Trump reich
Trump reich CARTOON BY CHRIS BRITT
Wasted
Gov. Bruce Rauner PHOTO BY BRIAN CASSELLA/TNS An old rule of thumb among business owners holds that half of all the money they spend on advertising is wasted. The problem is no one knows which half. The question of waste in government spending is much easier for most taxpayers to answer: government “waste” is any…
It’s getting hot in Indianapolis
Jim Hightower PHOTO BY LARRY D. MOORE If the chieftains of industry and their political henchmen want to know what’s roiling the riffraff, they could read Thomas Piketty’s landmark 1,000-page book on inequality, Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Or, they could just spend three minutes and 32 seconds watching an online video showing a Carrier…
Finally, a message with substance
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS Gov. Bruce Rauner has been touring Illinois to talk about his new “messaging.” He’s quite excited about his “messaging” plans, telling one reporter that if he could do anything differently about his tenure so far it would be to improve the way he gets his message out to voters. Yep. That’s…
Letters to the Editor 7/14/16
The first roundabout in Springfield is located in Park South, east of Black and Company. It is the predecessor to the roundabout located at 12th and Capitol streets. Roundabouts keep traffic moving by merging operations and keeping speeds at a safe level. PHOTO © GOOGLE 2016 IN GOOD COMPANYThere is a correction that needs…
Editor’s note 7/14/16
Two days after the police killings in Dallas, as the nation struggled once again to respond to racial violence, the annual business meeting of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia in Austin was about to conclude when a member brought up the need to continue working on the organization’s lack of diversity. A quick look around…
Bridging the racial divide takes building relationships
Eugene Robinson’s recent commentary following the shooting deaths of five Dallas police officers is profoundly insightful: “Black lives matter. Blue lives matter. Both statements must be made true if the heartbreaking loss of life in Dallas is to have any meaning.” Commenting on the Dallas Police Chief’s successful efforts to reduce the use of deadly…
An interactive game show
Fans of NBC’s zany, celebrity-studded game show Hollywood Game Night will enjoy Word Play!, an evening of exciting word games at LOFT 125 in Decatur’s Madden Arts Center. On Friday, July 15, gather your friends and join host Jayson Albright and assistant Rachel Roettger for two-and-a-half hours of interactive party games where words matter and…
A dark musical comedy
The Springfield Municipal Opera, commonly known as The Muni, is one of the largest community theater groups in the Midwest. The Muni’s amphitheater, originally built in 1950 atop a 55-acre wheat field nestled near the shore of Lake Springfield, has hosted four performances each season for more than 60 years. The Muni’s talented and dedicated…
Skinny genes
PHOTO COURTESY AMY ALKON Amy Alkon I’ve always been a very athletic guy. I do jujitsu every day. When I don’t exercise, I feel depressed. My girlfriend, however, has never been very physically active. She has a great body – naturally slim – without doing anything, which is probably why she’s unmotivated to work out.…
Farming out work
Less than 90 minutes after quitting time, the last member of this work crew from Mexico emerges, freshly showered, from the bathroom in a house that’s walking distance from a farm where they are employed as construction workers, performing such tasks as welding, installing doors and framing buildings. “Construction of livestock buildings” is the “primary…
A chance to step back in time
Sappington House is a brick structure that takes the visitor back in time. PHOTO BY CINDY LADAGE My friend and I seized on a chance to go to the beautiful Thomas Sappington House in St. Louis for a meal and tour. The Barn restaurant outside of the house is a combination gift shop and tea…
Judge dismisses lawsuit over “racial profiling” traffic stop
Samuel Johnson PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging police illegally stopped a Springfield resident, even though the traffic stop was thrown out of state court. The case stemmed from a 2013 traffic stop that the lawsuit’s plaintiff claimed was racial profiling. One evening in November 2013, Samuel Johnson of…
Unshackling kids in court
Paul Cain remembers many of his clients. There was the 14-year-old boy with ADHD, accused of retail theft and possession of a stolen car. There was the 16-year-old girl who suffered from anxiety attacks after being having been molested for years; she was in court for running away from home in violation of her probation…
HEARING DELAYED
Attorneys for former employees of Jeffrey “I’m Broke” Parsons, who made and lost a fortune buying and selling precious metals and other valuables, may not read IT, but judges apparently do. Parsons owes more than $12 million to ex-employees who say they were cheated out of wages, but he has pled poverty and so has…
COP VS. COP
There’s bad blood among the troops in the Sangamon County sheriff’s office. Deputy Travis Koester called the cops on June 2 to report that he’d just been confronted by Deputy Travis Dalby at a gym on Wabash Avenue. “If it isn’t work related, you need to keep my name out of your mouth,” Koester reported…
Infiltrator not invasive enough
Bryan Cranston as Robert Mazur in The Infiltrator. PHOTO COURTESY BROAD GREEN PICTURES Has the increase in quality television affected the way we (or maybe it’s just me) watch films? For the last decade, many convincing arguments have been put forth that what with the coming of sprawling, multi-part, continuous series (The Sopranos, Game of…
Rockin’ Johnny Burgin & Aki Kumar
Rockin’ Johnny Burgin & Aki Kumar A true dynamic duo, Rockin’ Johnny Burgin and Aki Kumar come ready to play at the weekly Blue Monday jam hosted by our Illinois Central Blues Club. Johnny has graced us before with his peculiarly wonderful, expressionistic way of doing real Chicago blues. Now he brings along his pal…
gift poem #2
last year this column warmly praisedscores of helpful high school kidsthey came again this June some 300volunteers from Minn to Miss, Bostonto Bakersfield. I recently wrote ofGroup 14 who while painting andtree trimming also stripped the oldflour box at my house their namesJordan Anthony Matt Maritza Daveand Caleigh O’Neill there are othersuch students all over…
Road trippin’
A road trip picnic basket. PHOTOS BY ASHLEY MEYERS “Are you going to make deviled eggs?” This is the question my grandmother asks every time I tell her I’m preparing food to take on a road trip. “They’re just so good to take in the car.” This always amuses me, because honestly, deviled eggs seem…
Bright, shiny music
Gin Palace Jesters go honky tonkin’ at Bar None on Friday, July 15, 9 p.m. The future sure looks bright, but maybe not bright enough to wear shades, as Pat McDonald once informed us. Did you know Timbuk3, Pat’s duo with his then-wife plus a tape player (they did that memorable hit song) played one…
