Cover Story
Far from home
Ted likes to say he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was 17, doing well at a college prep boarding school in Indiana, when a classmate went on a violent rampage while high on a combination of potent drugs. When cops searched that classmate’s phone, they found that Ted had fulfilled…
Mad hatters
Folks who bought a hat that wouldn’t draw an offer on Pawn Stars still don’t get it. They’re reluctant to admit that the stovepipe likely never graced Abraham Lincoln’s head. For years, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum acted more like the hat’s pimp than a museum. Chicago journalist Dave McKinney first revealed suspect…
Sacred and Liturgical Visual Arts
In cooperation with the Liturgical Arts Festival of Springfield, the Springfield Art Association will host a juried exhibition of liturgical and sacred art as part of the biennial, interfaith Liturgical Arts Festival, Come Creative Spirit, scheduled to run March 28 through April 25. The exhibition offers education, inspiration and appreciation of the many forms of…
Editorial cartoons
Chris Britt has been challenging and entertaining reader s with his editorial cartoons since 1991. His award-winning work offers commentary on national and international events. His work runs regularly in Illinois Times, and he has worked as a cartoonist at the State Journal-Register and other newspapers across the nation. His work has been published in…
Don’t tear down downtown
As a group of nonprofit organizations that are located in, invested in and committed to the future and vitality of downtown Springfield, we voice our concerns over the preliminary proposal from the Springfield-Sangamon Growth Alliance that could result in the demolition of four blocks of existing small businesses and nationally recognized historic buildings. Tearing down…
Jojo a powerful piece of timely satire
Taika Waititi pulls off quite the high-wire act both in front of and behind the camera with Jojo Rabbit, an audacious piece of work that looks at Nazi Germany through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy whose imaginary friend just happens to be Adolf Hitler. In adapting Christine Leunens’ dark novel, the filmmaker injects his…
Email threatens to bring down Madigan
“He has kept his mouth shut on Jones’ ghost workers, the rape in Champaign and other items. He is loyal to the Administration.” That’s from an email sent by House Speaker Michael Madigan’s consigliere and ultimate Statehouse insider Mike McClain to Gov. Pat Quinn’s chief legislative liaison Gary Hannig and Quinn’s former chief of staff…
Letters to the Editor: 01-16-20
WHO’S IN CHARGE? Illinois comptroller will stop collecting red light camera fines. However, unless the Secretary of State follows suit, violators won’t be able to renew driver licenses at renewal time, leading to driving without a license fines. Where does it leave citizens when the enforcement voice of the state speaks with conflicting messages? The…
anniversary poem #11
my lost daughter’s birthday here again what can I say I’ve not already said write what I’ve not already written think what’s not already thought forget what can’t be forgotten ? I could write about other lost children though – lost at walls lost in cages in plane wrecks car wrecks home wrecks – I…
Criminal justice reforms top Pritzker’s 2020 agenda
In year two, Gov. J.B. Pritzker will focus on ending cash bail, reforming low-level drug crime sentencing and reducing mandatory minimum sentences, he announced in Chicago last week. Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, both Democrats, laid out their plan at a news conference at Kennedy-King College. Stratton said real justice reform in Illinois will…
Pot pies reconsidered
With the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in Illinois it might be “high” time that an alternative weekly newspaper publishes a food article about the nuances of cooking with cannabis. As a chef working in Oklahoma City, where there are more dispensaries than there are McDonalds and Subways, I just might be the one to…
Musician-aid time
Here we go into mid-January as the music scene remains on the move, viable and productive, continuing to provide our fair city with pleasurable and provocative entertainment experiences. On Sunday, Jan. 19, we gather in support of musician, booker, fundraiser, working man, parent and friend Micky Shomidie at Boondocks from noon to 7 p.m. Micky,…
Powerful performances save Mercy
What happened to Walter McMillian is unconscionable. Falsely accused of murdering an 18-year-old white woman, he was incarcerated on Alabama’s death row before he was even granted a trial and then returned there for six long years after sitting through a hearing that consisted of “evidence” that was coerced from a prisoner of dubious reputation.…
Matt Hill
With an outstanding reputation as an energetic performer of the blues, Matt Hill is known for his off-the-wall stage antics, as well as his top-notch abilities on guitar and vocals. He started his musical adventures in North Carolina, forming a blues band with drummer Chuck Cotton that made it to the 2005 International Blues Challenge…
