Space case
Ward 7. Ald. Debbie Cimarossa’s proposed amendment to limit consumer installment-loan businesses would apply to the entire city, but her sights are set on MacArthur Boulevard, she says. “MacArthur is the driving force,” Cimarossa says. “We want to make MacArthur a more family-friendly, service-oriented corridor. When one leaves, we don’t want another one to crop…
Vegetarian fine dining
Summer is a great time for vegetarians. It’s also a great time for omnivores like me to entertain vegetarian friends and family. I’ve had fun using summer’s bounty to make creations as sophisticated as any meat preparation and found inspiration from some top chefs who are using produce, grains, and legumes in innovative ways far…
Telling the story of the 1908 riot
This novel of historical fiction, on the Springfield race riot of 1908 by Springfieldian Melinda McDonald, is told from a unique point of view. Sheba Tully, a young black woman, obtains a housemaid position in the home of Susan Lawrence Dana. Dana is at the pinnacle of Springfield society, as well as its richest woman,…
CAP CITY
A GOOD PLACE TO PLAY DEAD Say you’re a hotshot Hollywood producer/director/writer/editor looking for a domestic set that can double for Palermo, Italy. Obviously you’re gonna head straight for Springfield, right? You are if you’re seeking to depict the embalming of a body as it was done a century ago. Springfield’s Museum of Funeral Customs…
Grilling vegetables
Most vegetables are suitable for grilling, though there are a few delicate exceptions. Densely textured vegetables usually need to be partially or wholly cooked before grilling, and all should be brushed or tossed with oil or butter and salted before being put on the grill. Other flavorings such as herbs, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar…
Perversion of justice
On the morning of April 11, 2007, David Lewis appeared before a Vermilion County grand jury in response to a subpoena. As a part-time police officer for the village of Belgium, Ill. (about five miles south of Danville), Lewis was used to testifying in such proceedings. But this time was disturbingly different: Instead of appearing…
IT Picks
Rock it If you weren’t buying cassette tapes in the 1980s, then you probably only know the band Poison from lead singer Bret Michaels’ turn on Rock of Love, in which a gaggle of scantily clad liquor-guzzling “ladies”vie for his affections. But Michaels’ band was so much more. The quintessential glam-metal band of the decade,…
Flocking to the faith
In the old days politicians would slip preachers some hundreds under the table and preachers would deliver the flock on Election Day. It was borderline illegal, but at least it left the Constitution alone. The same could not be said of the Bush administration’s faith-based initiative, a political bribe to the religious right that put…
Tropic Thunder takes no prisoners
If there’s a sacred cow left in Hollywood that isn’t viciously skewered in Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder, I don’t know what it is. The narcissism and insecurity of movie stars, the quest for the almighty dollar, action films, method acting, and mindless audiences all come under fire. Stiller takes no prisoners, eviscerating these targets with…
It’s not always fair
When the Illinois State Fair is going on, many things around here change: Road directions are altered, bars stay open until 3 a.m., strangers are everywhere, and the fly population skyrockets. But life does go on, so here are a few entertainment selections from both inside and outside the fairgrounds. Tonight (Thursday, Aug. 14) at…
Wait and see
GateHouse Media Inc., which owns the State Journal-Register and other Illinois newspapers, last week announced a second-quarter income loss of $429.6 million on revenues of $184 million in the same three-month period. The huge loss reflected a $443.1 million “impairment charge” — a reduction of the value of the company’s assets, reflecting the weakened state…
Blago’s war on Springfield
Why has Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared war on Springfield? His latest assaults on the local economy make many ask, “What did we do to deserve this?” Those searching for answers say his attacks may be retribution for the fact that his approval rating in Sangamon County is a mere 12 percent or that the county’s…
Creating quality lives
Barbara Doyle didn’t set out to become an autism specialist. The Springfield native started her career in education more than 30 years ago as a teacher for the deaf. She helped develop a sign-language program for deaf people with autism-spectrum disorders, and after that, she says, she couldn’t stop herself from getting more involved. Doyle’s…
Letters to the Editor
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. CANADA MEETS HEALTH CARE NEED I would like to challenge Tom Rand and the others who write negative letters regarding universal health care…
Recreation degradation
Because of heavier-than-normal winter snowfalls, widespread flooding this spring, $4 gasoline, and an anemic U.S. economy, fewer people have visited state parks and historic sites this year. On top of that, Gov. Rod Blagojevich in July trimmed $1.4 billion from the state budget, including $14 million earmarked for natural-resources conservation and another $2.8 million for…
What do Koreans know?
What is it with those kooky South Koreans? Thousands of them have rushed into the streets to protest — get this — U.S. beef imports. Are they nuts? Or do they know something we don’t? South Koreans are rejecting our steaks and burgers because of the widespread belief there that America’s industrialized production process brings…
People’s Poetry
American life in poetry Edited by Ted Kooser A part of being a parent, it seems, is spending too much time fearing the worst. Here Berwyn Moore, a Pennsylvania poet, expresses that fear — irrational, but exquisitely painful all the same. Driving to Camp Lend-A-Hand for Emma Grace The day we picked our daughter up…
Messages in bottles
At least one float in tonight’s Illinois State Fair parade is going to look like trash. I know, because I saw it Monday afternoon. Designed to suggest a state capitol building, it consists of two main parts — a basic boxy structure and a dome. When I stopped by to see it, the boxy base…
Springfield in Bloom 2008 Winners
2008 marks the fourth year Illinois Times and Springfield Green have teamed up to challenge beautification- minded people to make Springfield cleaner and greener. This year ninety-nine projects entered across four general categories: residential, business, non-profits and neighborhood groups. Some projects involved existing gardens that are expanded and changed each growing season. Many were total…
