The Amish and the “English”
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s the feeling I get every time I pick up an old copy of Illinois Times. The fourth issue of IT came out on Oct. 9, 1975, and featured coverage of the Amish in the modern world, school desegregation, rural doctors, school dropouts and more. Check…
Summer reads:
As it happens, the next two items on my summer reading list are “Going Clear” by Lawrence Wright, the controversial tell-all about the Church of Scientology; and “Zone Theory” by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, which was just released today by Grand Central Books, and is subtitled “7 easy steps to achieve a perfect life.”…
Notes from Chicago
Before this past weekend, my last Grateful Dead show was at Portland Meadows in Oregon, about six weeks before Jerry Garcia played his final show at Soldier Field. It was the latest in a string of when-will-this-end concerts bordering on tragedies as Garcia, once a brilliant musician, deteriorated both physically and sonically, missing notes as…
Introduction to Mayhem
On Tuesday, July 7 join Springfield’s all-female, skater operated, non-profit, amateur roller derby league for the Fresh Meat Program. The Midstate Mayhem-hosted weekly skate sessions are a fun way to practice the basics of roller skating, learn the game of roller derby, meet local derby girls and get a taste of the roller rink lifestyle.…
Streaming: The Scene at WUIS: Nina Simone, Morris Day and more
Events discussed by Scott and Rachel this week include: Fourth of July festivities in St. Louis include Morris Day & The Time, Blondie, Kool & The Gang, and MUCH more Looming, SAP, and Nick Murphy play at Bar None on Friday night Art will be on display and Tom Irwin will play Sunday night at…
Sing your heart out
This Saturday, celebrate the Fourth of July with a patriotic singalong at Parkway Christian Church. This annual holiday concert features a talented cast of performers including Reverend Mark Gifford on organ, Damien Kaplan on drums and vibes, Joe Kath on violin, Elizabeth L. Jones on euphonium and vocals by Debbie Ross. The concert will be…
The late Calhoun, Illinois
Recently Rich Miller argued in a post on his Capitol Fax blog site that having a county named as John C. Calhoun, the secessionist Southern senator, was unbecoming to a progressive state. In that post, Rich note that what is today the City of Springfield once was known as Calhoun. And yes, the town was…
Three True Friends Bring Life to
The premiere of Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl at this year’s Sundance Film Festival proved once more that, as with most things in life, timing is everything. This quirky dramedy about an emotionally stunted teenager, his only friend and the girl they befriend, who’s been diagnosed with leukemia, struck a chord…
Living in Isolation
For 23 hours a day, a roughly five-by-ten-foot concrete box is what Aaron Fillmore calls home. He’s been living in a room like that for the past 15 years. That’s according to a lawsuit filed last week by the Uptown People’s Law Center (UPLC) against the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). It claims Illinois turns…
Cowboy Joe
These days, a man who stands at the edge of Springfield and gazes at the wide open spaces to the west and imagines herds grazing contentedly is a shopping center developer. A century and a half ago, he was a cattle man looking for grass. Mid-Illinois once was America’s wide open spaces, and the landscape…
‘The Donald Show’
Oh, joy! Oh, goody! Oh, happy day! For those of us who love the loopy side of American politics, our dream of some serious loco for 2016 has arrived: Donnie Trump in the race. For president. Of the United States. No, really. “Wow,” exclaimed a beaming Donald Trump as he stepped onstage, basking in the…
Message from Madigan to Mayor Emanuel
House Speaker Michael Madigan likes to send “messages.” He doesn’t often explain what those messages are, but last week’s surprising defeat of a bill to give the Chicago Public Schools a 40-day extension on its $634 million pension payment due June 30th was most surely a message to somebody. Despite his spokesman saying the day…
Letters to the editor 7/2/15
PARK POLICE REPLYPlease allow me to set the record straight regarding your park district police article [see “Law enFARCEment,” June 11, at illinoistimes.com]. In this article, information provided by former Captain Jonathan Davis was not factual. It was misleading and, most importantly, appeared to be intentionally damaging to my reputation. Davis stated that I…
Editor’s note 7/2/15
Museum watch, continued. Kids at the Illinois State Museum summer camp last week got a lesson in irony after Gov. Bruce Rauner, who proposes to close the museum, stopped by for a photo op with them. Next day the children wrote a letter thanking the governor for coming to camp, adding, “We hope to see…
Pope Francis speaks up for the planet
What a wonder! At a time when so many of the leaders and people of our world are sleepwalking through the most exciting, promising and treacherous time in the history of our world, there arrives a shaft of bright sunlight through the clouds. It is the pope’s encyclical, his proclamation on global warming. When we…
A sweet celebration
On July 4, gather with friends, family and neighbors of all ages at the home of one of Springfield’s founding families for a strawberry party. The strawberry party is an updated take on a mid-1800s tradition, and features games for children, live music by singer-songwriter Tom Irwin with Theresa O’Hare, tours of the historic 1837…
Fireworks, food, festivities on the Fourth
The Springfield Jaycees are proud to host their annual Capital City Celebration in beautiful downtown Springfield. Friday’s festivities start at 7 p.m., and feature craft vendors, beer, Pepsi products, plus food for purchase and live music by F5 from 8 p.m. until midnight in Fourth, Fifth and Capitol streets. Saturday’s fun begins at 4 p.m.,…
Patriotic pets and family fun
Jacksonville’s Nichols Park is the setting for a full day of all-American family fun this Fourth of July. Activities include an all-day flea market, kids’ fishing tournament, Premier Bank charity walks and fun runs, concessions, cake and pie contests, cardboard boat races, bingo, swimming, live entertainment and more. A kid zone will be open from…
Crowd Mary
I’m trying to take a break from dating and work on myself because I keep ending up with really jerky guys. I’m an extrovert – very social and outgoing – and I find it hard to just chill by myself. I get bored and lonely. I want to pick better guys but I hate being…
Handyman follies
Curses, foiled againJamie L. Gordon, 30, told police she was “struck in the head with a bowling ball” by a robber, who took $2,100 from the safe at the bowling alley where she worked in Decatur, Ill. When the manager arrived and gave permission to view the surveillance video, Officer James Weddle observed Gordon pick…
Pain on the way
Cash-strapped cities, towns and suburbs are set to slash public safety, reduce pension costs, tap rainy day funds and explore bankruptcy, a BGA Rescuing Illinois report finds. Dire budgeting and cost-cutting scenarios are playing out in communities throughout Illinois in response to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s unprecedented push to slash funds the state provides local governments,…
Popular items that can be purchased locally
Old Capitol Farmers Market. Photo by DAVID HINE Many consumers prefer to buy locally when shopping. There are several advantages to choosing local products, including the benefit of aiding your local economy by supporting a business with roots in your community. Dealing with an individual or small enterprise instead of a billion-dollar operation is another…
Unique ways to shop locally
Knight’s Action Park. Photo COURESTY KNIGHTS ACTION PARK Shopping locally is a great way to benefit your community and, in many instances, your bottom line. When consumers shop locally, they help stimulate their local economies, creating jobs for their neighbors by helping local businesses grow and thrive. Shopping locally also saves shoppers long trips to…
ALPLM hire has connections
David Bourland had been curator for the governor’s mansion, pictured, for at least three decades before being hired as exhibits manager for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Photo BY Teemu08 VIS WIKIPEDIA.ORG More than a year ago, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum launched a nationwide search for a director of exhibits.…
BIG TIME BASEBALL
One of the most underappreciated activities in this city is watching the Springfield Sliders play at Robin Roberts Field with a beer, a few good friends and the sun setting at your back. Whether or not the Sliders win is beside the point. It’s about the experience. For actual baseball fans, there’s another reason to…
MORE FUN FOR FAMILIES
A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign department of family studies has found sibling harmony can be taught. Another benefit was discovered: parents’ stress levels decreased. “Many parents, especially mothers, use how their kids are getting along as a barometer for how well they’re doing as a parent. This is true even though…
Earl a showcase for young performers
Olivia Cooke as Rachel, Thomas Mann as Greg and RJ Cyler as Earl in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. PHOTO COURTESY FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES Having taken the Audience Award as well as the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl comes to…
Independence Day in music
Piston Broke plays Frankie’s on the Boulevard Fri., July 3, 9:30 p.m. As we celebrate the Independence Day of our country this weekend, let’s enjoy the diverse and delightful expanse of our musical landscape and the independence we have to choose music from many sources, you Yankee Doodle Dandy, you. Thursday kicks off with a…
10 Years
Formed in Knoxville, Tenn., some ten years ago, 10 Years is a hard-working, hard-rocking, hard-playing band out to conquer the world on their own terms. Hitting the road to promote Birth and Burial, the group’s seventh full-length record (available on the band’s own imprint Palehorse), bandmates Jesse Hasek (lead vocals), Brian Vodinh (drums/guitar), Ryan “Tater”…
Fourth of July fried chicken
Fried Chicken. Photo BY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION The delectable smell of frying chicken got me out of bed early every Fourth of July. Well, that and the M-80 firecracker (made to simulate artillery fire) my mild-mannered grandmother threw outside first thing in the morning. The Fourth was a big deal. My family hosted an annual…
cheesestory #4
the story is that my grampaas a young man in collegeboarded a train at madisoncarrying a large package of limburger cheese he carefullystowed it on the overhead rackat one end of the warm coachthen made his way to the farend and sat there now is thisbit of history worth keeping inperpetuity sure why not it’salready…
Inappropriate political hiring
CARTOON BY CHRIS BRITT
