Cover Story
A new and improved Illinois State Fair
The theme of the Aug. 8-18 Illinois State Fair in Springfield is “It’s Showtime,” and fair officials have planned a full schedule of activities and events that live up to that catchphrase, including the unveiling of the newly-renovated Coliseum and other recent fairgrounds improvements. The $31.5 million state-funded Coliseum renovation is the most prominent of…
Sangamon County Board blocks referendum to allow voters to oust future sheriffs
More than 200 people clapped, cheered and yelled their support at the Aug. 13 Sangamon County Board meeting for changes at the Sheriff’s Department beyond the resignation of Sheriff Jack Campbell in the wake of the shooting death of Sonya Massey. But one of those suggested changes, a binding referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot…
Judge orders prison officials to relocate Stateville population by Sept. 30
A federal judge is ordering Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration to move the vast majority of those incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet out of the aging prison by the end of September, citing health and safety concerns posed by the facility. The Illinois Department of Corrections had previously stated its intention to close Stateville…
Illinois expanding Medicaid to nonmedical services
Many people enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program will soon be eligible to receive a host of nonmedical services that could improve their overall health, including housing and nutrition assistance, violence prevention services, and services to help them transition out of incarceration. Under a new policy that the Biden administration launched last year, state Medicaid programs…
Law enforcement and policymakers must build relationships with community
This summer, the Springfield Immigrant Advocacy Network presented three anti-racism workshops funded by the IDHS Healing Illinois. These workshops taught participants how to recognize the manifestations of racism and white supremacy in their work and in organizations, along with ways to mitigate harm and deliberately provide equitable services. My training partner, Dr. Kelly Hurst, a…
Sheriff Jack Campbell to retire
Embattled Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell announced Aug. 9 that he will retire by the end of the month amid calls for his resignation by critics of his hiring of the deputy charged with murder in the July 6 shooting death of Sonya Massey. In the five-paragraph statement from Campbell, issued at about 3:15 p.m.…
Instigators shines with stellar cast, It Ends With Us rings hollow, don’t fall for Trap
Cast propels breezy Instigators There’s nothing particularly memorable, or for that matter, unique about Doug Liman’s The Instigators. Be that as it may, the film is not without its charm, provided primarily by the tremendously overqualified cast, all veterans who bring a sense of enthusiasm to this project that it doesn’t deserve. The result is…
Hands-on mental health training
The recent revival of a program at Packard Mental Health Center that gives young doctors hands-on experience treating patients in a state psychiatric hospital will benefit the public in Springfield and throughout Illinois, supporters of the relaunch say. “This will help create that pipeline of future psychiatrists to serve both in our state-operated facilities and…
Sheriff defends hiring process
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell on Aug. 1 defended his agency’s vetting of former deputy and accused murder Sean Grayson. Campbell, 60, has said he won’t resign amid public criticism in the wake of the shooting death of Sonya Massey, a Black woman, at the hand of Grayson, who is white. And Campbell disagreed with…
Cranes over Hiroshima
On Aug. 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m., the Enola Gay, a U. S. B-29 bomber, dropped and detonated an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, a city of approximately 255,000 in western Japan. Three days later, on Aug. 9, a second bomb was dropped over Nagasaki, where some 40,000 people were likewise incinerated. Temperatures from the blast…
Revenge Poem
Revenge Poem Maybe I wrote this before: but my brother and his buddies played an old trick on the official who fired all the women administrators after World War II: they put a juicy cow pie in a paper bag, put it on the official’s porch, set the bag on fire, rang the doorbell, then…
Maximize plant power
This week is all about celebrating summer veggies with recipes inspired to maximize delicious plant-based power. Regardless of what else I’m serving, weekend dinners in the summertime always include a large melange of grilled or roasted vegetables, simply seasoned with salt and olive oil. They fit in nicely no matter the cuisine and can take…
Fair times
Yes, my friends and fellow fairgoers, it’s once again fair time in Springfield as the Illinois State Fair comes to town and transforms our fair city into a “fair city” practically overnight. Fair or not, it’s our party to host and there’s hardly another singular event that I could think of that impacts our community…
Children’s ballet brings classic tale to life
Beauty and the Beast Fri., Aug. 9, 7-8 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 10, 1-2 p.m., 3-4 p.m., 5-6 p.m. The Legacy Theatre 101 E. Lawrence St.800-838-3006 atthelegacy.com This is the classic tale of Belle,a kind-hearted young woman who finds herself imprisoned in a castle by a fearsome Beast. Belle discovers the Beast’s gentle soul hidden…
Letters to the editor 08-08-24
GOOD FOR SPRINGFIELD Is this (new approach to downtown events) part of the mayor’s plan to create a “better community, better development and better infrastructure for a better Springfield?” The festivals are much bigger than locals going downtown and hanging out (“Downtown’s festival dilemma,” July 25). Wouldn’t that be something that business promoters would use…
Fairly full of music
When folks start talking about the Illinois State Fair, the conversation often drifts to all the live music going on all over the grounds. From the big-time touring acts at the Grandstand to area cover bands getting a hot spot at the beer tents to the numerous performances on several stages scattered throughout the fairgrounds,…
Editor’s note 08-08-24
It is excruciating to watch Jack Campbell twist slowly in the wind, trying to survive in his job without admitting he, or the good-old-boy system he supports, did anything wrong. “We failed the community,” he said, but didn’t say how. He asked for forgiveness but didn’t say for what. There are paths to reform already…
