Gander Mountain going down?
Gander Mountain, a Minnesota-based company that came to Springfield in 2009, is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy. Reuters has reported that the company, which is known for firearms sales, has retained outside financial advisors and a law firm to prepare a bankruptcy filing. The privately held company did not deny that it is in…
Making it up about Chicago
Frustrated that you are reliant on lyin’ reporters to fact-check assertions by our lyin’ politicians? Ever wonder how the pros decide whether a claim is mis-stated, misleading or downright false? Guardian Reporter Mona Chalabi takes us through the process of fact-checking this recent claim by Donald Trump: There are two Chicagos, as you know. One…
Budget talk doesn’t add up
Look, spring training just got underway this week, and I just don’t have the time to make fun of Bruce Rauner’s budget address, so I will leave you in the capable hands of brother Eric Zorn, one of the few reasons left to read the Chicago Tribune. Go to http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-rauner-budget-speech-laughable-zorn-20170215-story.html and laugh and learn.
Rauner proposes independent ALPLM
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, now under the umbrella of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, would become a standalone agency while the remainder of IHPA would merge with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources under Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget unveiled Wednesday. The proposal, which would eliminate IHPA, apparently took the agency by surprise.…
Animal wrongs
Who would be a gibbon? Or, more to my present point, who would be a gibbon in a zoo? We learned this week about poor Jari, a 3-year-old gibbon at the Henson Robinson Zoo. She came into this world in a zoo in Jackson, Mississippi. You wouldn’t think that life could get worse, but hers…
Hallelujah, Trump rushes to aid the needy
Of all the economic pain in America that Washington ought to be relieving, what group would you choose as the top priority? Public opinion surveys consistently reveal that the great majority of us say that people on the lower rungs of the economic ladder – the poor and the failing middle class – are the…
The dire consequences of continued inaction
You may have read a news story or two about the latest blistering report from New York-based S&P Global Ratings about Illinois’ fiscal and economic woes. But it’s far more brutal than anything reported by the media and it pretty obviously lays the blame for much of the morass at Gov. Bruce Rauner’s doorstep while…
Letters to the Editor 2/16/17
JUST ANOTHER TAXTo Dick McLane (“Letters,” Feb. 2, Illinois Times): I believe this (the Beverage Tax Act) is just another tax. Where the dollars go is unknown but the goal is to make it fair and a necessity for all without creating possible job loss in this industry, not follow big Chicago, the Illinois…
Editor’s Note 2/16/17
In Chicago and around the country, local governments are learning, slowly but surely, that information belongs to the people, not just to police and prosecutors, and that transparency builds trust. That’s why videos of police shootings and other incidents in recent years have been released to the public sooner rather than later. But not in…
A speech everyone should read
As a country, we make a habit of looking forward, not backward. But I’m going to ask you to turn your attention back a few weeks, to Barack Obama’s Jan. 10 farewell address to the American people. I’ve been reading presidential farewell speeches for many years. Most of them give good advice. This speech, however,…
Junie’s tips, tricks and trip-ups
On Friday, Feb. 17, enjoy a musical adventure based off the popular book series by the late children’s author Barbara Parks. The Junie B. Jones book series was created for beginning readers and came to number 28 books in length. Today, the books have sold more than 55 million copies internationally and been translated into…
Hot home trends
Don’t miss the 2017 Springfield Area Home Builders Association Home Exposition, which features more than 120 vendors showcasing the latest trends in home building and remodeling. The annual show is an opportunity to gain inspiration and talk to vendors with the necessary expertise and resources to bring your dreams to fruition. The three-day exposition will…
All-star audition advice
If you’ve ever expressed curiosity and a desire to take to the stage, attend The Muni’s Audition Workshops on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. This event will be split into two workshops – one for children between 8 and 13 years of age at 10 a.m., and one for adults…
You deserve a breakup today
I really appreciated your recent column about people who go through with getting married when they know deep down that they’re making a mistake. I’m reminded of the common societal admonishment against being a “quitter.” There’s this notion that you’re some kind of loser if you quit anything – even when logic tells you that…
Reaching high
Anyone who doubts the intellectual powers of public high school students need only watch Ruby Latif teach advanced placement literature to seniors at Southeast High School. The year’s reading list includes nine books, plus short stories and poetry. The Awakening. Oedipus Rex. Hamlet. The Kite Runner. Students have just finished Heart of Darkness by Joseph…
Kids and creeping things
On Jan. 14 the downtown YMCA hosted an event called the “Cookies & Canvas Monster Mash Up,” during which kids between the ages of six and 12 were encouraged to draw depictions of monsters (or other creatures – aliens were a popular choice). The resulting works were later handed over to the member artists of…
Bill would create immigrant “safe zones”
Proposed legislation would provide “safe zone” locations to immigrants by requiring state and local law enforcement agencies to issue a warrant prior to investigating, detaining or arresting people for violating the federal immigration law. Rep. Chris Welch, D-Hillside, sponsor of the bill, said during a press conference the bill does not require Illinois to become…
Higher ed rally pressures legislators to end impasse
Higher education supporters from around the state gathered Feb. 8 in Springfield to pressure legislators and the governor to end the budget crisis. The Illinois Coalition to Invest in Higher Education, made up of several organizations representing state colleges and universities, held the Statehouse Rally to Save Higher Education at the first floor rotunda at…
Celebrating Valentine’s Day Civil War-style
Thanks to the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) and the Springfield Soldiers Aid Society, visitors got the chance to experience Valentine’s Day Civil War-style. On Feb. 11 the IHPA hosted Civil War Saturday at the Old State Capitol. The theme for the event was Victorian Valentines as members of the Soldiers Aid Society provided…
PRAIRIES HEART MILESTONE
The Prairie Heart Institute at HSHS St. John’s Hospital recently celebrated a milestone achievement in minimally invasive heart surgeries. According to the hospital, over 500 TAVR (trans-catheter aortic valve replacement) surgeries have been performed. At a press conference Feb. 14 at the Dove Conference Center, patients and doctors touted the success of these life-saving procedures.…
IC FRENCH FILMS
The fourth annual Tournées Film Festival is underway at Illinois College in Jacksonville, featuring screenings of French films. The festival began Feb. 7 and will conclude March 2, with each showing beginning at 7 p.m. in the Kirby Learning Center, Room 6. Upcoming selections include School of Babel (Feb. 21); My Friend Victoria (Feb. 28);…
Wicked Chapter 2 a ballet of violence
I face a bit of a moral quandary where reviewing John Wick: Chapter 2 is concerned. A beautifully shot and composed film that visually puts most similar Hollywood product to shame, it features Keanu Reeves at his most glacial in the title role of a retired hit man who’s sucked back into an elaborate criminal…
Music makers converge
We are set for what looks like a fine week for unseasonably warm weather and incredibly good music. These next two weekends closing out February are brimming with music makers making music for you to enjoy. First off, let’s celebrate the successful showing of Back Pack Jones at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis a…
Ty Brando
Originally from the Taylorville area, Ty took off for Nashville about 10 years ago with dreams of becoming a songwriter in Music City, U.S.A. By that time, he’d been a writer and performer since his youth and was well prepared for his time in Tennessee. Brando quickly established himself as the pre-eminent host at some…
Tumeric adds punch to midwinter meals
Turmeric is a spice rack regular in my kitchen. I use the deep orange powder when cooking Indian or Southeast Asian cuisine, and usually throw a pinch in when I’m making deviled eggs for more vividly colored yolks. It was never a spice that I gave much consideration though: often it is used as part…
origins poem # 1
my mother’s forebears changed theirname on the ship so we are wardnersnot weidners three brothers fought inthe revolution two survived I knowlittle of my mom’s mother only she wasa sea captain’s child and from canadaandersen spelled with e so likely scotsmy father’s family trickled over fromulster before the famine (helped buildthe erie canal) my grampa…
