Cover Story
Downtown’s festival dilemma
Downtown Springfield has been facing some difficult hurdles lately. In addition to the devastating fire which damaged several businesses on Adams Street in June, the Jaycees’ annual Fourth of July Capital City Celebration, with its popular downtown fireworks display, didn’t happen for the second year in a row (the derecho nixed it in 2023). AbeFest,…
An about-face
The union representing Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies initially filed a grievance seeking reinstatement of fired deputy and accused murderer Sean Grayson, then said July 30 that it would drop the issue. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council faced criticism on social media and from the family of Sonya Massey, the 36-year-old Sangamon County…
Former foster father charged after boy’s drowning
A 48-year-old Springfield man and former City Council candidate was charged July 24 with endangering the life or health of a child in connection with the March 16 swimming pool drowning of 7-year-old Barrett Koches. David Yankee, of the 2300 block of Winnebago Drive, was charged in a Sangamon County grand jury indictment with two…
Governor says he supports Karina’s Law
“I support Karina’s Law,” Gov. JB Pritzker emphatically told me. It’s the strongest statement he’s made about the bill, which stalled in the Senate last spring. The proposal would mandate that police remove firearms from a person who has been served with a domestic violence order of protection. But there still appear to be some…
Reality imbued with the hidden presence of God
Days after hanging out with 50,000 other Catholics at the Indianapolis Convention Center for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, I was back in Springfield with a much smaller crowd. About 200 of us assembled on a sticky Monday afternoon to honor the life of Sonya Massey, grieve her loss and call for accountability. The gathering…
UIS Career Development Center supports student and graduate success
Students pursue higher education and advanced degrees for many reasons. Getting a job or advancing in a career are some of the top reasons that consistently show up in surveys. The University of Illinois Springfield provides various resources and services to help students find jobs when they graduate. The UIS Career Development Center is one…
Deputy charged with murder had issues during previous employment
Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy now facing murder charges in the death of Sonya Massey, left a previous agency following allegations of inappropriate conduct with a female detainee. Grayson, 30, was also accused of retaliating against the detainee’s boyfriend after she filed a complaint. Invisible Institute, Illinois Public Media and the Investigative…
No more bitcoin for one Springfield business
A Springfield man has removed a once-prominent feature of his business after he witnessed an alarming trend. “One hundred percent of the time that we saw somebody at the machine they were being scammed,” said Matthieu Fortin. “So I was like, this machine has to go. I’m not going to be a part of that.”…
School absences impact communities
Over the last few years, a marked transformation has occurred in education. Long-standing research on how to best teach children to read was acknowledged. School districts around the country embraced the “science of reading” – an interdisciplinary body of knowledge about reading and writing. Thankfully, our local districts have begun to make this long-overdue change.…
Downhome Music Festival returns July 26-27
Downhome Music Festival July 26-27 Seventh and Washington streets This weekend will mark the 14th year for the Downhome Music Festival. Downhome founder Josh Catalano moved to South Carolina earlier this year but was still responsible for booking this year’s music. He will also be on hand to perform with his band Wayward Motel on…
Deadpool & Wolverine for dedicated fans, Twisters too careful, Beast Within falls short
Deadpool & Wolverine: More and more and more of the same thing There’s certainly no way to quantify this, but I’d be willing to bet there hasn’t been a more meta movie made than Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine. However, I’m quite sure there’s never been a film made distinctly in the name of fan…
Editor’s note 07-25-24
Sometimes Springfield is in the national spotlight for all the right reasons, such as when Sen. Barack Obama announced his campaign for the presidency on the lawn of the Old State Capitol. Lately we’ve been making national headlines for terrible reasons – first the death of Earl Moore in December 2022 at the hands of…
My father-in-law feeds the birds 1953
My father-in-law feeds the birds 1953 After we kids left, my father-in-law wrote: “Dear Kids, Do you know that it seems terribly lonely around here already? before Sun-Down last night every scrap of waffle and leftovers had disappeared. So, I put out some more scraps and this morning was a host to the usual sparrows,…
Letters to the editor 07-25-24
BRING CHARGES This poor child never had a chance in the world, and now he’s dead (“DCFS finds foster parent negligent in death of 7-year-old boy,” July 3). And the state’s attorney hasn’t decided if criminal charges are going to be filed? The foster parents weren’t home to supervise – what more is there to…
A key to many Asian recipes
Lemon grass is a cornerstone ingredient in many southeast Asian recipes. This culinary grass lends a refreshing, verdant quality to a range of dishes and is readily available in Asian grocery stores. A perennial in tropical climates, lemon grass also can be grown as an annual here in Illinois and can overwinter well indoors in…
Teen queens reign supreme in all-city musical, SIX
Most of us know the rhyme about the unfortunate fates of Henry VIII’s six wives: “Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived.” After seeing the all-city teen production of the musical SIX, codirected by Morgan Kaplan and Andrew Maynerich, you can add “revived” to the end of that poem. SIX reimagines Henry’s wives as a glam-pop,…
Downhome time and more
As our summer season rolls into the last weekend of July, there are gaggles of regular gigs in outdoor venues and indoor establishments around the area and giglets galore in many a winery, brewery, restaurant and bar. It’s up to you to get out there and enjoy the fun before it’s done. The last weekend…
Production brings Lincoln’s favorite Shakespeare play to life
Macbeth July 25-28, 7:30 p.m. Theatre in the Park New Salem Historic Site 15588 History Lane, Petersburg 217-725-0239 theatreinthepark.net Abraham Lincoln once remarked, “I think nothing equals Macbeth.” The nation’s future 16th president cherished Shakespeare’s play. So it seems fitting that it be brought to the stage at Theatre in the Park in the village…
Union for sheriff’s deputies wants Grayson reinstated
The union representing Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies is asking that former deputy Sean Grayson, charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Sonya Massey, be reinstated and reimbursed for any lost wages. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council filed a grievance July 18 against the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department. The grievance said…
