Cruz, Rubio eligible for president, state election board says
Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz. PHOTO BY OLIVIER DOULIERY/TNS For presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, Feb. 1 was a good day. Not only did the Republican from Texas top presumed front-runner Donald Trump to win the influential Republican primary in Iowa that day, but Cruz also won a favorable ruling in Illinois saying he’s…
Rauner: ‘I want reforms.’
File photo by Patrick Yeagle Gov. Bruce Rauner introduced a bill today to change how Illinois buys goods and services. A news conference on changing how the State of Illinois buys goods and services was only part of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s message to the press this morning. “Procurement has been one of the largest sources…
Inside Springfield’s first medical pot shop
Photos of marijuana adorn many of the walls at HCI, Springfield’s first medical marijuana dispensary. Patrick Yeagle Christy Karhliker used to oppose medical marijuana. Now she runs a shop in Springfield slated to begin selling medical marijuana on Feb. 15. HCI Alternatives, a licensed medical marijuana dispensary, opened its doors to the media on Feb.…
Bluffstone builds
At the Downtown Springfield Inc. annual awards dinner in January at the Wyndham City Centre, the Springfield Mayre Jim Langfelder talked about the most recent developments in the Bluffstone LLC proposal to build student housing downtown, which I wrote about it in “Doing development right.” The city council, you might remember, chose not to grant…
GROWLERS AND DITZY BLONDES
A beer summit at Obed and Isaac’s? It could happen. Karen Conn, the wife half of the husband-and-wife team that owns the popular Springfield microbrew pub, confirms that President Barack Obama, scheduled to address the General Assembly on Feb. 10, is on her radar screen. The staff of Gov. Bruce Rauner has been in touch,…
Shove it
Newsroom employees at the State Journal-Register tonight rejected a final contract offer from GateHouse Media, the company that owns Springfield’s daily newspaper. The vote was unanimous, according to Shannon Duffy, administrative officer for the United Media Guild, which represents newsroom workers. There are approximately 25 workers in the bargaining unit. Reporters and other newsroom employees…
I call this progress
Reader Jay Kitterman CHA, director of the Culinary Institute at Lincoln Land Community College, writes to remind me that the death of Indian restaurants in Springfield in 1981 I described in a recent column has, happily, been remedied. “We now have two Indian Restaurants in Springfield. One is Taste of India. One of our students, Amandeep Kaur, is…
With 772 you get eggroll
As part of Illinois Times’ 40th anniversary observances, we will revisit in light of more recent events columns from James Krohe Jr.’s Prejudices series that ran from 1977 to 1994. Minor errors have been corrected and the pieces edited for length. The original, much longer essay can be read in its entirety on Krohe’s blog,…
Something is happening
Jim Hightower PHOTO BY LARRY D. MOORE When I crossed paths with a Democratic Party campaign consultant in Austin last March, I suggested he come out to the local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall to hear Bernie Sanders, adding that the Vermont senator was pondering a run for the presidency. “You gotta be kiddin’…
Rauner, Cullerton triangulate Madigan
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS Gov. Bruce Rauner blew a perfect opportunity last week to finally drive a public wedge between Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan, clearly put Madigan on the defensive, and maybe finally make progress on an important issue which might save the state a billion dollars a year. But…
Letters to the Editor 01/28/16
In 2012 alone, the largest factory farms produced an estimated 369 million tons of manure, enough to fill the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium 133 times. PHOTO BY BOB CHAMBERLIN/TNS HIDDEN COST OF FOODAs consumers, we don’t typically take much time to think about the origins of the food on our plate, so I was glad…
Editor’s note 01/28/16
The state of the state? Confused. Illinois can’t understand how its new, inexperienced governor can continue to keep a straight face while pretending that his anti-union agenda is more important than funded universities and social services. Bruce Rauner rules by chaos and by intimidation from big wads of political cash. He seems to have some…
19th century Illinois women made history
Many people recognize the name of Jane Addams from high school history textbooks, but few know much else about this incomparable woman of 19th-century Illinois history. And she was hardly the only one. Few opportunities awaited Illinois women in the era. In 1900, only 16.3 percent of all Illinois women were employed, with the exception…
A murderous meeting
Join the Lanphier High School Drama Club for a murder mystery involving a gathering of the world’s greatest mystery writers, all attending under aliases of famous authors. A poetry-spouting “Shakespeare” quickly captures the affections of “Shelley”, “Bronte” and “Alcott” but the romance is thwarted when “Poe” reveals a nasty bit of correspondence and authors suddenly…
Step into tradition
Start Black History Month off on the right foot and enjoy a spirited dance performance by Step Afrika!, the first professional dance company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Stepping became popular in the United States in the early 1900s thanks to song-and-dance rituals practiced by African-American fraternities and sororities. Stepping is performed widely today…
Taxi Tehran
The fourth film in the 25th Annual Molly Schlich Film Series is 2015’s Taxi Tehran. When Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi is banned from making movies by the Iranian government, he poses as a taxi driver to film a movie about social challenges in Iran. The result is a comedy/drama that captures portraits of everyday people.…
Mr. Throng
PHOTO COURTESY AMY ALKON Amy Alkon I’m a 35-year-old woman, and I’ve been involved with a guy around my age for almost two years. It’s been “open.” Well, that is, he’s had the freedom to sleep with other people. I haven’t wanted to. I finally realized that I am not happy with this and want…
Simple ways to make healthy eating habits stick
If your head is still spinning from all the diet tips you’ve read or heard about since 2016 arrived, then slow down and take a deeeeep breath. I’m going to make this real simple. All it takes is keeping an open mind and practicing what I am about to share with you. Several of my…
Climb 32 floors, 532 steps
PHOTO COURTESY https://www.facebook.com/FightForAirClimbSpringfieldIL/ The American Lung Association challenges you to join the Fight for Air Climb fundraiser on Feb. 21, 2015. In support of the fight against lung cancer, participants will take on 32 floors and 532 steps at the Wyndham Springfield City Centre Hotel, formerly the Springfield Hilton, in downtown Springfield. According to the…
Fitness over 40
Doug Nelson of Springfield. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE For most people, after the age of 40, energy, strength, and stamina seem to drain more quickly than before. On Dec. 12, Memorial Hospital’s Sportscare facility in Springfield presented a community outreach session titled “Over 40 Fitness,” geared towards people who are curious about how to maintain…
Do the work, sleep will come
You’re lying in your nice cozy bed at night, covered in flannel and down, surrounded by quiet and darkness, a spouse snoring contentedly by your side and somehow still sleep won’t come. The digital clock stares you down – a confrontation with red numbers the diurnal world doesn’t usually see: 2, 3, 4 AM. What…
What keeps you going?
People are great at making New Year’s resolutions but only eight percent succeed when it comes to following through on them, according to a recent University of Scranton study. “Motivation is a deep desire within oneself to make changes,” said Molly Suhadolnik, co-owner of CrossFit Instinct Central. A Springfield native, she’s been involved in the…
Not so sweet after all
Molly Suhadolnik: “A lot of people don’t have as hard of a time getting motivated to get into the gym as they do to eat better.” PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Molly Suhadolnik hates sugar. The Springfield fitness trainer is on a mission to make people think about what goes into their bodies, and sugar is…
Black History Month Events 2016
ILLUSTRATION BY KURT STRAZDINS Step Afrika!Jan 30, 7pm Sat. First professional dance company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Performance includes tap, modern, hip-hop plus other styles of dance. $15-30 adults, $5 students. stepafrika.org. Kirkland Fine Arts Center, 1184 W. Main St., Decatur, 424-6318. Candle Light Vigil Feb 1, 10:30-11:30am Mon. Candle Light Vigil honors…
Is Ted Cruz eligible to run in Illinois?
Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz. PHOTO BY OLIVIER DOULIERY/TNS Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio face challenges in Illinois over their eligibility to be president, mirroring similar challenges in other states. Filings with the state election board earlier this month allege the two U.S. senators are not natural born citizens. If successful,…
Carelessness or something more?
Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino There is, at least so far, no proof that Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino has broken any laws. But the more one looks at Mautino’s campaign disclosure reports filed while he was a state representative, the more it becomes apparent that the man who has become the state’s top auditor…
Does ‘Independent Maps’ have a chance?
A group working to change how Illinois’ state legislative districts maps are drawn is pushing for reform on redistricting laws again. A ruling by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Mary Mikva in 2014 sent the creators of the Independent Map proposal back to the drawing board. Their revised proposal would mean tighter standards for legislative…
The push for school funding adequacy and equity
ILLUSTRATION BY SHARON OKADA/TNS On Jan. 21 the Higher Education Coalition and members from the Springfield-based Faith Coalition for the Common Good visited the Statehouse, pushing lawmakers to recognize that education funding reform and potential cuts to the Monetary Award Program, also known as the MAP grant, are getting worse as Illinois continues to function…
School choice, another Statehouse battlefront
Ball Charter School PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Gov. Bruce Rauner loves school choice so much he devoted an entire week to it. Rauner named Jan. 24 through 30 “School Choice Week” in Illinois to promote a popular concept in education reform, but the push for school choice leaves public schools nervous. “School choice” refers to…
ACCESS TO THE NET
This month Comcast and several local organizations launched an Internet Essentials Learning Zone, offering low-income families in Springfield Internet service at a reduced cost of $10 a month. By using this service, families will also be able to purchase a laptop for $150 from Computer Banc., a Springfield nonprofit. Through partners like the Boys &…
FOOD RESCUE
Did you know 70 billion pounds of food get thrown out each year in the United States? This is according to the national anti-hunger group Feeding America. They say that nearly 40 percent of all food grown and produced is wasted. However, the Central Illinois Foodbank, which is part of Feeding America’s foodbank network, has…
Panda is still vibrant, smart third time around
A scene from Kung Fu Panda 3. PHOTO COURTESY DREAMWORKS PICTURES By the time the third entry in most film franchises is released, much of what made the movies in question distinctive and fresh has gone by the wayside. There’s a labored quality to what’s on the screen, and what was once inspired has become…
Talking to Ry
The Sangamon Auditorium at UIS presents An Evening with Ry Cooder, Sharon White and Ricky Skaggs on Sunday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. Off we dash through the end of January, heading pell-mell into February like nobody’s business. Look out world; here comes the music, and there’s not a thing you need to do but…
SOHI House Band
A Springfield-based, indie-rock group citing heavy influences from the hip-hop, R&B and rap genres, the SOHI House Band plays a rather different role than most local music groups. Signed to Midwest record label HISO Music in 2015, band mates Matt Wingo (drums, keys, vocals), Aaron Carbonell (bass) and T Bakes (guitar) back up the roster…
Low-income schools
CARTOON BY CHRIS BRITT
apologia poem # 1
now that I’m getting sorta oldI better make my apologies toyou kids while I still can andam fairly sane too late to say todemi but here goes for you otherthree: I never meant to hurtany of you but I know I did Inever meant to embarrass younever meant to reveal somethingyou didn’t want revealed well…
Super Bowl chilli
Black bean chilli. PHOTO BY NURI VALLBONA/TNS When my Illinois Times colleague David Hine asked if I would devote a column to chilli in advance of the Super Bowl, my response was, “Sure, as long as I can spell it with two lls.” But truthfully, writing about chilli is something I’ve both wanted to do…
