Stealing the people’s property
“Sorry, we’re closed.” In one of the saddest signs of the times, this message is popping up all across the country, as governors and legislators are cutting off funds (and shutting off access) to one of the finest, most popular assets owned by the people of our country: state parks. More than 6,600 of these…
The original Leland Hotel horseshoe sauce
Wables was right: the secret to good horseshoe sauce is good cheddar. Use at least sharp cheddar; I prefer extra-sharp. The original specifies Kraft’s Old English Cheddar. Apparently it’s still produced, but I’ve never been able to find it. Do NOT use pre-grated cheese; it’s coated with a substance that keeps the shreds separate, which…
The mental effects of abortion
I remember well a night many years ago when a dear friend who was adamantly pro-choice came to me, sobbing uncontrollably. With defenses down, she unloaded a heavy burden she had long carried – a few years before she had chosen to abort her developing baby. She told me that not one day had passed…
College credit
In January, the University of Illinois announced it was raising its tuition on new undergraduates at its three campuses yet again. Lamentation was general throughout the land. Tuition for residents at Illinois public colleges and universities used to be somewhere below laundry among the various costs of going to college, but it’s been outpacing inflation…
Ponzi victims seeking restitution and donations
He may be no Bernie Madoff, but James U. Dodge of Springfield still managed to scam dozens of people across central Illinois out of almost $1.8 million. And even though Dodge was convicted of two counts of mail fraud in connection with his Ponzi scheme and sentenced to 63 months in prison, some of his…
Ting sent packing
Bowing to pressure from colleagues, Tih-Fen Ting has resigned from the University of Illinois Springfield faculty senate. Ting, an environmental studies professor who had been the senate’s chairwoman, quit on Jan. 27, immediately after the senate in a 16-5 vote approved a resolution asking for her departure. Senators demanded Ting’s resignation in response to revelations…
Medieval minstrels
Istanpitta, a United States medieval music ensemble, performs Saturday, Feb. 4, in Rammelkamp Chapel at Illinois College. Their concert, “Exiled,” explores the expulsion of the Jewish race from Medieval Spain and their travels to the Middle East. Songs, instrumentals and stories highlight the cultural fusion of Western and Eastern influences in Spain. The ensemble consists…
Fast facts
Springfield PechaKucha returns for another enlightening evening at Capital City Bar and Grill on Thursday, Feb. 9. A great lineup of locals and presentations includes: Wade Kammin, The Making of an Assistance Dog; Victor Broderick, Brainwashing; Gaines Hall, The Influence of Sound on Design; Andrew Woolbright, Art and the Pharmacy Experiment; Gus Gordon, Ain’t Misbehavin’:…
Bleu Edmondson
Here’s a music business story with a happy twist and one that continues an upward spiral. Rather than the usual tale of playing music from the cradle, Bleu Edmondson first picked up a guitar and “started writing songs because he didn’t know what else to do” during his college years. After recording a few self-penned…
Madigan: Let school districts pay for teacher pensions
Last week, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan appeared to all but endorse an idea to force downstate and suburban school districts to pay a significant share of their state pension contributions for the first time in anyone’s memory. Senate President John Cullerton floated that very proposal last year, and Gov. Pat Quinn added his…
Letters to the Editor 2/2/12
APOLOGIZE, CWLP After CWLP’s recent admission that utility service is at risk without continued rate hikes, I believe some apologies are owed to CWLP retail ratepayers. In particular, from those who sold and supported the city’s half-billion dollar power marketing scheme under the guise of energy security for Springfield. The debt that threatens our utility…
Actor James Cromwell on The Artist and success
Character actors are made, not born. Often circumstances steer performers towards a career consisting mostly of supporting roles. James Cromwell would agree with this sentiment as he’s fashioned a body of work much in the tradition of Thomas Mitchell, Frank Morgan, Ned Beatty, Danny Glover and John Malkovich. Like these players, the actor has become…
Tase me, bro
While Springfield park police mull Tasers, the Sangamon County sheriff’s office has adjusted training after the 2010 death of Patrick Burns, who died following a struggle with taser-wielding deputies. Park police last month asked the park board about buying Tasers, but Michael Stratton, Springfield Park District executive director, is a hard sell. “My initial response…
From Springfield to Memphis
In the last few columns I’ve mentioned the amazing and wonderful fact that three area blues organizations selected three Springfield-based blues bands as representatives to the International Blues Challenge contest held annually in Memphis. This is no small feat and each deserves hearty congratulations. As you read this, the performers, Tombstone Bullet (Springfield’s Illinois Central…
That’s all, folks
Chris Britt sounds like crap. What started out two weeks ago as a bad cold has morphed into pneumonia, and his words come as croaks between coughs. The career of the State Journal-Register’s erstwhile political cartoonist, fired a week ago, is likely over, and Britt knows it. “I don’t really know what’s next,” Britt says.…
Sweet strings
The Springfield Classical Guitar Society welcomes Michael Hull, performing classical guitar melodies, in an evening concert Saturday, Feb. 4. Hull currently serves on the faculty at Bradley University and the Conservatory of Central Illinois. He has performed numerous solo recitals and played in master classes of some of today’s most celebrated guitarists, including Michael Newman,…
phonepoem #2
phonepoem #2 when I call a business a library oralmost any number not a frienda robot voice will say listen carefully for our menu has changed then come seven choices none the entrée I need if I could hack into those kitchens I’d offer three selections appetizer first: “if you want to jump through a…
Vital visions
Many local institutions are celebrating African-American History Month with activities in February. The Vachel Lindsay Home offers viewings of two films, Hallelujah!, one of the first MGM all-black films, on Feb. 4; and The Scar of Shame, a 1927 crime drama from the Colored Players Film Corporation, on March 3. Both shows start at 2…
The Grey stands apart from the pack
At the age of 59, Liam Neeson has become a bona fide action star, a go-to guy who audiences have willingly embraced in the well-worn genre. There’s a lived-in quality to his characters; these men live with regret over compromises made or the fickleness of fate. Neeson convincingly conveys the guilt and remorse they carry,…
Carano an action star to be reckoned with in Haywire
Upon seeing mixed martial arts champion Gina Carano dispatch one of her opponents during a short-lived title match, director Stephen Soderbergh wondered why no one had turned her into an action star. He solved that problem by contacting his old screenwriting partner, Len Dobbs, who delivered to him a script entitled Haywire. Quickly pulling together…
What happened to horseshoes?
“They’re just not elegant anymore,” my mother sighed. Horseshoes? Elegant? Springfield’s iconic dish that almost inevitably appears on our pubs’ and casual eating establishments’ menus? The gargantuan pig-out preparation beloved of Springfield area residents that’s often viewed with disbelief by visitors? “Do you folks actually eat those things?” asked Peter Segal, host of NPR’s “Wait,…
