Cover Story
Century of suffrage
Suffragists in Illinois were ahead of their time, earning the right for women to vote in presidential elections in 1913, before many other states. State suffragists utilized a variety of methods. In 1891, Ellen Martin, a Chicago lawyer who lived in Lombard, was reportedly the first woman in the state to vote. Since the town’s…
No fleas, please
Every dog has its day, or at least its 15 minutes of fame, and so it was with Winston, the North Carolina pug that tested positive for coronavirus last spring. Winston’s fame spread worldwide, the planet’s first dog to come down with COVID-19, but it turns out the swab lied. Just because there’s coronavirus in…
Lawmakers push to reform state’s bail system
Some state lawmakers are looking to reform the cash bail system in Illinois, mainly by ending the use of money bonds as a factor in preventing a suspect’s release. State Sen. Robert Peters and state Rep. Justin Slaughter, both Chicago Democrats, will attempt to end the use of money bonds by sponsoring a forthcoming, yet-to-be-filed…
Editor’s note 10/22/20
Everywhere there is pent-up energy waiting to be released once this election is over. For example, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus has put together an impressive agenda for reform in many areas – banking, education, prisons, minority businesses – that will see action in the fall session. The Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln…
Abortion Poem #1
my foster-aunt, 15, hid her pregnancy from my grandparents; my mother helped deliver the child at home I have told the story in my book but not all my aunt eventually married the father he had a scut job on county roads she cooked for the crew she got pg again you couldn’t buy birth…
Incumbent Democrat blasts Madigan in mailers
After Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan appeared in all but actual name in ComEd’s deferred federal prosecution agreement, Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) was one of the first Democratic state Representatives to call on him to resign without the qualifying “if he did it” language. And the freshman Democratic legislator has been breaking pretty…
Letters to the editor 10/22/20
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. —- SUPPORT SOLAR The renewable energy industry is already reeling from the pandemic and the renewable energy budget crisis. Now, Ameren Illinois is trying to deal the final blow to solar businesses in central and…
Susan Lawrence Dana’s neighbors
Horse-drawn carriages, trolleys, some delivery vans – these were the modes of transportation in the early 1900s in Springfield. Cars were scarce. People walked, hopped the trolley or took the train on Third Street to venture out of the city. Downtown was the site of numerous groceries, drugstores and shops that catered to every need…
VOTE BY MAIL DEADLINES
What do you get when you mix a presidential election with a pandemic? Likely, a record number of votes by mail. As part of a new Illinois law, Sangamon County sent vote-by-mail applications to every registered voter. “This year, we have recorded more than double the number of early votes cast three weeks before the…
SAVE THE PLANET,EAT CARP
It’s been a good year, mostly, for the Asian flying carp, but, then again, most years are kind to a fish that seemingly cannot be defeated. Imported long ago from Asia (thus the name) for silly reasons, it has no natural enemies here save rednecks who for years descended on Bath to net thousands upon…
TRS paid lawyers six figures to probe brass
The state pension system for Illinois teachers spent nearly $700,000 on lawyers to investigate two top officials at Teachers’ Retirement System, one who was fired in June and the other who resigned in August after being placed on administrative leave. The figure comes from TRS’s response to a Freedom of Information Act request from Illinois…
The Feed Store, politics and PPP
Ross Richardson and his wife, Ann Laurence, didn’t sound verbose last summer when they closed The Feed Store, a downtown restaurant they opened during the 1970s, after campaigning for former Gov. Dan Walker. “I’m 72 years old and Ross is almost 69,” Laurence told the Springfield Business Journal in July. “We’ve been talking about retiring…
Open your heart and your Springfield home
“He’s more independent,” says host home provider Nigel Tiller, Sr., of Springfield, of the young man who lives with him. “He feels like he has somewhere he belongs.” Now in its 70th year of assisting and supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Peoria-based EP!C is looking for host homes in the Springfield area. Host…
Rocks more than a Bill Murray showcase
I’d be hard pressed to think of another film where a director had fashioned a part so attuned to the strengths, stylings and idiosyncrasies of one performer as is the case in Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks. A star vehicle if there ever was one, The Bill Murray Show would not be an inaccurate alternate…
Wild about wild rice
I spent part of the summer in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula working for a chef who, whenever feasible, cooked with local and foraged ingredients. For example, our riff on Cajun gumbo substituted Lake Superior whitefish for Acadian redfish and foraged baby milkweed pods for okra. For any dish that normally called for rice, we would opt…
Falling fast music
As the weather cools and autumn falls upon us, the gigs are still coming in strong for a while longer. This weekend brings us some unusual collections of the usual caliber of finely formed music made right here in the capital city. Thursday evening at 7, Buzz Bomb Brewing Company presents another edition of Sirens…
Ghost Town Blues Band
These cats from Memphis just keep going along, getting better and better at their peculiar presentation of the music of the blues. 2019 was a banner year with a super-high ranking on Billboard’s Album Blues Charts, a BB King International Entertainer of the Year nomination from Canada’s Maple Leaf awards and a jam-packed, well-booked touring…
Celebrate the season
It’s time to celebrate the season at the Rochester Fall Festival. The day’s activities will include something for every member of the family. Stop by the Village of Rochester tent to sign up the kids for the costume contest. With advance registration and $5 the adults can enter the pie-eating contest for a chance to…
The power of the minority
As the Senate held hearings and debated the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, attention understandably focused on the policy implications of a sixth conservative vote. What got less notice was an important political fact: If she’s confirmed as expected, it will mean a majority of the court will have been…
