It really is a sweatshop
Air conditioning at the State Journal Register went on the fritz more than a week ago, and with temperatures climbing to the high 90s in recent days, it’s still not fixed. Fans and Popsicles have been distributed, but to little effect, according to one employee who said that the temperature in the newsroom, on the…
Unholy matrimony
A few afterthoughts occasioned by my column “On not doing wrong.” To the unbeliever, the particular opprobrium with which Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki regards gay marriage is puzzling. Our Bruce Rushton has quoted critics who note that Paprocki has not refused funerals for men and women who have lived together before marriage, anyone who has used birth control, anyone…
Parade unrest
The mayor and others have complained about the state fair’s plans to change the route of its annual Twilight Parade. In my view, they didn’t change it enough: a better route would have the parade conclude at its traditional destination at the north end of the Grandstand after beginning at the south end of the…
Dare we entrust our students to corporate profiteers?
While the Koch brothers have stayed out of the national limelight since the White House was acquired by Trump and Company, that doesn’t mean the two right-wing billionaire brats are any less active in trying to supplant American democracy with their little laissez-fairyland plutocracy. In fact, in late June, you could’ve found them in one…
The bane of their existence
After Gov. Bruce Rauner hired Illinois Policy Institute president Kristina Rasmussen as his new chief of staff, I reached out to one of the House Republicans who voted to override the governor’s budget and tax hike vetoes. How was he feeling? “You mean after the irate phone calls and emails and the letter that arrived…
Letters to the Editor 7/20/17
ABOUT THE AMARANTH APPLE Now that Springfield’s Amaranth Apple Festival has come and gone, we ought to learn something about the origin of the name. The fictional apple, sadly unavailable from orchards or grocers, grows only in Vachel Lindsay’s The Golden Book of Springfield, his 1920 narrative work envisioning a utopian Springfield developed between 1918…
Editor’s note 7/20/17
Peter Baker, the New York Times chief White House correspondent, was in Springfield the day Republican plans to dismantle Obamacare fell apart. It’s not easy for a president to dismantle a predecessor’s legacy, even though this president seems obsessed with doing so, said Baker, here to discuss his new book, Obama: The Call of History.…
A billboard about language and intolerance
America is a nation composed of immigrants, the fairly recent descendants of immigrants, native peoples and the descendants of slaves. Unlike regions of the world where majorities may descend from those who resided nearby for hundreds of years, the circumstance simply is not possible given the founding of the United States a mere 241 years…
Summer’s sweetest festival
Sink your teeth into a delicious cob of sweet corn this weekend at the 44th annual Chatham Jaycees Sweet Corn Festival, a two-day celebration of food, family fun, athletic tournaments and live music. The festivities officially begin Friday at 5 p.m. with a Miss Sweet Corn pageant and soccer tournament, and continue through midnight with…
Shaking up the social order
Don’t miss Theatre in the Park’s dazzling presentation of High School Musical, the contemporary musical comedy based on the 2006 Disney Channel Original Movie penned by Peter Barsocchini. The story centers on Troy, a popular high school basketball player, and Gabrielle, a shy transfer student who excels in science and mathematics. After a chance meeting…
Lewd Skywalker
A guy friend of 20 years and I once fooled around years ago. Though he has a girlfriend, he keeps throwing sexual remarks into our conversations, sending inappropriate texts and asking me to send naked photos. I wouldn’t be interested even if he were single, and I’ve been giving subtle hints, like “ha-ha … gotta…
Time expired?
There is plenty of parking in downtown Springfield – that’s what the experts say. Parking downtown is a huge headache – that’s what a lot of people think. The truth lies somewhere in between. Yes, there may be parking nearby, but where, exactly? Once you find a space, can you also find change for the…
Ecstatic and blue
Since launching in the autumn of 2013, DEMO Project – the alternative art gallery located on the campus of the Springfield Art Association – has steadily developed a reputation regionally and nationally as a unique space for contemporary work, attracting artists working in a variety of approaches ranging from painting to sculpture to video to…
Funding plan ‘harmless,’ but expensive
The sounds of a rehearsing gospel choir, complete with organ accompaniment, bled through the walls of Union Baptist Church during a sparsely attended town hall meeting there July 13. The meeting was organized by the Faith Coalition for the Common Good to address school funding as outlined in Senate Bill 1 (SB1). The soulful ambient…
Officer explains fight that cost him job
A former Springfield police officer charged with beating a man in February may have allowed rough times off the clock to spill over to patrol duties, according to internal affairs records. Terminated by the city on May 9, Samuel Rosario faces charges of official misconduct and battery in connection with the beating of Robert Humes,…
Dying for better health care
On July 18 grassroots group Organizing for Action (OFA) staged a demonstration in front of the Illinois Policy Institute office on Second Street. The “Die-In” saw volunteers, community leaders and other Illinois constituents brandishing tombstone signs and sharing personal stories in defense of the embattled Affordable Care Act (ACA, a/k/a Obamacare) and in protest of…
Groceries to your door
Grocery delivery service company Instacart has recently launched in Springfield, providing over 75,000 homes with the option of having their Schnucks, Shop ’n Save, CVS and even PetCo purchases delivered to their doorstep within an hour of placing an order online, along with offering job opportunities for shoppers / delivery people. Operating something like an…
ZAP! THAT’LL BE NINE GRAND, PLEASE
Richard Haley, who has epilepsy and was tased in the Sangamon County jail while suffering a seizure, has settled his federal lawsuit against the county for $9,000. Haley had asked for more than a quarter-million dollars, claiming that he was tased in the midst of a seizure while unable to understand guards (“County defends tasing…
Impressive Dunkirk hampered by gimmick
There’s no shortage of ambition on display where Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is concerned. In replicating the evacuation of 400,000 Allied troops from Northwestern France in the late spring of 1940, the director doesn’t shrink from giving us the sort of spectacle and scale necessary for a story such as this. Neither does he skimp on…
Explosive scenario
This weekend the scene explodes, and I don’t know which way to go. All one can do is list as many happenings as possible that might slip under the radar and hope for the best. On Friday, singing sensation and Springfield-area native Kelsey Hickman returns to central Illinois as a special guest at the Granger…
The Brotherhood
Although The Brotherhood originally started out as the same blues band under various names, members eventually evolved into their current group, playing music that covers many genres, all reflecting the varied tastes and influences of its members. When Jason McKenzie (vocals, guitar), Jake Baxter (lead guitar, vocals), Kyle Busby (harmonica), John Huemann (bass), Chuck Davidson…
more nada #101
more nada #101 art bored with family stories?too bad here’s another I wasborn with an unsightly splotchat the base of my spine nothingharmful but my folks thoughtit a good idea to have it removedit left a hefty scar all during grade school my sister pat told her pals I’d been born with a tail they’dapproach…
Miso is more than soup
I first encountered miso nearly four decades ago at a hole-in-the wall sushi restaurant in Chicago. It came in the form of a complimentary bowl of miso soup that preceded my sushi selections. I became instantly fond of miso but I never really understood what it was or what it could be used for besides…
