Childproofing culture
While visiting an old friend in Evanston last weekend, I attended a Ceremony of Lessons and Carols at Northwestern University’s Millar Chapel. It was typical of such performances – hard benches and good music, and this time a polite “says who?” delivered to the scare-mongers among us in the form of lessons delivered in Spanish…
Right-wingers, the Red Pope and Jesus
Jim Hightower PHOTO BY LARRY D. MOORE Aah, ‘tis the season for family, friends, eggnog, chipmunks singing Christmas carols – and all-out, no-mercy, blow-’em-all-to-hell war. Not war like in Afghanistan. No, no – this is the far right’s God-awful “War on Christmas.” In this season of Peace on Earth, a delusional faction of rightists has…
Legislative competition up for 2016
One of the realities of Illinois legislative politics is that our state’s system tends to discourage competition. Byzantine ballot access laws, a highly partisan legislative district map-drawing process, heavily concentrated populations of partisan voters in Chicago (Democrats) and in the collar counties and Downstate, (Republicans) along with often tireless work by incumbents and political parties…
Letters to the Editor 12/24/15
WATCH WHAT YOU RECYCLE A recent opinion (“The recycling drop-off”) by James Krohe Jr. in the Dec. 10 Illinois Times discussed Lake Area Disposal’s decision to close their recycling drop-off facility due to costs exceeding revenues. I understand these costs include a fair amount of time and effort to remove items that are either put…
Editor’s note 12/24/15
The best thing about the holiday season is the spirit of generosity that covers the land. Church groups provide meals for the unfortunate. Charities gather coats and toys for children. Motorcycle groups and service clubs make sure nobody goes without. All is sweet, tender and mild until it comes to public policy in Illinois, where…
No more internment camps
Hilda, Ingrid, Helen and her younger brother, Siegfried, were new students. The three girls were placed in my eighth-grade class at St. Alphonsus, a large Catholic school in a blue-collar neighborhood in Chicago which welcomed refugee families in the late 1950s. The nuns went about their duties as teachers and integrated the students into the…
A tasty tradition
This Christmas enjoy a hot, delicious meal shared among individuals of all faiths during the 12th Annual Holiday Interfaith Breakfast at Temple B’rith Sholom. The breakfast consists of scrambled eggs with chile verde sauce, roasted turkey sausages, hot pancakes (chocolate chips or blueberries available upon request), fresh fruit, juice and coffee. Admission is $6 for…
Year-end laughs
See some of the Midwest’s top comedians this Saturday during the Best of the Midwest Comedy Showcase. The show features up-and-coming comedians from central Illinois, Chicago and St. Louis. Located just 45 minutes from Springfield, Mason City Limits Comedy Club offers a full bar and routinely hosts top comedians from Comedy Central, “The Tonight Show,”…
Reflections on creative spaces
Stop by The Pharmacy Gallery and Art Space for a peek at their current gallery show, Neo-Surrealism: Third Eye Exhibit. The show features a variety of work from Pharmacy member artists including Wendy Allen, Bill Crook, Jim Edgecomb, Felicia Olin, Diane Schleyhahn, Jeff Williams and more, plus a contemporary installation by Peoria-based installation artist Jessica…
A man walks into a barnacle
PHOTO COURTESY AMY ALKON Amy Alkon I’m a 43-year-old man, and I’m trying to build my career after years of being a stay-at-home dad. I got involved very quickly with a woman I met online, but the truth is that she’s just not smart enough for me. I feel bad because she’s very sweet but…
Four new holiday films
Jennifer Lawrence as Joy in Joy. PHOTO COURTESY 20th Century Fox Joy a holiday also-ran There’s no question that David O. Russell’s Joy has a great deal going for it. It sports an incredible cast, including key members from previous efforts Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle (both of which topped my 10 Best Lists…
The tick-tock of Grandma’s clock
Some of Roy’s clocks, collected over a lifetime. We lived in the country during the 1930s when I was a kid. We would do about the same thing every day, all summer long. Brother Jack and I would run to the front yard when we heard a car approaching, just to watch it go by.…
‘Millennials’ report contains advice for local leaders
Everybody has an opinion on Millennials, says Norm Sims, and most are unflattering. He says the facts paint a different picture than a generation supposedly defined by laziness and entitlement. “There’s all this negative stuff out there,” Sims said, “but I just don’t find that in the data anywhere.” Sims, who serves as executive director…
Springfield Art Association and Prairie Art Alliance merge
The HD Smith Gallery at Hoogland Center for the Arts Beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, the Springfield Art Association and the Prairie Art Alliance, the two largest arts organizations in the Springfield area, will merge. “The PAA is going to come under the SAA’s umbrella,”explains Art Association executive director Betsy Dollar. All classes will be…
City won’t enforce five-foot panhandling restriction
The City of Springfield has agreed not to enforce a restriction on panhandling it adopted in September. The restriction was challenged on constitutional grounds by a Springfield panhandler who got a separate restriction ruled unconstitutional earlier this year. Panhandlers Don Norton, Karen Otterson and Jessica Zenquis filed a lawsuit against the City of Springfield in…
Sisters a ribald treat
Amy Poehler as Maura Ellis and Tina Fey as Kate Ellis in Sisters. PHOTO COURTESY Universal Pictures What with their comedy Sisters being released on the same day as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, you can’t help but wonder what its stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler did to doom their film to such a…
Christmas music
James Armstrong plays his blues at the Alamo on Monday, Dec.28. Here we are full of holiday spirit, and hopefully spirits too, ready to finish off the holiday season with Christmas and next week’s New Year’s Eve. This year our weekend is a bit off as the big day occurs on a Friday, but there…
Lowder & Manning
Considered by many as one of our area’s music-making treasures, Jaigh Lowder and Jill Manning play original songs at an exceptional level of composition and performance. Jaigh’s guitar prowess is nothing short of masterful and Jill’s voice reaches into your chest and touches the heart. That combined with a keen sense of the human spirit…
christmas lullaby
christmas lullaby (My mother wrote this lullaby for myoldest sister, on her first Christmas,1925. You may remember this; I’ve printed it before. Music on request.)Sleep, little baby, the daylight is fading;Dim yellow stars the dark heavens adorn;Once, long ago, in a Bethlehem mangerThe little Lord Jesus was born.Lullaby, lullaby, sleep, little baby, sleep.Sleep, little baby,…
BIG TREES
Did you know Illinois has a registry of big trees? Maintained by the University of Illinois Extension and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the registry lists more than 70 trees that represent the largest examples of native tree species in Illinois. Measurement is based on a formula that accounts for trunk circumference, height and…
Maamoul cookies
Maamoul cookies PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA/USER fugzu “I know Muslims don’t celebrate Christmas, but…” I said. “Actually, we do,” replied Ali Nizamuddin. Of course. I’d forgotten that Islam teaches that Jews, Christians and Muslims are all “people of the book.” While Muslims don’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah, he is regarded as a major prophet…
WE’RE NUMBER ONE!
Gov. Bruce Rauner has been telling us how lousy it is to live in Illinois, what with its awful business climate and terrible economics, for so long that we almost started to believe him. Then, the helpful folks at Nationwide (“Chicken parm you taste so good” – yes, the insurance company with the annoying TV…
New music releases I happily paid good money for in 2015
[click artist’s name for video] 1.Algiers by Algiers 2.Beat the Champ by The Mountain Goats 3.Diet by heCTA 4.Divers by Joanna Newsom 5.Eat Pray Thug by Heems 6.Edge of the Sun by Calexico 7.Euphoria by Chris Stamey 8.Faith in the Future by Craig Finn 9.Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance by Belle and Sebastian …
The yuletide flood
I’ve put this off until the last minute, as so many of us do when it comes to Christmas errands. There’s still time, however, to share one of my favorite treats — Christopher Hitchens on the humbuggery of the season. These lines appeared originally in The Wall Street Journal of December 24, 2011, and are reprinted…
Pot ads come to Springfield
More than a dozen billboards promoting a coming marijuana dispensary have been posted around town in the past week or so. PHOTO BY BRUCE RUSHTON Legalize it,And I will advertise it. –Peter Tosh, 1976 The billboard on South Ninth Street, a few blocks south of the Sangamon County courthouse where pot smokers and dealers…
Paper caper
A Springfield woman has pleaded guilty to stealing toilet paper that had been intended for the poor. The rolls purloined by Tamika Brownlee, who will celebrate her 35th birthday on Saturday, were among an estimated 10,000 taken from a trailer parked at St. Martin de Porres Center at 1725 South Grand Ave. E. last summer.…
Bird menace, 1977
This week in my actual column, Dyspepsiana, I recall my time as a tenant in the Ferguson Building at Sixth and Monroe in downtown Springfield. The building is now undergoing redevelopment by new owners Rick and Kim Lawrence, but these worthies already have done the city a service by removing the metal cheese-grater façade that…
“You look fabulous, really!”
When it was built for $150,000 in 1906, the Ferguson Building housed the Lincoln Bank. PHOTO COURTESY SANGAMON VALLEY COLLECTION The U.S. economy, having finally recovered from the bankers’ attempt to poison it, is up and about again, and Springfield is seeing a modest uptick in spending on the rehabilitation of historic downtown structures such…
Madigan’s tax-hike gaffe
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS One of the concepts used so effectively by Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign last year was what are called “OODA Loops.” I’m going to oversimplify because of space, but the idea, developed by a military strategist and adopted by business leaders, is to essentially introduce rapid changes to a battle with the…
Letters to the Editor 12/17/15
Photo by PATRICK YEAGLE FIERY DISGUST I am thoroughly disgusted with Bruce Rushton’s article about the Springfield Fire Department (“Money to burn,” Dec. 10). It was incredibly one-sided and seriously lacking in important facts that I am sure is no accident. It used to be that a reporter’s job was to report the news; now…
Editor’s note 12/17/15
Through the pouring rain Sunday evening people came and kept coming by the hundreds to the mosque of the Islamic Society of Greater Springfield. The event was billed as an interfaith peace vigil and speakers from many religious faiths and several elected officials expressed solidarity with the Muslim community in the wake of verbal attacks…
A versatile voice
An Evening with Chris Mann In 2012 singer Chris Mann was brought to national attention as one of the top four finalists on NBC’s The Voice, thus beginning his career in the public spotlight. That same year he released his debut album, Roads, which recast the classical-pop crossover genre of music by rocketing to number…
Two pianos, three shows, four hands
Dual Pianos Christmas Show Join Mark Gifford and Damien Kaplan for their brilliant dual piano show, which was created as a celebration of the arts for First Night 2012. Gifford is pastor at Parkway Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, and has served as the house organist on Springfield High Schools’ Barton Theatre Pipe Organ for…
Hilarious Holiday
Comedian Richie Holiday Richie Holiday did not grow up with a burning desire to be a comedian. He wanted to be an architect, but unfortunately he was terrible at math. A college professor suggested that Richie find something that he did so well that people would pay him for it. Richie tried his hand at…
It’s always darkest after the spawn
PHOTO COURTESY AMY ALKON Amy Alkon I’m an unhappily married, 30-year-old woman. I’ve been with my husband for 10 years but we only got married seven months ago. We argue almost daily, and he spends all of his time working. Because we fight so much, the thought of him touching me has become repulsive so…
Making a scene
Clockwise from left: Music panelists Bernie Flesch, Sean Burns, Scott Faingold (moderator), Eric Welch, Brian Galecki, Howard “Torch” Tomas, Bob Vaughn, Robbie Kording. Not pictured: Josh Catalano, Aaron “Uncanny” Philips. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Illinois Times invited a small group of area music promoters, booking agents and festival organizers to dinner at Obed and Isaac’s…
The happy history of Santa Claus
The original St. Nicholas was a third-century bishop from a small town in modern-day Turkey. With children the annual return of that mysterious personage called “Santa Claus,” with his budget of gim cracks and appropriate presents, is full of excitement and is looked forward to with absorbing interest. Illinois State Journal, Dec. 25, 1856 In…
Dark days for Foresight
Chris Cline, founder of Foresight Energy Recent weeks haven’t been easy on Foresight Energy. The St. Louis-based coal company founded by Chris Cline, the mining baron who moved from Appalachia to Illinois a decade ago on the theory that Midwest coal would be a path to even greater prosperity, has seen its stock tumble from…
Clinton nuclear plant gets reprieve
Despite years of unfavorable conditions, Exelon thinks next year may be different. The company announced earlier this year it won’t close the Clinton Nuclear Power Plant, 45 miles east of Springfield, for at least another year in light of potential market reforms in Illinois. The announcement follows similar announcements for two of Exelon’s other Illinois…
Sticker shock
The Springfield Economic Development Commission has blessed a mayoral plan to spend $125,000 on a consultant who would gather proposals to develop an oversized city block just north of the governor’s mansion, vet developers and recommend a plan that would likely require millions of dollars in public subsidies. Options for subsidies include tax increment financing,…
IT PAYS TO LISTEN TO HR
A federal jury in Springfield last week awarded $300,000 to a former human resources director for CDS Office Technologies who says that she was fired in retaliation for telling the company that it was violating federal labor law. Michelle Kavanagh says that she was canned in July 2012, shortly after telling the company’s chief financial…
BIG BUCKS AND A BOAT
Things got nasty last week in a Seattle courtroom, where Holland America Line is asking a federal judge to toss a $21.5 million jury award to Springfield businessman James Hausman, who was konked in the head by a sliding glass door during a 2011 around-the-world cruise and says that he suffered brain damage. After the…
Force brings fun back to Star Wars
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens Faced with the daunting task of resurrecting Star Wars for the big screen, director J.J. Abrams takes the same approach he did when helming the Star Trek reboot – recycle the past, give fans exactly what they want and do so with a subtle wink…
Moving music
Go! Tsunami floods Bar None with music on Friday, Dec. 18, along with Los Injectors and Blue Ribbon Revival. After watching music made in this area for decades, plus 15 years of helping list it weekly in Illinois Times, I am still amazed at the variety, talent and amount of good stuff happening. This weekend…
Hospital Job
Hospital Job Yes, there is a punk band from Springfield called Hospital Job. Yes, they’ve toured the U.S. twice and western Europe. Yes, they have plans in the works for a 2016 East Coast tour and dates at regional and national punk music festivals. Yes, they’ve released two full LP/CDs with the third (Never Get…
springfield peace vigil poem #1
springfield peace vigil poem #1 my tall cup of sweet milky teaon the seat beside me after thegrand meal served by the islamicfolk caught the eye of a small boytumbling with his buddies on the soft carpet where soon rows of men would line up to sing evening prayers he eyed the cup, me, then…
Jury struggles to reach verdict in child death trial
Cammie Kelly, foreground, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter on Dec. 16, 2015, for the 2011 death of Kaiden Gullidge. Photo by Patrick Yeagle. The trial of a day care worker accused of shaking a baby to death concluded this week with the jury convicting her of involuntary manslaughter after more than 12 hours of deliberations.…
Exxon’s weapons of mass confusion
Jim Hightower PHOTO BY LARRY D. MOORE InsideClimate News revealed in an investigative series released this fall that the oil superpower Exxon was briefly a paragon of scientific integrity. From 1978 through the ‘80s the corporation’s research headquarters were a buzzing hive of farsighted inquiry into the “greenhouse effect,” as the process of climate change…
Upcoming concerts
Jukebox Casanova Thu. Dec. 17Hillbilly Casino, Jukebox Casanova and SS WEB at Bar None, 245 S. Fifth St. Thu. Dec. 17Epsom, Naked Spirit, Heart Attack Man, Attic Saltat South Town Studios, 11th St. and South Grand Ave. Hospital Job Fri. Dec. 18Hospital Job, The Locals, SAP, The Suction Cups at Black Sheep Café, 1320 S.…
Paris: A stunning political success
The two-week negotiations came to a jubilant climax on Dec. 12 as 195 nations voted yes to a world climate accord. Tough negotiations, all-night sessions, citizen protests, good planning and diplomacy by the United Nations and by the French hosts brought accord. Though Paris does not solve the climate problem, for the first time in…
Local wine for local holidays
A display of Danenberger Family Vineyards wines including the 90-point rating Coup de Foudrè. PHOTO COURTESY DANENBERGER FAMILY VINEYARDS VIA FACEBOOK It’s a big deal for any wine from anywhere in the world to get a 90-point rating from respected wine publications or organizations. For a central Illinois wine to receive a 90-point rating is…
