Cover Story
In crisis, she went to an Illinois facility. Two years later, she still isn’t able to leave.
Kaleigh Rogers was in crisis when she checked into a state-run institution on Illinois’ northern border two years ago. Rogers, who has cerebral palsy, had a mental health breakdown during the pandemic and was acting aggressively toward herself and others. Before COVID-19, she had been living in a small group home; she had been taking…
Springfield man charged with operating six “houses of prostitution”
A Springfield man owned or rented six “houses of prostitution” in Springfield in which Asian women – some traveling from other countries – provided sexual services in exchange for free food, lodging and incomes of up to $30,000 per month. Those were some of the allegations aimed at Gregory L. Fraase, 60, in legal documents…
Eliminating grocery tax a popular proposal
“Mayors slam Pritzker’s proposal to eliminate grocery tax,” was the Daily Herald’s headline above a story last week about several mayors of upper-income suburban communities complaining about a proposed tax cut. I don’t know if the mayors quite understand this, but headlines like that are basically an in-kind campaign contribution to the governor and the…
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Irish-inspired desserts
St. Patrick's Day is almost upon us and what better way to celebrate than with boozy, Irish-inspired desserts? This decadent chocolate Bundt cake gets an extra layer of complexity with the inclusion of rich stout beer. While Guinness is possibly the most famous stout in the world, there’s a huge variety available from Murphy’s Stout,…
Party into March
Here we go rip-roaring into the second weekend of March, loaded with anniversary parties, going-away parties, CD release parties and plenty of pleasantly played party gigs. So let’s take a partying peek at what’s happening around town right now. Friday delivers a night well worth celebrating when Jeb Brown Productions hosts its 25th anniversary shindig…
Abraham Lincoln in Song with Chris Vallillo
SPECIAL MUSIC EVENTS | Singer-songwriter to play music Lincoln loved Central Illinois’ own Chris Vallillo, an acclaimed singer-songwriter, will present this family-oriented program which takes listeners on a journey through the life of Abraham Lincoln via the music he loved. Part of Illinois College’s Fine Arts Series, the event “is sure to delight both adults…
Farrelly brothers return with Ricky Stanicky, Millie Bobby Brown shines with Damsel and Cabrini a sincere biopic
Uninhibited Cena gives life to Stanicky Like many of the Farrelly brothers’ early movies (Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary, Stuck on You) Ricky Stanicky is tasteless, sophomoric, offensive and ham-fisted. It’s also smart, poignant, inclusive and one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in quite some time. On a fateful Halloween night Dean,…
FBI targets area Asian massage parlors
A 60-year-old Springfield man faces one or more federal felony charges resulting from an FBI investigation of Asian massage parlors and related allegations of human trafficking, prostitution and schemes to gain citizenship benefits for immigrants through sham marriages to Americans. Gregory L. Fraase was arraigned March 6 in Springfield’s U.S. District Court after a federal…
Revitalizing Route 66
Tourism attractions that commemorate Springfield’s links to Historic Route 66 and Black history, as well as a mix of new residential sites, all accessible by improved sidewalks and some areas closed off to traffic, are part of a master plan for a three-mile section of Ninth Street and Peoria Road. “This provides a structure and…
Springfield man honored for Black History Month
The Cook County Board honored a Springfield man Feb. 29 as part of its Black History Month observance. Robert Moore, the former U.S. Marshal for Central Illinois and current chair of the NAACP Illinois State Conference’s Criminal Justice Committee, attended the board meeting in downtown Chicago for the recognition. The resolution in his honor was…
Letters to the editor 03-07-24
CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION There is no evidence linking pretrial reform to crime (“Crime on the rise in Sangamon County,” Feb. 29). But that didn’t stop the Springfield Police Department from claiming that ending money bond has caused an increase in arrests for some charges in Springfield. Let’s be clear: over the same period,…
Farmer poem
Farmer poem (This is from a 1956 letter from my retired U of Michigan writing professor and small farm owner, Roy Cowden, who taught me so much of what I know about writing and living.) I shall never go through another lambing season without living on the place. I drove back and forth twice a…
