Cover Story
Best films of 2020
Though it was achieved under tragic circumstances, Hollywood got its wish last year. The relationship between movie studios and those that exhibit their wares has always been contentious, a situation of dominance for the Tinsel Town titans who have the liberty to set the terms of how much of each ticket sold they take and…
County releases vaccination plan
On Wednesday, the Sangamon County Department of Public Health announced a COVID-19 “beta test” of a mass vaccination program. A new online dashboard has also been launched, tracking the number of vaccinations given in the county. As of Wednesday afternoon, it showed that 9,443 initial doses had been given, which is a little more than…
FBI memo warns of “armed protests” at statehouses
An FBI bulletin has warned that “armed protestors” could be headed to state capitols in the coming days. That comes in the wake of violent and deadly actions by extremists and Trump loyalists on Jan. 6 in Washington D.C. “An internal FBI bulletin warned, as of Sunday, that the nationwide protests may start later this…
Back to school (buildings)
Some Springfield Public Schools students returned to the classroom on Tuesday, for the first time in more than 300 days. Students across Illinois were sent home last March due to state COVID-19 mitigations. The District 186 board voted to implement its hybrid plan at a Jan. 4 meeting. Reportedly, about 44% of students had enrolled…
Resolve to be responsible on social media
It is time for New Year’s resolutions. Usually we focus on things that we think will make our lives better or improve our self-image – be it losing weight, reading more books, getting more fit or developing a new skill. This last year was a rough year with plenty of conflicts: how to respond to…
year end/year beginning poem
it doesn’t feel like 2021 yet I’m hoping it will by january 20 who knows what all will happen even is happening in this crazy lame duck “2020” period so this is still an old year poem on our difficult year – our isolation, lack of holidays, illness, separation from those we love, deaths, increasing…
Letters to the editor 1/7/21
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. —- CUSTOMERS CAN CHOOSE I trust a business owner to react to customers’ expectations faster and with more innovation than a government employee with no skin in the game (“Restaurant, bar owners say reopening rules…
East side art activism
Political signs littered the landscape during last year’s campaign season. “Some of those signs were left behind,” said Shatriya Smith, who lives on the east side of Springfield, “adding to the blight and trash that is already in our neighborhood.” But what if those types of signs could be used to share art and positive…
INMATES, HOMELESS GET SHOTS
Whilst staff at veterans’ homes, nursing homes, hospitals and sundry health care facilities balk at getting vaccinated – let-me-think-about-it rates for doctors, nurses and other frontline health care workers are as high as 40 percent nationwide – the state of Illinois has decided that while doses remain scarce, prisoners and the homeless who reside in…
SHARKS CIRCLE
It’s early, yes, nearly two years out from Election Day. Only a fool would declare intentions at this point – give the incumbent a chance to drown or swim. But with Gov. JB Pritzker facing a $4 billion budget hole and Michael Madigan stuck to his shoe and signature initiatives flaming out – see the…
Myths in the time of COVID
The nation’s top doctor recently stopped in Illinois to urge people to get vaccinated. At a Dec. 22 press conference in Chicago, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams recounted speaking earlier in the day with a nurse at a hospital who worked in an ICU that was at capacity. “Even if you don’t personally feel…
Butler files GOP ‘fair maps’ legislation
Republicans in the Illinois House said Tuesday, Jan. 5, that they hope to use legislation, instead of a constitutional amendment, to change the way state legislative and congressional district lines are redrawn every 10 years. The so-called “fair maps” proposal would authorize the General Assembly to set up an independent, nonpartisan commission to redraw the…
Rape accusation prompts change
The Illinois Department of Employment Security has revised procedures for investigating complaints after a client accused an employee of rape. The Executive Office of Inspector General couldn’t substantiate the woman’s claim that she’d been sexually assaulted by Charley Holstein, who’s assigned to help unemployed veterans find work. But the inspector general found that IDES hadn’t…
One-candidate ballot prompts lawsuit
A Sangamon County Circuit Court judge denied relief this week to a candidate for Rochester Township road commissioner who claims that improprieties at a December caucus cost him a chance at public office. The vote was close, with Darin Whitten losing by between one and three votes out of 115 cast. A ballot was counted…
Try January dry
Dry January, or opting out of drinking alcohol for the first month of the year, is an idea that has become increasingly popular. Some folks do it to jump-start their resolution to better health, while others may be looking to reassess their habits and relationship with alcohol. Many have even made it an annual tradition.…
New year news
Welcome to the year of 2021. While we progress through the pandemic knowing that nothing will ever be the same, simultaneously admitting that nothing ever is, let’s keep the faith believing that things will open up again in the not-too-distant future. Soon, bands will beat the beats in bars, downtown Springfield will be flush with…
SAA Baima Glass Studio
The Springfield Art Association always seems to know how to entertain us and keep our creative juices flowing. With the start of the new year, it has remained true to form and is offering classes to help you push your artistic envelope. In the upcoming weeks you can learn the basic skills of flameworking with…
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Politicians say stuff. We must fight disinvestment in struggling communities. By using public money to leverage private dollars, we can make Skittles fall from the sky. Then there is White Oaks Mall, downtown Springfield and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Instead of Skittles, we face an Orange Julius rain, which is as yucky as it…
Igniting words and works for warmth and beauty
The new kid on the artistic block is the nonprofit Creators of Art, Music and Poetry, or CAMP. The brainchild of local musician Jamie Merideth and brought to fruition by his own hard work and some input from music columnist and veteran performer Tom Irwin, CAMP strives to promote the creative branches mentioned within its…
Editors note 1/7/21
It has been heartbreaking to watch so many once-proud and honorable elected officials say they will challenge election results. They do this, staining their reputations, to remain in favor with supporters of someone who lost an election but says he won. It shouldn’t be this hard to say what everybody knows: The emperor has no…
Dr. Leslie Smith’s tips for a great new year
Drink a LOT of water The old adage of eight glasses of water a day doesn’t necessarily apply. Smith advises drinking at least half your body weight in ounces per day, so a person who weighs 200 pounds should be drinking a minimum of 100 ounces of straight up water. For folks who worry they’ll…
