The rise and fall of the Mormons’ new Zion
Prophets who offer a path to peace in this world and redemption in the next have never been rare in the U.S. They were never less rare than in the 1830s and 40s. The direction and pace of social change left many people uneasy in this world and yearning to find a better one with…
A chef’s secret weapon
About 12 years ago I started buying sausages and cured meats from Laurence Mate, an amateur charcuterie maker from Champaign. He had found a way around government regulations by selling memberships to a “buyers club” which he called This Little Piggy. The membership fee was one penny and members could obtain his homemade charcuterie by…
So long September
Yes, that’s meant to be a “so long, been good to know you” and a “it’s been so long of a September” double meaning to this week’s column headline as the ninth month with the seventh moniker has had its ups and downs. But here we are rolling on through 2020, working through the troubles,…
Avery Kern
This talented, ambitious, inspiring and aspiring singer, songwriter, musician and entertainer is doing what it takes to get things done in the business of music show business. From Avery’s recent appearance on the Hollywood version of American Idol (getting that far is a big deal) to attending the esteemed Belmont University in Nashville for business…
Help address food insecurity
Join the Junior League of Springfield’s (JLS) Sanga-Run 45-mile challenge to help support their mission of addressing food insecurity in the Springfield community. The JLS, a 75-year-old local service organization, adopted an issue-based community impact model in 2014 in order to strengthen the skills of members and create more community impact. Since establishing food insecurity…
Misbehaviour is a bit too tame
There’s a great deal going on in Philippa Lowthorpe’s Misbehaviour. Single mom Sally Alexander (Keira Knightley) is trying to get into a well-respected college while raising her own daughter under the disapproving eye of her own mother. She also helps form the Women’s Liberation Movement, an organization that includes the firebrand Jo Robinson (Jesse Buckley),…
Trade secrets
Adam Harrison knew he needed help. Repeatedly, he asked to see psychiatrists at Pontiac Correctional Center, but doctors didn’t make scheduled appointments – the first was missed in September of 2015. Doctors skipped two rescheduled sessions in October. That’s what the plaintiff says. Twice in the late summer and fall of that year, Harrison, who’d…
Editor’s note 9/24/20
Ruth Bader Ginsburg did her part as a justice fighter, working in hostile territory as long as she possibly could, though we wish she could have held out just a little longer. A way for those on her side to honor her is to stay in the fight, in hostile territory, as long as they…
For fairer elections, let us rank our choices
What keeps many voters from voting for third-party candidates? One of the most common reasons I hear is that a vote for a third-party candidate will be “wasted” because only the Democratic or Republican candidates have a legitimate chance to win. But there is a system of voting used in many parts of the U.S.…
Discord over Madigan hearings
During both the impeachment proceedings against Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the disciplinary proceedings that led to the expulsion of state Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago), the Illinois House was able to call witnesses. But because of ongoing federal investigations in both instances, the US Attorney limited what some of those witnesses could be asked. Blagojevich had…
Another suicide poem
I wasn’t going to write about my daughter’s september suicide this year, with the times so troubled but my young friend maisy reminded me this is suicide prevention month so – we buried demi’s ashes recently; I didn’t want to leave this earth with her ashes still on my mantle. a friend said “it means…
Letters to the editor 9/24/20
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. —- HELPING THE HOMELESS The first step in addressing Springfield’s homeless population would be to have an advocate listen, assess and make a plan for each person in Tent City and bring this information to…
Eviction moratorium continues
With Gov. JB Pritzker recently extending a moratorium on evictions, tenants who haven’t paid rent are largely safe from being removed from premises. The governor last week extended the eviction ban, first enacted last spring, until late October, the latest in a series of extensions aimed at preventing people who’ve lost income due to the…
Springfield vigil for RBG
On Saturday, Sept. 19, the day after Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, community leaders and residents gathered outside the federal courthouse downtown for a vigil. It was one of many at courthouses across the country. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton attended with some family members. She said as a young lawyer, she saw Ginsburg…
Challenger cites experience in prosecutor’s race
Both candidates for Sangamon County state’s attorney say experience is important. After four years in the county prosecutor’s office, Dan Wright, a Republican who was appointed state’s attorney in 2018, says he’s demonstrated that he deserves a four-year term. Michael Drake, the Democratic challenger, counters that he has spent more years practicing criminal law than…
Igniting change
Harry Carlsen roasted a pig while his uncle, Buff Carmichael, sat in the backyard under a tent. A line of friends took turns greeting him. They wore masks and sat in distanced lawn chairs on a summer day in August. A rainbow windsock twirled nearby. A Black Lives Matter sign was planted in the lawn.…
