements. Priorities must be set when one has more needs than one has money, which is the case in the capital city. At…
Hundreds of Lincoln places
A recent estimate by the Abraham Lincoln Association puts the number of distinct titles about Lincoln at 17,000. Add another hundred or so generated by the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial, and Lincoln may indeed be in the realm of Napoleon and Jesus Christ as the most written about figures in all of human history. Which begs…
Rock fall ahead
Normally, as autumn goes in the Midwest, things begin to cool off, but that isn’t so with live music. This fall has a number of options within an afternoon’s drive from Springfield, and there are even several all-new showcases for this season. Strap on a helmet; Illinois Times is about to blow your mind, musically…
Sauce and saxes
A new Kid’s Zone near Sixth and Washington streets kicks up the Old Capitol Blues and BBQs a notch. Free kids entertainment and activities from 12-5 p.m. include: a juggler; a magician, a clown, a karaoke stage and more, including free juice, cookies and tote bags from County Market while supplies last. A baby-back rib…
Paper projections
A Springfield Art Association reception Aug. 27 from 5-7 p.m. opens another volume on one of Springfield’s most unusual and interesting exhibitions as 36 artists from all over the United States show their unique handmade paper pieces. Don’t be fooled. This art doesn’t just sit flat like a sheet of paper. Paper and pulp was…
Ratify ERA with three more states
When you’re competing against the clock for the Grand Prize, you may not win, but at least you’re entitled to your previous winnings. Not so with the Equal Rights Amendment. Congress gave women the nod they were due, but their blessing came with a seven-year hitch. Constitutional equality was an all-or-nothing proposition to be achieved…
Lottery Ticket comes up a loser
Trying to channel a Friday-like vibe, director Erik White’s Lottery Ticket sports a premise ripe with comic possibilities, yet lacks the easygoing tone to make it a complete success. Bow Wow, signaling here he’s ready for more adult roles, is Kevin, a young man who buys a lottery ticket on a whim and ends up…
CO2 study group stalled
A commission created in 2009 to study issues related to carbon capture and sequestration has yet to meet, despite being charged with reporting to the Illinois General Assembly by the end of the year. During a hearing held earlier this month by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), Illinois Sierra Club regional representative Becki Clayborn noted…
Autumn is showtime
As many Springfield residents look forward to the weather finally cooling down, fans of locally produced entertainment can’t wait for the theater season to heat up. It might seem counter-intuitive, but a depressed economy actually offers residents a few benefits this year as venues compete to lure budget-conscious audiences. Some area managers are lowering ticket…
Letters to the Editor 8/26/10
COAL ISN’T THE ANSWERThe Taylorville coal plant [see “The dirty business of ‘clean coal,’” by Rachel Wells, Aug. 19] costs are high both in terms of government bailout money in the form of grants, tax credits, and loans seldom repaid, but also in terms of the fact we would be investing in a project that…
Springfield’s outdoor dining goes to the dogs
My first sojourn to Europe was with the U of I Concert Choir. We gave concerts, attended a two-week Renaissance music symposium, and did a lot of sightseeing. But there was something else I was determined to do, something I’d been longing to experience ever since I’d read about them and seen them in movies.…
Jailhouse jazz
The Hoogland’s production of the musical Chicago, directed by Doug Hahn and Gary Shull, and starring Anna Bussing as Roxie Hart, Mary Jo Curry as Velma Kelly and Gus Gordon as Billy Flynn, kicks off with a Gala on Aug. 27 at 6 p.m., where guests are encouraged to attend in formal wear or 1920s…
2010 Fall Guide
Autumn is showtimeThe season’s guide to theater in Central Illinois Fun at fall festivals Visit Mt. Vernon for art and wine Surprising GreenvilleVisit the fun and quirky DeMoulin Museum Fall classical fareThe season offers plenty of fine listening in Central Illinois Rock fall aheadConcerts and music fests from Central Illinois to St. Louis Hundreds of…
The Switch is better than you think
One of the best things about being a film critic is stumbling upon a movie that genuinely surprises you. Such is the case with The Switch, the new dramedy with Jennifer Aniston that’s being promoted much like the many brainless chick flicks that clog the multiplexes. Thankfully, it’s nothing like the similarly themed The Back-Up…
MILITARY DOGS COME HOME
Dogs are often said to be man’s best friend, but with a military working dog, that saying takes on a whole new meaning. Working dogs sniff for bombs and drugs, and often provide a measure of protection for their handlers. When it’s time for them to retire, however, the highly-trained dogs are sometimes put down…
Brady may be the next governor
Lots of people are having trouble getting their heads around the fact that Republican state Sen. Bill Brady may well be our next governor. This is, after all, a Democratic state. But it’s way past time to consider Brady a very real, even likely probability. Gov. Pat Quinn’s poll numbers, along with the economy and…
ABE TODAY
One-hundred and fifty years ago on Aug. 26, Abraham Lincoln went to church, ran into a man named J. Henry Brown and made quite an impression on the portrait painter. It was a Sunday and Mr. Brown found reason to reflect on Lincoln’s demeanor. “There are so many hard lines in his face that it…
