Fit for duty?
Untitled Document John Gillette, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy alleged to have manhandled a motorist who was having a kidney-stone attack, has apparently been the subject of at least 27 complaints and has been previously evaluated for his fitness for duty, according to court documents. The documents were entered in response to the motorist’s request…
A lack of commitment
Three years ago, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin gave hope to Springfield’s east side. He promised the city’s most neglected residents that he would help them build a much-needed community center, and he delivered. Durbin announced with great fanfare at a Springfield press conference that he had secured an initial $750,000 for the project and that…
IT Picks
Star treatment There really is no business like show business, and when you add an overly ambitious mother with a talented kid to the mix, well, things can get downright bizarre. Loosely based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, Gypsy chronicles Lee’s mother’s over-the-top efforts to push her children up…
Sweet feat
Untitled Document Scientists at Illinois State University in Normal have developed a method for processing massive quantities of hog excrement that removes so much of the nasty odor and pollution potential, it even has a cute name — Swine Waste Economical and Environmental Treatment Alternatives, or SWEETA. The process is designed for use on large-scale…
The fox, the farmer, and the chickens
So the fox says to the farmer, “Hey, don’t fix the henhouse door — just buy more chickens.” That’s pretty much the same advice that you, as Illinois voters, are about to be spoonfed. Big business, big labor, and some “good government” groups have teamed up to urge a no vote this November on the…
Living the fantasy
One consistent truth in the music business: In spite of the heartfelt aspiration and keen ambition felt by the people who trudge it, the path to making music for a living is littered with lost dreams, dashed hopes, and unfulfilled desires. Micah Walk, a singer/songwriter and leader of the Micah Walk Band, is quite aware…
CAP CITY
Untitled Document BALL’S IN EMIL JONES’ COURT Last week we lamented Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s budget-axing ways, particularly his misguided (that’s just our opinion) decision to cut a $55 million chunk from substance-abuse treatment programs when that sum was tied to federal matching funds [see Dusty Rhodes, “First domino to fall,” July 17]. The Illinois House…
Actors behaving badly
No doubt about it, the funny have fallen this summer — and it’s no laughing matter. Despite the presence of proven high-profile talent at the movies this season, there’s yet to be a successful comedy to grace the silver screen. Adam Sandler stumbled with the confused You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Mike Myers recycled…
Lucky and charmed
Five young adults in matching blue-and-burgundy polo shirts sit in a row at a long blond-wood table in the sunny Governor’s Conference Room at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. At first glance, they could be students from University of Illinois at Springfield or Lincoln Land Community College, but as soon as they open their mouths…
Green-friendly pesticides
What green-friendly lawn and garden pesticides are available today? Pesticides have greatly boosted agricultural yields over the last half century, so it is no wonder, given the commercial availability of many of these synthetic chemicals, that American homeowners apply 100 million pounds of the stuff each year to make their own gardens grow bigger and…
FEMA strikes again
Martha Kegel thought she’d seen it all — the horror of the flooding of New Orleans, the callousness and incompetence of George W. Bush’s response, the scandal of people still left homeless three years after the storm. Then she learned something that truly shocked her. Kegel heads a nonprofit group called Unity of Greater New…
Letters to the Editor
Untitled Document We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. HIS WORD IS HIS BOND What a great article on Chuck Zalar [Dusty Rhodes, “Something special,” July 10]. The average person…
Feasting on flowers
When I was growing up, everyone loved my mom’s salad. Even kids used to beg her to bring it to potlucks. Friends invited to dinner would eagerly ask, “Are you making that salad?” It was a kitchen-sink concoction: Iceberg lettuce, other seasonally appropriate vegetables, cheeses (including lots of Parmesan), shredded lunchmeats, hard-boiled eggs, and homemade…
People’s poetry
grandchildpoem #6 jay, soon thirteen, wants a paddedasbestos fireproof room and afireproof suit and a flame throwerand firelighters and firecrackersthe cherry bomb kind and a blowtorchand things that blow up lighter fluidgasoline and stuff like that an oxygenmask of course and tank but if he can’thave any of those he’ll settle for cdsvideo games a…
“They want a place”
Untitled Document Even though President George W. Bush appointed him to head the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness in 2002, Philip F. Mangano didn’t utter his boss’ name once during his two-and-a-half-hour presentation in Springfield last week. Instead, he simply referred to “the administration I serve.” Nor does Bush’s name occur once in Mangano’s extensive…
Notes from the road
Untitled Document Last week I partook of an elegant picnic at Chicago’s Ravinia music festival. This week I ate at Frank and Mary’s Catfish House (world’s best catfish since 1945!). Last week I had brunch at a huge Chinese dim sum restaurant. Servers rolled endless carts that stopped at each table, some stacked with bamboo steamers…
Newspaper next
The news about traditional newspapering can only be described as dismal. Last week the editor of the Chicago Tribune and the publisher of the Los Angeles Times stepped down from their jobs as their newspapers were preparing for deep cuts in newsroom staff. The Wall Street Journal announced the departure of another half-dozen members of…
Keeping your cool in the heat
Untitled Document If you’re looking for something cool to do — and who isn’t during July in central Illinois? — here are a few ideas to help you handle the heat. The Uptown Friday Night music series, hosted by the Springfield Area Arts Council at Robbie’s (4 S. Old State Capitol Plaza, 217-528-1901) from 5:30…
What’s playing in your head?
Every now and then I tune in to my head to see what’s playing there: sometimes nothing, sometimes a childhood song, sometimes an annoying advertising ditty, sometimes a symphonic bit I can identify, or can’t. When my sister called this noon I asked, “What’s playing in your head?” “Just bills.” “What’s this?” I sang her…
