Drawing fire
A draft version of this piece was posted in error. The version that follows is the corrected one. – JKJr. At least no one demanded that insulting images be suppressed a la Charlie Hebdo. No blood at the publisher was shed, and no one issued a fatwa against the artist, even if ritual murder was…
Trump versus the words of Robert E. Lee
I hate to say this, but I’m starting to feel sorry for Donald Trump. He’s only been in office for half a year, and already he’s running out of Americans to attack. Of course, he came into office having already notched his AK-47 Twitter rifle with hundreds of hits on the American citizenry. Since then,…
Behind Rauner’s brags on the economy
After years of harshly bad-mouthing the state’s economy, Gov. Bruce Rauner has pivoted in the past couple of weeks as the campaign season has heated up. “I’m proud since I became governor,” he said recently, “we have recruited and added around 120,000 new jobs to the state of Illinois.” “But,” Rauner said, “we should be…
Letters to the Editor 8/31/17
U.S. SLAVE CONSTITUTION The United States of America has three forms of slavery: the original slaves of Africa, the black prisoners, and the sharecroppers, of which I am one. The U.S. Constitution is crafted to keep the black race as servants to the whites. To preserve their Confederate slave owners, whites have erected monuments and…
Editor’s note 8/31/17
After years of crowing about his pro-business agenda, Gov. Bruce Rauner has finally signed a pro-business reform into law. It’s called school aid formula reform, and it, together with increased funding for education, will do more to improve the state’s business climate than anti-union legislation ever could. More equitable funding for schools, together with a…
Going down to the crossroads
This past Saturday morning I encountered four homeless men in a matter of moments. The first slept like a tossed baggie of water on the stoop near the entrance to my building. A few minutes later I walked past the same stoop and was greeted by two other homeless men. I nodded in greeting to…
Small-town kicks on Route 66
Hit the Mother Road this weekend and make the short jaunt to Elkhart for a party of epic proportions. Elkhart’s Route 66 Labor Day Fall Celebration offers two-days of jam-packed fun for the entire family. Friday’s festivities kick off with art sales at The Country Bumpkin, Birdsong Books & Vintage and Horsefeathers plus live music…
Have fun while fighting crime
Join CrimeStoppers for their second annual “Take Flight in the Fight against Crime” hangar party Sunday, Sept. 3, from 2-8 p.m. at LRS Hanger, located at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport. The party features live music by The Deep Hollow from 2:30 through 4 p.m., and The Shenanigans from 4:30 through 8 p.m. Additional attractions include…
Plains Spokin’
Join Springfield Bicycle Club on this annual recreational bicycle ride the Sunday after Labor Day. This year’s theme is “Plains Spokin’” as riders head to Pleasant Plains for lunch and then add mileage loops from there. The largest bicycle century event in Illinois held outside a major metro area, the CCC draws up to 800…
Yawn Juan
My friend and I are debating why it is that men don’t want you when you want them, yet they’re all gung-ho when you aren’t interested. She believes that we just want what we can’t have. Could it be that simple? – Pondering In looking for love, a number of people confuse “the chase” with…
Mansion progress report
The fountain is gone. You can tell because a wide treeless dirt path, accented by a large mound of gravel, offers an unimpeded view of the empty space where it once stood. The north entrance is a stark vision of exposed steel beams, plywood construction doors, broken concrete and huge recycling bins brimming with discarded…
Society of the Living Dead
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women By Kate Moore, 2017, Sourcebooks, 404 pages, $26.99 Back in 2007, a group of students from Ottawa High School were invited to perform a 20-minute play, The Society of the Living Dead, at an Illinois history symposium event at Illinois State University. It was a…
Sidney Watkins stays put
Sidney Watkins, the 10-year-old girl at the center of a bitter custody fight, says that she doesn’t want to live with her mother anymore. The little girl at the center of one of the most bitter and public custody battles in central Illinois history has this summer told a judge, a counselor and her guardian…
State cuts funding for teacher pensions
The head of the state pension system for teachers warns that a $531 million reduction in expected state contributions to the pension plan this year will cost taxpayers $1.6 billion in the future. “Cutting the state’s contribution only increases our concern that TRS will eventually become insolvent,” said Dick Ingram, executive director of Teachers Retirement…
Automatic voter registration bill becomes law
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill 1933 into law this week. The new law seeks to reform voter registration practices, allowing eligible Illinois citizens to automatically register to vote during routine interactions with state agencies ranging from the secretary of state’s office to the Department of Natural Resources. The legislation passed the House 115-0 and…
MORE HOME FOR THE MONEY
In a new study, New York-based personal finance company SmartAsset analyzed 200 cities and found that Springfield ranks sixth among U.S. cities where the median income goes the furthest in terms of home buying. Among the cities included in the study, Springfield households were shown to have both the third-highest average income and also face…
VIETNAM REDUX
If you thought The Civil War, the PBS documentary released in 1990 that made filmmaker Ken Burns a household name, was a big deal, just wait. Burns says that The Vietnam War, set to premier on Sept. 17, is his most ambitious project ever – if nothing else, it’s longer than Burns’ take on the…
Cast saves Cake$
Patricia Dowbrowski (Danielle MacDonald) knows there’s more to life than just working odd jobs in New Jersey and cleaning up after her alcoholic mother. She sees the high life in the rap videos she watches again and again and even fantasizes about chillin’ with her idol O-Z (Sahr Ngaujah). Yeah, she knows where she wants…
Music labors
Here we are approaching and directly running into September 2017, with the Labor Day weekend upon us like nobody’s business. What should we do but enjoy all we can. Let’s take a moment on this Labor Day holiday weekend to remember all those who sacrificed their livelihoods – and sometimes their lives – to create…
Gracia Harrison
Gracia Harrison vaulted to national prominence with her astounding appearance on the third season of “The Voice.” Although she didn’t win it all, her relationship with Blake Shelton and the ensuing publicity ensured her a way to continue with a career in music. Long before her “The Voice” performance, Gracia had dedicated her life to…
It’s zucchini time!
There is a point every summer when my vegetable garden transitions from a state of scarcity to one of overabundance. My approach to meal planning shifts from “What do I have enough of to make something with?” to “What am I going to do with all these veggies?” This is especially true of zucchini. A…
nada poem #101
nada poem #101 my kids – actually nobody –wants to hear the stories that enthralled us as smallkids for instance a favoriteuncle told scary stories onewas of the ghost peeping overthe foot of the bed and sayingin ghastly voice, “It flo-o-ats!”while you cower under thecovers the apparition repeats“It flo-o-ats!” finally you getenough courage and quaver“What …
