Cover Story
Kids with many needs have few options
The family of a nonverbal 11-year-old boy with autism who lives at a Hope Learning Academy residential home called Illinois Times in late August, detailing how the child, Noah, was admitted to HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield with a blood infection and bruises all over his body. He stayed at the hospital for multiple…
A culinary pilgrimage
As I emerged from my late adolescence into early adulthood, I harbored dreams of traveling the world. But like the derailed plans of George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, my hippie-inspired dream of backpacking through Europe had to be put on hold. Marriage, children and the practical demands of paying off student loan debt…
Wrapping up holiday music
As we slide on through our last weekend before the big holiday, the happenings keep coming, including make-up gigs from last weekend’s arctic blast performance destabilization situation. With a nearly 50-degree difference in temps and no snow, let’s go with a ho, ho, ho to see what we have to know in order to go…
Two holiday classics return to big screen
There’s just something magical about seeing movies on the big screen. It’s even better when the movie is a classic movie from the past. This weekend, Legacy Theatre is screening two timeless holiday classics – It’s A Wonderful Life and White Christmas. So here’s your chance to see one or both on the big screen…
The cost of free speech
Larry Criscione has it pretty good by most people’s standards. He’s a nuclear engineer who paid off his house many years ago. The Springfield resident owns 17 rental properties in the area and, at the age of 57, recently took an early retirement pension package from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at $3,350 a month. That…
Editor’s Note
In Springfield Monday Gov. JB Pritzker set the right tone for this season when he and other Jewish leaders assembled to light the state menorah. He first expressed his grief about the mass shooting in Australia which killed 15 at a Hanukkah celebration. Pritzker said he is angry “at those who stoke the embers of…
Illinois’ George Washington
Every December, Illinoisans celebrate the commonwealth’s admission to the Union as the 21st state in 1818. Well, some do. Actually, hardly any do. Most Illinoisans seem reconciled to their membership in the commonwealth but seldom proud of it; a not insignificant number of downstaters hereabouts daydream about secession that might free them of that yoke…
Letters to the Editor
THANKS FOR HELPING Julie Benson has been a voice for those in Springfield down on their luck for many years (“Sober living house for LGBTQ+ in the works,” Dec. 4). She has gone above and beyond her call of duty as a person caring for others without asking anything in return. She could have given…
Grandma’s thoughts on a poem
It was a beautiful afternoon the day before Christmas. The house was colorfully decorated, the cafeteria dinner ready for the family of children, grandchildren and friends. The tall stately tree was glimmering with silver and colored light. The air was full of mystery and joy. All day little feet as well as larger ones were…
From planning to implementation
Imagine a vibrant town center that serves as a hub of cultural and social activity. There’s a beautiful, tree-lined roundabout and plaza in the middle of it all, with a water feature that serves as a splash pad for children on a summer day, and a nice spot to read a book or to catch…
Fire and Ash stunning but too long, Ella McKay loses its focus
Visually stunning Fire and Ash undone by length When L’Arrivee d’un train a La Ciotat (Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat) was shown at the Lumiere Brothers studio in 1896, viewers apparently recoiled as they saw the locomotive pull in, certain that the engine coming toward them would do them harm. While that may…
