Six-plus years for UIS rapist
Xuesong “Gary” Yang is led away in handcuffs after being sentenced to prison for raping a UIS student. PHOTO BY BRUCE RUSHTON Xuesong “Gary” Yang, a former University of Springfield Illinois counselor and recruiter who pleaded guilty to raping a student on her 17th birthday, is going to prison. “Mr. Yang is every parent’s nightmare,”…
“Kidnap”: An Insulting, Exploitive Exercise
The issue of child abduction is hardly one to be made light of, yet Luis Prieto’s Kidnap uses the subject as a catalyst for a Death Wish-like vehicle for actress Halle Berry. Stupid to an insulting degree with plot holes and lapses in logic that defy all reason, the film shamelessly exploits this subject, a…
It’s only fair
Sooner or later, every rookie reporter must face the ugly facts: Somewhere, sometime, there will be a school board meeting she will have to cover. A veteran opinion monger like me faces a similar dilemma. As he seeks to meet readers’ demands for wisdom on a deadline, he must occasionally write about education funding. The…
Do-It-Yourselfers unite
Chances are you’ve bought an Apple iPad, Chevy Malibu, Amazon Kindle, Samsung TV, GE Frigidaire or some other brand-name consumer product equipped with a dazzling array of digital doodads. And in doing so, you unwittingly consented to the corporation’s repair-prevention “gotcha” tucked into its license agreement. But in addition to deceiving and/or intimidating buyers into…
No plan yet to pass a bill
During the lead-up to the recent special legislative session over the state budget and a tax hike, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s staff studied whether their boss had the power to force legislators to attend the sessions. A court ruled during the Rod Blagojevich-era that the General Assembly must convene at the date and time ordered by…
Letters to the Editor 8/3/17
SOLAR PARKING METERS Thank you Bruce Rushton, for your excellent article on parking, including the Decatur idea, worth considering, of yanking all the parking meters. [See “Time expired?” July 20.] One of the biggest problems with parking meters is they make you guess how long you’ll be gone and then insert the money for that…
Editor’s note 8/3/17
Last week I strolled around the U.S. Capitol in the early evening, stopping for a while to watch an orderly protest rally against the Republican plan to obliterate Obamacare, at that hour being debated inside the building. Wouldn’t it be great, I thought, if we didn’t have to be always protesting something? I probably was…
The U.S. and North Korea: Give peace a chance
This triangle of the world is where the two world powers brush up against each other in a perilous friction caused by an upstart nuclear power. Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, threatens to hit us with nuclear fire. Perhaps after decades of failed U.S. policy it is time to try something new. From…
Circus sans animals
If family-friendly fun is what you’re after this weekend, don’t miss Cirque Italia, an animal-free traveling “water circus.” Cirque Italia, which has been performed internationally more than 1,000 times, takes place under a swirling blue and white tent featuring a one-of-a-kind stage filled with 35,000 gallons of water. First conceived in 2012 by Manual Rebecchi,…
Hot in here
Get ready to enjoy Decatur’s strongest summer tradition, as the Decatur Celebration roars to life for its 32nd year. The longtime festival, which donates proceeds annually to local service organizations, boasts six stages of music featuring national and regional artists, three city blocks of full of artisans and crafters, a family-friendly carnival for the little…
Celebrate the Mother Road
Start your engines bright and early for the Fifth Annual Powerlight Abraham Lincoln Car Show Spectacular. The car show, free to all spectators, will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine. Vehicle registration will occur from 8 a.m. to noon and judging will run from noon to 4 p.m., immediately followed…
No more Mr. Knife guy
You’ve answered some questions about online dating recently, but I haven’t seen you mention dating sites that do criminal background checks. Do you think it’s a smart idea to sign up for one of these or is it just more marketing hogwash? – Wondering There’s that very attractive man you see on a dating site who…
Illinois, nuke dump
Under a federal measure passed 30 years ago, the spent fuel from America’s nuclear reactors is supposed to be permanently buried out in the Mojave Desert, tucked deep under a mountain, far from any population center and easily guarded. In reality, though, that radioactive waste – tens of thousands of tons of it – is…
A haven for neighborhood kids
During a recent visit by Jack, a therapy dog, to Northside Children’s Community Library, many of the kids were excited for a chance to interact with a canine friend. A few, however, were apprehensive. “One little girl who is about six, when she found out the dog was coming, said ‘I don’t like dogs, dogs…
No fracking way
“What do we want? Clean water! When do we want it? Now!” So went the chant of a group of demonstrators gathered July 28 in front of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources building. The Woolsey Operating Company, based in Kansas, is the first to submit a permit application to IDNR to build a high-volume…
FLY FISHING
“They catch them with their hands, they’re drunk all the time.” This is an analysis of the annual Redneck Fishing Tournament recently overheard in a Springfield office that shall remain nameless, and it is pretty much spot on, especially the part about being drunk. The annual gathering in the tiny burg of Bath, deep in…
MISTER TRANSPARENCY? OOF!
Gov. Bruce Rauner is a huge advocate of transparency in government. Just ask him. The gov who keeps losing Freedom of Information Act cases – IT prevailed after the governor balked at releasing his appointment calendar; the Springfield Business Journal, our sister publication, recently won a ruling from the attorney general’s office after the governor’s…
Scarce emotional connection bogs down Detroit
As she so adeptly proved in The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, director Kathryn Bigelow is a master at recreating urban warfare on screen, an ability she uses to great effect in her latest film Detroit, an account of the race riots that plagued the area in the summer of 1967 and one particularly…
August with gusto
August in Springfield is ruled by heat and the events of the Illinois State Fair, which runs from August 10 through August 20. In the week before, here are a few doings to do (or not). Tonight (Thursday) at Bar None (I hope you got your Illinois Times today) another hopping Bedrock 66 Live! concert…
Midnight River Choir
This Texas quartet (they’re really from New Braunfels, but people just say Austin) got their name from an incident on the first night they met. While floating together down the Guadalupe River, they bonded by harmonizing and singing songs through the night. The next day, folks were talking about the “midnight river choir” mysteriously heard…
When life gives you too much basil…
I spent the summer between high school and college working as a maintenance man at a girls’ summer camp in Wisconsin. I was known as “Mr. Pete” and I shared the duties with a college student known as “Mr. Tim.” The camp operated under very strict rules and Mr. Tim and I resided in an…
vermont report 2017 #2
vermont report 2017 #2 I give up there is no spaceto tell what’s happening at this placethe lovely lake is loony stilla caterpillar scoops the hillmy stripy oar is broke who knowsit happened when this camp was closed it’s cold enough to wear to bed a stocking cap upon the head and how can you…
