Senate candidates debate
The top three Democratic U.S. Senate candidates faced off twice last week. The first debate wasn’t televised, so the live audience was quite small. The second debate was televised, so the audience was bigger. However, these debates don’t attract even a smidgeon of the audience of presidential debates, when half the country often tunes in.…
Letters to the editor 1/29/26
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. THANKS FOR ELECTRIC RELIEF When people talk about high electricity bills, families and individuals are the first who come to mind. But businesses are heavily impacted by electricity prices, especially small business owners who have…
Wrecking Crew needs innovation, The Morrigan a worthwhile shocker
Bautista, Mamoa nearly salvage Wrecking Crew With the coming of sound to the film industry in 1927, the movie musical was born. Studios were so eager to promote the new technology through song and dance, there was a glut of musicals that nearly killed the genre before it could gain a head of steam. In…
Paula Crouch faces primary opponent
The woman appointed as the new Sangamon County sheriff in the wake of the July 2024 murder of Sonya Massey says her experience, education and determination make her worthy of being elected to a four-year term. “I just feel like we started moving in the right direction for improvements,” Paula Crouch told Illinois Times when…
Train Wreck
There has been a recent awful train wreck, here’s one that didn’t happen. My great aunt, then, a young woman worked alone in a country radio shack in Wisconsin. She listened in to the Morse code though against the rules, she discovered a train was coming on the wrong track and would collide with another…
Behind the scenes at District 186 schools
The 2025 Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Report Card that tracks performance at the state’s public schools showed that six Springfield District 186 schools had improved their designations and four schools’ designations had declined (“State report card improves for District 186,” Dec. 4). Related The ISBE Report Card ranks schools’ performance with the summative…
Terrance Jordan slated for superintendent
The Springfield Public Schools District 186 Board of Education has recommended Terrance Jordan to serve as the next superintendent, succeeding Jennifer Gill. He joined District administration in 2021 and currently serves as the assistant superintendent of family, community and school leadership. Gill announced at the Aug. 18 school board meeting that she would retire June…
Braised lamb shanks
Meltingly tender and deeply aromatic, a meal of slow-braised lamb shanks provides a generous serving of stick-to-your ribs comfort food on a snowy winter afternoon. A meaty cut from the lower part of the leg, the tough, hardworking muscle is laden with connective tissue that breaks down during long, slow cooking to yield a succulent…
January music finish
As we work our way through the last weekend in January, Old Man Winter and all his relatives have chimed in to remind us just what they can do when they’ve set their minds to it. With nothing ahead but a frozen flourish of a freeze-out, it’s time to deal with it and go for…
Photographer to discuss his images of local bald eagles and more
In two short programs, local wildlife photographer Brian Bowles will present his images and talk with participants about how they can find and identify local wildlife themselves. Bowles has been photographing wildlife for about 15 years and is interested in eagles, hawks, blue herons and turkey vultures. Bowles describes what he does as “drive-by photography”…
