Put the bite back in our financial watchdog
After Bernard Madoff confessed in December to looting some $50 billion from investors through a long-running, widespread Ponzi scheme, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., complained that this massive fraud “fell through the cracks of our regulatory system.” Indeed it did, but let’s be blunt — there are now a lot more “cracks” than “system” in America’s…
Truth about rising tuition
Just about everyone applauded the enactment of Illinois’ so-called truth-in-tuition law. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who signed the legislation in July 2003, said the bill, which freezes freshman tuition rates for four years, would stabilize the cost of education at state universities. The bill’s author, state Rep. Kevin Joyce, D-Worth, believed that college-bound students and their…
Impeachment journal
From Roland Burris’s testimony before the House impeachment committee, to the House impeachment vote, to Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appearance before the Senate that will soon try him, dramatic events unfolded rapidly at the Capitol last week. Among the many there to record it was Jonathan Kirshner, a Springfield-based photographer who specializes in capturing iconic storytelling…
Memoirs of Judge Wood, our man at Wounded Knee
Many people in Springfield, who hold a variety of views about politics and law, have praised the late Harlington Wood as an individual of integrity and accomplishment. Wood’s memoirs, An Unmarked Trail: The Odyssey of a Federal Judge, printed by H. C. Johnson Press in Rockford, should leave most readers with a similar assessment. With…
Letters to the Editor
Miller time I enjoyed Dusty Rhodes’ column about the amazing and amusing political reporter and columnist Rich Miller. She captured the essence of Rich — irreverent, foul-tongued, flawed and incredibly insightful and competent. I met Rich in 1993, when I was drawing locally-oriented political cartoons for Illinois Times. He asked if I’d draw cartoons for…
It’s getting Nasty out
When we last checked in with Micky Shomidie and House of Nasty, it was July of 2008 and the band was off to Oklahoma to perform at Rocklahoma, the biggest hard rock/metal music festival in the country. Regular readers with excellent memories may remember Shomidie’s tale of redemption and resurrection, music industry style, told here…
IT Picks
THEATER | Russia ballet The tradition and beauty of the Russian ballet captivates the audience as the troupe presents the story of Giselle. The ornate imagery, coupled with the graceful movements of the ballerinas, brings the tragic love story of Giselle and Count Alberecht to life. Giselle is considered one of the classic contemporary ballets.…
Council can solve fiscal woes now
Tough times call for tough decisions. That axiom has never been truer than it is now for the Springfield City Council as it deliberates approval of a new city budget. As chair of Mayor Tim Davlin’s blue ribbon commission on city finances, I would like to urge the council to consider the recommendations that our…
Revolutionary takes us down a familiar road
There’s angst aplenty in Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as two young marrieds in the 1950s who buy into the American Dream, only to realize it’s a nightmare of boredom that soon gives way to apathy. Frank and April Wheeler are the couple in question who argue behind the…
Making babies possible
When Dr. J. Ricardo Loret de Mola headed the MacDonald Fertility and In Vitro Fertilization Program at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, he treated couples from around the globe. “People will go to the end of the world for a baby,” he says. “People will not stop until they’ve explored every avenue out there.”…
The breakfast snub
In Illinois, breakfast apparently isn’t such an important meal after all. In a study released last week, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), headquartered in Washington, D.C., reported that Illinois ranks 51st in providing breakfast to low-income children, just behind Utah. A previous FRAC study, conducted in 2005, ranked Illinois 50th in the nation.…
A new day dawns in the state Senate
Illinois State Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) said last week that the Senate Democrats will seek “feedback” from the Senate Republicans before making final decisions on new rules for the chamber. Steans was put in charge of devising new rules by Senate President John Cullerton several months ago. That statement, probably more than anything else that…
SHA considers changing high-rise to “elderly only”
With complaints of prostitution, excessive noise and kids running in the hallways, it’s not surprising that the Springfield Housing Authority (SHA) is considering changing residency requirements at one or more of its three high-rises to “elderly only.” Currently, Bonansinga, Hildebrandt and Sankey are open to both seniors and the disabled. With a number of disabled…
People’s Poetry
winterpoem # 4 had to do something to cut the gloom and doom around here so proposed a hike to the cemeteryto see the frozen raccoon my grandkids discovered yesterday it was still there still an object of fascination I could have taken them to see their dead geocache too tessa and trimble’s kiddie cache…
Look for the Lincolns at the theater
Here are some of the many Lincoln-related theater offerings coming up in the next few weeks: It’s always nice to drive over to Rushville, especially to see what’s playing at the historic Phoenix Opera House on the town square. On Saturday, Jan. 24, they are offering Lincoln Tales Tall and True at 7 p.m., performed…
What if things are as bad as Obama says?
People are so ready to be relieved of the Bush presidency, and to end the Iraq war, that Barack Obama could have said anything, or nothing, in his inaugural address and it would still be called eloquent and elegant. The guy knows how to use the language, a skill the more welcome following eight years…
Springfield’s first certified green building
As Erin’s Pavilion at Southwind Park approaches completion and its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) designation, it follows the path cleared by another notable Springfield “green” design. Last month the new Illinois Municipal Electric Agency headquarters, located at 3400 Conifer Dr., was awarded LEED silver level certification by the United States Green Building…
