Wobbly stool
Anyone who cares about Springfield should read Bruce Rushton’s recent dispatch on the parlous economic prospects for the capital city. (See “Sobering statistics”July 27, 2017.) Basically, of the three legs that prop up the local economy – government, medical care and retailing – two are distinctly wobbly. I do not envy those local policy-makers who…
Agency problems
As I write this the weather is, as my grandmother used to say, sultry. Central Illinois is not on the Gulf coast, but Gulf air is in central Illinois much of the year. The damp heat typical of summer hereabouts is another of the South’s curses on Illinois. But while we got that region’s politics…
Partisan use of preemption is surging
We the People are being burgled. Again. The latest hit is just the latest in a long string of political robberies, a nationwide crime wave being pulled off by moneyed elites and their political henchmen. With each heist, they haul off a little more of our democratic power. The elites are master thieves, often plucking…
Inside the Rauner staff shakeup
In the end, Mike “Z” Zolnierowicz had only one choice. Gov. Bruce Rauner’s top political lieutenant, the man everyone calls “Z” who was most responsible for winning the 2014 Republican primary and the governor’s former state chief of staff, simply had to resign late in the afternoon on Friday, July 14. The week began with…
Letters to the Editor 7/27/17
RACE DISCRIMINATIONPublications aimed at senior citizens are constantly reminding us about the importance of getting in and staying in shape through programs of regular exercise. And there is no better way to stay fit than to always be looking forward to one’s next competition. I’m talking about racing, whether it be a local 5K,…
Editor’s Note 7/27/17
Gov. Bruce Rauner has a plan for schools, but he won’t disclose it or verify his financial projections until the General Assembly sends him their bill so he can veto it. He has called the legislature back to Springfield, but he says there is “nothing to discuss.” That’s why they call this session “special.” –…
“We speak to you, not about you”
I established my Springfield salon, Gulden’s Nail Spa, in 2012. I was born and raised in Adana, Turkey, and moved to the United States at the age of 21. It has always been my dream to own my own business so, I earned a bachelor’s degree in business at Robert Morris University. I still reside…
Two days, three stages, 22 bands
Local music lovers rejoice, for Springfield’s yearly showcase of original music, art and craft beer has returned. The seventh annual Downhome Music Festival features 22 bands, mostly local acts, on three stages across two days, with performances from Josh Reilly, Wolf Crick Boys, Go Tsunami, Owen & Dooley, Lidlifter, The Station, Marah and Micah Walk…
A clergyman remembers the Lincolns
Enjoy dinner and a show on Friday, July 28, when the Elkhart Historical Society hosts a dinner lecture by Rev. Dr. Malcom Shotwell titled “Our neighbors, the Lincolns: A clergyman remembers.” During the presentation, which is set in 1874, Shotwell will portray Rev. Dr. Noyes W. Miner, the pastor of the First Baptist Church in…
Talented quilters
On July 28-29, Jacksonville High School will be the site of the annual celebration for central Illinois quilters, the River Country Quilt Show. The show is a popular destination for local quilt enthusiasts and will feature more than 250 displays of quilted items such as modern quilts, antique quilts and bed tuning. Attendees will enjoy…
To have and to mold
My otherwise wonderful husband always leaves his wet towel on the bed (on my side!). I’ve asked him to stop doing this countless times, but I don’t think he’s being passive-aggressive or anything. I think he just spaces out after showering. How can I get him to remember? –Soggy It’s good for a man to…
Closing the summer gap
“If you don’t want to come to Camp Compass, that’s too bad for you because we have a lot of fun here,” said Donovan, a fifth-grader attending the free six-week summer program serving low-income students from kindergarten to fifth grade Monday through Friday, administered by the nonprofit Compass for Kids at Ridgley Elementary School on…
Going fishing on Governor
Randy Jones figured he’d gotten the green light in May, when the Springfield Building and Zoning Department sent him a letter: “Per inspector the violations are abated.” That, he thought, would be the end of his battle with the city, which had cited him in November for building a tilapia tank alongside the sidewalk in…
Sobering statistics
Businesses closing. Start-ups sagging. Shopping down. Declining population. People getting older. It all adds up to a dismal financial picture for the city of Springfield, which is seeing tax revenue decline, with no end or solution in sight. During the first quarter of the city’s fiscal year that ended in May, the city took in…
LIBRARY BARRIERS FALL
Beginning July 1 Lincoln Library has eliminated overdue fines on juvenile and young adult materials. This decision was made to encourage young readers and learners to use the library more. “We are working hard to remove and eliminate barriers around library use,” said Lincoln Library Access Services Manager Jessica Paulsen in a recent press release.…
SHA EMPLOYEES PROTEST
A group of Springfield Housing Authority employees demonstrated outside an SHA board meeting July 24. The protest was intended to urge the board to reach a decision in union contract negotiations. SHA employees are responsible for providing low-income housing to eligible city residents but, according to press materials, “most employees are paid so little that…
Dazzling Valerian overstays its welcome
“Less is more” is a notion director Luc Besson has no use for. His penchant for excess is front-and-center in his latest, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, an adaptation of a French comic book that has more than a passing resemblance to the director’s 1997 cult sci-fi classic The Fifth Element. It’s…
What’s up with Downhome
Ready or not, here we go rocking and rolling into the last weekend of July 2017. My how the summertime has flown by. This weekend’s big event is the Downhome Music, Beer and Art Festival, held downtown on Seventh between Washington and Adams. The stated reason of the happening is to support local, original bands…
Joshua Reilly
A Springfield-area native and now Clearwater, Florida, resident, this talented and engaging guitarist, singer and songwriter in the Americana vein released his first full-length album on July 5. After years of performing and writing songs, Josh finally got into the studio and recorded a great sounding record of outstanding songs entitled, Mercy on the Strange.…
vt report # 1, 2017
we’re again at our camp as green mountainers call cottages we have a loon – the long eerie descending wail was it an owl no it ended in that loony laugh – ergo two loons! swimming out front no loon eggs though; rain for 19 days in june raised the lake level over their nest…
Beyond hot dogs and s’mores
To be clear, I love a good dog as much as the next guy, especially if it’s been locally produced. My favorites are the uncured beef wieners from Stan Shutte at Triple S Farms, and the old-fashioned hot dogs from Dutch Valley Meats in Arthur. And there’s an art to roasting a perfectly golden marshmallow,…
