Elliott Nearly Saves Hitler…Bigfoot
The movie to beat for best film title of the year, Robert Krzykowski’s The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot, is a somber, pulp tale of a man left behind, a veteran whose deeds have gone unsung, unknown by the public he sacrificed so much to save. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite as fun…
Frigid response to pet law
Pet lovers had the opportunity to put a new animal protection state law into action during last week’s polar vortex, but some do-gooders were frustrated about limited action taken by law enforcement and Sangamon County Animal Control. With temperatures below zero last week, an incident involving two dogs left outside overnight demonstrated the confusion…
Plowing legal ground
Mike Eyer of Jacksonville dug himself a legal hole in the spring of 2017, when he started driving his backhoe home. It began, Eyer recalls, when he got a call from a friend: I’ve got some concrete that’s just been poured but no concrete finisher available. Can you help? Eyer says he figured spreading concrete…
Illinois Republicans running short on cash
We all know that former Gov. Bruce Rauner was outspent by our new Gov. J.B. Pritzker during the 2018 campaign. But the actual numbers are pretty darned eye-opening. During the final three months of last year, Pritzker reported spending $37.2 million. Rauner, on the other hand, spent just $7.1 million – less than a fifth…
Letters to the Editor 01/31/19
RACE RIOT ARTIFACTSRegarding “A past worth remembering” in last week’s Illinois Times, please know that there are NO artifacts from the race riot site on display at the African American History Museum. We do have an exhibit about the race riot that will be in place until the end of February. As a board member,…
Editor’s Note 01/31/19
When Mayor Jim Langfelder was quoted recently saying, “I don’t see color,” many readers saw him as tone deaf because that isn’t said anymore, as the mayor knows. “That drives people crazy when I say that,” Langfelder told the SJ-R. “I probably shouldn’t say that.” But maybe he, like many of us, doesn’t know why.…
A false crisis and a need for true border security
As a child psychiatrist, I often had to advise parents how to deal with bad behavior from children. If the child acted out and demanded something in return for stopping the bad behavior, I advised that the parent not give the child what they asked for. To do so would only encourage the child to…
Do violent video games contribute to violence in society?
The UIS Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series Program continues with the discussion “Violent Video Games – The Myths, the Research and the Red Dead Redemption.” The speaker, Christopher Ferguson, holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Central Florida. He will offer tips for separating the panic rhetoric from good data…
Works by area students
Enjoy award-winning works submitted by central Illinois junior high and high school students and accepted by the 2019 Scholastic Awards of the Mid-Central Illinois Art Region. Winners from this annual competition go on to compete at the national level. The exhibit will run through Feb. 21. Following the exhibit, an Honors Day Program will be…
America’s next top remodel
I’m seeing so many women on Instagram who’ve had themselves made over to be super hot through cosmetic surgery and injectable fillers. They all have the same face — with big, luscious lips and huge doll-like eyes. In every shot, they’re in full makeup — crazy eyeliner, tons of contouring. Do guys actually like…
Joy of Movement
It isn’t your typical dance class, but for those who attend it is a time of joy, movement and camaraderie. Called Joy of Movement, the dance classes are specifically geared for those living with Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. Eve Fischberg, who lives in Loami, started the program in 2016 with one class a week.…
Cold and classical
The frigid trudge of determined music lovers from the sleet-covered parking lot to Sangamon Auditorium lent verisimilitude to this past Saturday’s “Nordic Nights” concert by the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Featuring works by major composers from Finland, Denmark and Norway, the evening’s program managed to be energetic, challenging and good fun. The evening got underway with…
Payback is hell
A legal mess involving U.S. District Court Judge Colin Bruce began in 2017, when the judge dressed down an assistant U.S. attorney who was then lead prosecutor in a corruption case targeting former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock. The tangle involving improper emails between Bruce and former colleagues in the Springfield-based U.S. attorney’s office resulted in…
WQNA off the air
A series of events that seems as though it could only be written in a Hollywood script recently played out in the studio of WQNA 88.3 FM. The team at WQNA 88.3 FM, a student- and volunteer-run streaming station owned by Capital Area Career Center, is in the middle of what WQNA program director Jim…
Township tug-of-war
Sangamon County board chairman Andy Van Meter and Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder agreed on at least one thing during a debate last week sponsored by Citizens Club of Springfield. Capital Township, the elected leaders agreed, is a relic, an archaic form of government born in the 19th century and last reshaped by the state legislature…
Serenity goes its own way
I often complain that movie trailers give far too much away about the films they’re promoting, revealing key twists and surprises that not only undercut the work of the director in question but ruin the film-going experience for the audience. Apparently, research shows that for the most part, viewers like this approach; still, I bet…
February freeze out
Here it comes, and hopefully there it goes, as the Great Freeze Out of 2019 passes through this week, definitely affecting attendance at some of our live music shows. Just remember, there’s nothing like a cool music show to warm things up on all levels. Thursday brings us a wonderful reminder of a talented Springfield-area…
Captain Quirk
Formed in 2014 by a group of well-seasoned Peoria-area musicians, Captain Quirk (the moniker comes from a nickname for William Shatner, the actor who portrayed Captain Kirk in the original “Star Trek” TV show) plays all around central Illinois doing off-the-wall, cool covers and differently done classic rock standards. They specifically and only do “songs…
Dough delights
Named for the little cabbages the baked puffs of dough resemble, pâte à chouxis incredibly versatile. Five basic ingredients come together quickly to form a dough that transforms in the oven or fryer to light, crispy puffs or into rich unctuous dumplings when dropped into boiling water or broth. I can’t imagine hosting a party…
Empty Nest poem #1
for 25 years I published a newspaper The Empty Nest News Letter it wentfirst to family but its popularity caused the mailing list to grow to 200 its masthead featured a bird with empty nest later she preened the current news there was always a bird quote commenting on the contents (“hail to thee blithe…
Picking up the pieces
With the unpopular term of Gov. Bruce Rauner and divisive politics of President Donald Trump, coupled with a state that’s been losing population and a shifting demographic, Republican leaders are facing an uphill battle to maintain their place in Illinois politics. The typically Republican stronghold in the collar counties around Chicago – Kane, DuPage, Lake,…
