Cover Story
Grillin’ and Chillin’
Our Grillin’ and Chillin’ issue has plenty of ideas to celebrate the holiday weekend. Whether you’re planning a day trip or a staycation, we have information about activities at the lake, central Illinois water parks and things to do right here in Springfield, plus a community calendar that includes holiday festivities and where to see…
People helping people
After storms rolled through Springfield Thursday afternoon and Saturday night, many were left without power and with structures damaged by trees. Members of our community stepped into the breach and helped their neighbors. A drive around town revealed these people helping people. The Central Illinois Foodbank at 1937 E. Cook St. held a drive-up food…
Businesses want relief from biometric privacy act
Senate President Don Harmon told Public Radio talk show host Brian Mackey in late June that some of the most prominent business association leaders had “punched us in the nose” after the Senate Democrats devised what he called a “good faith solution” to solve problems created by the state’s super-controversial Biometric Information Privacy Act. Harmon…
More heads in beds
A few more dollars tacked onto daily hotel room charges in Springfield could be used to expand the Bank of Springfield Center and boost the city’s hospitality industry for years to come. That option is among several potential uses for a tourism improvement district, or TID, that the director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors…
Pride in Petersburg
Small-town pride took on a new meaning June 24 as the Menard County city of Petersburg celebrated diversity and inclusion with its first-ever Pride in Petersburg event. Live music, drag performers and merchant specials shined a light on the conservative, rural community that has seen a lot of change in recent years. New businesses have…
A double standard
Allegations of past racism by the Springfield City Council have cropped up as council members ponder appointing a former council member to a city commission. In 2016, shortly after Gail Simpson had left the council, then-mayor Jim Langfelder sought to appoint her to the city’s Ethics Commission. Simpson, who is Black, said she was told…
A fresh spin on soup and sandwich
Chilled soups and garlicky flame-licked toasts are a perfect summer combination, whether you’re looking for an elegant make-ahead menu for entertaining or for those evenings when you just can’t be bothered to cook. While these refreshing chilled soups sadly don’t prepare themselves, they are ideal make-ahead dishes. Both soups will keep well in the fridge…
Filings reveal little on finances for elected city officials
Under the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act, members of the Springfield City Council and Mayor Misty Buscher are required to produce a document called “Statement of Economic Interests.” They are asked to reveal such things as major assets, sources of income and ties to lobbyists. Speaking recently on why disclosure of economic interests is so important,…
Pie poem
Us kids watched while our grandma rolled out pie dough on her kitchen table top. She’d place a cover atop a pie, snip the edges, gather the snippings into a disc, add this to the oven with all the pies, for this, we all knew, was Bounce’s pie. Bounce was her personal ill-tempered rat-terrier. We’d…
Illinois becomes a state
James A. Edstrom, Avenues of Transformation: Illinois’ Path from Territory to State. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2022. 250 pages, $26.50 It is always interesting to see why a person decided to write a book. The impetus for Avenues of Transformation came in 1987 when a patron asked librarian James A. Edstrom a question about…
Letters to the editor 6/29/23
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. —- HELP HABITAT Thanks for the great article describing our local Habitat for Humanity chapter (“Habitat helps families, one homebuyer at a time,” June 8). Habitat for Humanity – Sangamon County was started at First…
June into July music
Join in the fun as we slide from June to July this weekend, then slip on toward the Fourth of July, combining the holiday and the aforementioned weekend into one long whoop-de-do of whatnot and wherevers. And wonder of wonders, live music, per usual, leads the way and becomes the bond that ties all the…
Governor should veto lifting nuclear moratorium
While deserved attention has been given to the dreadful “right of first refusal” energy bill that Gov. Pritzker has vowed to veto, a second energy bill – repeal of the 1987 Illinois nuclear construction moratorium (SB76) – has all but vanished from radar. Yet this bill’s implications for Illinois’ energy future may be far greater…
Wind down with these summer wines
What makes a great summer wine? The wines that work with heartier fare in colder months aren’t necessarily ideal for sipping by the pool or packing in a picnic. Thankfully the variety of wines that pair with warm sunny days is more nuanced than simply white in summer and red in winter. Generally, summer wines…
New musical commemorates history of Blacks in America
A show that chronicles Black history in America is heading to the capital city, thanks to the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum. Chicago playwright and producer Ted Williams III’s 1619: The Journey of a People features three modern characters who lead the audience on a trip through time with performances set during…
Lots to do at Lake Springfield
In the 1930s, the city of Springfield got busy building a lake. From the time that John Kelly settled in the area in 1818 through the next 115 years or so, it had been a struggle to provide a safe and adequate water supply for the city’s growing citizenry. So, the city built a lake,…
Spend your summer vacation in Springfield
Summertime is when lots of people plan getaways to explore new cities and sites. But you can also have fun, new adventures and experiences right here in Springfield. Your hometown offers concerts, theater, sports and historical sites without having to deal with the vagaries (and cost) of travel. Here are a few ideas for a…
Patients deserve better access to health care in Illinois
Patients in Illinois are facing a health care crisis that deserves more attention because it affects the availability of medical care in communities across the state. Have you ever been unable to schedule an appointment because a practice doesn’t accept your insurance, or because the specialist you wanted to see no longer worked there? You…
Riding the waves at central Illinois water parks
Floating on an inner tube in a lazy river. Thrilling to a wild ride down a twisting, turning slide. Riding a wave into shore. What says “summer” more than water on a hot, sticky day? Fortunately, central Illinoisans don’t have to go all the way to oceans, lakes or rivers for relief. Area water parks…
A house divided
Please fill in the blank: “Our Father, who art in heaven, ____ be thy name.” This month, that question came up on the television gameshow “Jeopardy,” and none of the otherwise smart contestants could answer it. The social media universe exploded with indignation. (In case you are wondering, the correct word is “hallowed.”) The Rev.…
Rock ‘n’ roll goofiness at the Muni
Ahhh, the 80s. That transcendent, evolutionary time in our cultural history that ushered in mullets, mall bangs, day-glo, Lycra and Memorex. Sure, there were way more important things happening in the world at the time, but for those of us who were teenagers and too young to understand or care about anything else, we would…
Editors note 6/29/23
It was billed as a “Community conversation” about “Faithful responses to hostility” but nobody knew beforehand whether there would be much of a turnout for this June 25 gathering of Springfield’s seven “open and affirming” churches and the LGBTQ+ community they support. By 6 p.m. there were maybe 200 in the First Presbyterian Church sanctuary…
Asteroid City doesn’t deliver, Hard Feelings a near miss, Prisoner’s Daughter too predictable
Anderson’s City vibrant but empty There’s a sense of low-key melancholy that runs throughout Anderson’s movies, the people who inhabit them having been buffeted by the vagaries of life, fully aware that their trials may not be at an end, yet heroically persevering. This is never more obvious than in the filmmaker’s latest, Asteroid City,…
Police projects expand
What the Springfield police chief called a historic infusion of state cash for crime prevention and community outreach will include $645,000 for a “teen empowerment zone” on the east side and expanded coverage for the ShotSpotter program. “We see this as an opportunity to be proactive in how we deal with violent crime reduction and…
