Obama to visit Hoogland Center
President Barack Obama’s visit to Springfield tomorrow will include a private event at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Obama is scheduled to speak to the Illinois General Assembly tomorrow at the Illinois Statehouse, but a private event is scheduled for the Hoogland afterward. The president’s other engagements in Springfield have been kept secret. The…
Multiple city streets declared no parking zones during Obama’s visit Wednesday
Multiple city streets declared no parking zones during Obama’s visit Wednesday No parking zones for Wednesday, Feb. 10 The City of Springfield announced that on Wednesday, Feb. 10, parking will be prohibited on the following streets due to the Presidential visit: • Monroe Street between Walnut Street and 9th Street • 2nd Street between Adams…
Traffic safety division moving?
The state plans to move the Illinois Department of Transportation’s traffic safety division from its current location on North Ninth Street to the agency’s main building on Dirksen Parkway. Anders Lindall, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, says that the state has informed the union of the planned…
Chatham officer accuses Auburn cop of abuse, threats
A Chatham police officer has accused an Auburn police officer of stalking her and threatening her with a gun. In a request for an order of protection filed last month in Sangamon County Circuit Court, Chatham officer Erin Bramley says that Auburn officer Cory Anderson, her ex-boyfriend, has physically abused her and has also followed…
Former Petersburg street superintendent gets 60 days in jail for pot
Former Petersburg street superintendent Jim Nimmo, shown here in his booking photo, got 60 days in jail for pot last week. Photo courtesy of Menard County Sheriff’s Office. Former Petersburg street superintendent Jim Nimmo (right) got 60 days in jail for pot last week. Photo by City of Petersburg.The former street superintendent for the City…
RIP, Julianne
Julianne Glatz We at Illinois Times are shocked and saddened by the passing of Julianne Glatz, our food writer who passed away last night in her sleep. Glatz became a near-instant institution after her weekly column began in 2006. She wrote about more than just recipes. Over the years, readers came to know her takes…
Bruce Rauner, progressive
PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Daydreaming the other day, I ran through my head some scenes from my imagined movie remake, Mr. Potter Goes to Springfield, in which Capra’s naïve do-gooder Jefferson Smith is replaced by Henry F. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life. However, our own Mr. Potter, Bruce Rauner, also brings to mind real…
Take the movement to the White House
Jim Hightower PHOTO BY LARRY D. MOORE At a recent dinner with my work team, I was reminded that I had said I wanted to travel less for work this year so I could focus on other projects. Instead, I find myself bouncing across the country campaigning for my friend who decided to run for…
Free to be Bruce
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS Every time Gov. Bruce Rauner gives a major speech, social media (and even mass media) lights him up over the way he drops his “g’s” at the end of words. He’s workin’ and doin’ his best and shakin’ up Springfield, or whatever. Last year, after his first State of the State…
Letters to the Editor 2/4/16
ILLINOIS RANKS HIGH The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, in partnership with the Equality Federation, has released its second annual national report assessing the status of state legislation affecting LGBT equality across America, including in Illinois. The State Equality Index (SEI) reveals that, even…
Editor’s note 2/4/16
Often overlooked in the concern over Gov. Bruce Rauner’s obstructionism is the damage he is doing to his own agenda. Not the Turnaround Agenda, but the governor’s alleged support of ideas like more equitable education funding and streamlining local government through consolidation. Hopes are high that Rauner will follow through on his promise to reform…
Big bucks
Our next door neighbor on MacArthur was a nice lady named Mae Shaheen. She lived with her brother, George. They were the siblings of Joe Shaheen, who ran the Springfield Speedway. On race nights Mae worked the beer stand at the track. George was a traveling salesman. After Mae’s death the house was cleared and…
Actress/author Amber Tamblyn
Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows Lecture Actress/author/director Amber Tamblyn will present two Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows Lectures at Illinois College 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 8, in Rammelkamp Chapel and Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kirby Learning Center. Amber’s Monday presentation is titled “Hollyweird: Entertainment Business Realities, Successes, Pitfalls, Hardships and Discoveries.” Amber’s…
UIS New Voices on Racial Justice Series
What’s Wrong With White Talk? “White talk” is about rejecting racism, recognizing shared experiences and praising equality. On Tuesday, join Dr. Alison Bailey, director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Illinois State University, for a program focused on how “white talk” steers racially charged discussion toward the moral goodness of the speaker and…
Mr. Lincoln’s favorite songs
As Lincoln Heard It Hear the songs enjoyed by Abraham Lincoln on the very instrument he used to listen to. On Saturday, Feb. 6, see the unveiling of the recently restored square grand piano made by Emilius N. Scherr of Philadelphia and dating to c. 1835-40. A costumed Mr. and Mrs. Edwards play host to…
Mr. Swipe Right
PHOTO COURTESY AMY ALKON Amy Alkon I’m a woman who’s both loving and seriously hating Tinder. Guys on this app mostly want to hook up, and even those who say they want a relationship are flaky, often disappearing after a single date. Sure, this sometimes happens with guys I meet in real life, but not…
Black behind bars
In 2013, one out of every 266 people in Illinois was in prison. For African-American residents, it was one in every 68 people. That’s just one of the shocking facts illustrating the serious racial disparity in Illinois’ criminal justice system. About 60 percent of the state’s prison population is black, despite African-American people making up…
Time for refleXions at Prairie Art Alliance
“Bremer Prairie,” by Ginny Lee, is part of the exhibition at Hoogland Center for the Arts through Feb. 25. PHOTO COURTESY H.D. Smith Gallery Prairie Art Alliance member artist Ginny Lee has come to terms with technology. “Even a year ago I was a little bit iffy about showing iPhone photos made with apps. But…
Death of a statesman
A 1989 photo of Sen. Phil Rock, right, and Senate Minority Leader James “Pate” Philip. The two discussed issues and votes nearly every day during Rock’s 12-year tenure as Senate president. PHOTO BY GINNY LEE Philip J. Rock, 78, former president of the Illinois Senate, died Friday, Jan. 29. Rock, a Democrat widely regarded on…
Burning issues
Even as an underground fire has forced closure of a Montgomery County mine, the mine operator is seeking state permission to expand mining operations near Hillsboro. The Deer Run mine, owned by St. Louis-based Foresight Energy, has been shut down since Dec. 2, when high levels of carbon monoxide were detected, signaling combustion somewhere in…
Impasse?
The union that represents State Journal-Register newsroom employees is weighing options now that a “final and best” contract offer has been rejected by workers. The Jan. 29 vote rejecting management’s contract offer was unanimous. According to the United Media Guild that represents newsroom workers, it is now up to management to decide whether to unilaterally…
All pain, no gain
Polly Poskin of Springfield, executive director of Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault. PHOTO BY LEE MILNER Over the past seven months, human service organizations across the state have made layoffs, cut programs and pleaded their case to lawmakers that the people of Illinois need a budget in place. In the Statehouse, faith that Gov. Bruce…
SWEET SCHOLARSHIP
Seniors graduating from high school this spring should keep their eyes open for the Sherel Nutt Memorial Scholarship applications in their local schools. The Springfield Lake Shore Improvement Association is offering two $1,000 scholarships to any senior planning to attend a community college or a four-year university in the fall. The scholarship honors a longtime…
Publisher on Facebook
Clarissa Williams, publisher of the State Journal-Register, believes in freedom of speech. Just check out her Facebook page. In the warm glow of the most recent holiday season, for instance, Williams, in what appears to be a cut-and-paste job from some unknown website, announced to the world just how she feels about gay marriage: “I…
Sincerity keeps Hours afloat
Casey Affleck in The Finest Hours. There’s something charming and reassuring about the old-fashioned quality of Craig Gillespie’s The Finest Hours, a throwback to movies of yesterday. It has no problem putting not one but two solid, erstwhile heroes front and center, drawing on untold reserves of courage to conquer seemingly insurmountable problems. There’s also…
Music losses and gains
Old Salt Union plays with Sunshine Daydream on Thursday Feb. 4 at Bar None. This week finds us celebrating various ends of the music spectrum. As usual, if you want to do it, there is plenty to do. Let’s begin with the life of Riley; Mark, to be exact. Area musician Mark Riley, 67, passed…
Dan Hubbard
Dan Hubbard Known to Springfield fans as a headline performer at SOHO festival pasts, as well as other venues with his band The Humadors, Dan Hubbard is on a brand new adventure and invites you to come along. Now playing as a solo artist, in 2015 Hubbard recorded an album of a lifetime with Ken…
prom dresses poem #1
prom dresses poem #1 enter the downtown Y folks and bedazzled by the bedazzling display ofprom dresses white gold black silverevery rainbow hue some plain some patterned choose from slink to poofhow about yellow bouffant strapless ordemure silk satin tulle crepe you nameit (no burlap) bangley sparkly sequinsy why here in the Y? well these…
Maple syrup time
Drip, drip, drip . . . It was mid February. After a long, cold winter, it was the first day that hinted spring was on the way. Drip, drip, drip . . . It had been below freezing overnight, but by noon the sun was warm. I took my then-4-year-old daughter, Ashley, outside to enjoy the beautiful…
