Touching “Neighbor” a Vital Reminder
After seeing Morgan Neville’s wonderful new documentary about children’s television host Fred Rogers, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, I was left with a great many conflicting emotions. I regret not ever having watched the show while growing up. I had no time for such childish fare what with cool shows like Sesame Street and The…
It’s time to opt in
Two very nice union representatives knocked on my door last week. Anticipating an unfavorable ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, they asked me, a “fair share” state employee, to join the union. I didn’t have to think twice. Sign me up, I told them. I’m with you. Although I don’t believe, as Mr. Janus does, that…
A wall won’t fix immigration
The wailing in our country about the “invasion of immigrants” has been long and loud. As one complainant put it, “Few of their children in the country learn English … The signs in our streets have inscriptions in both languages … Unless the stream of the importation could be turned they will soon so outnumber…
A closer look at Kwame Raoul’s lead
A political action committee run by top officials of Operating Engineers Local 150 reported a $255,000 contribution last week from a “dark money” organization controlled by the same Local 150 honchos. Fight Back for a Better Tomorrow PAC and its money-raising Fight Back Fund spent $900,000 during the Democratic primary to oppose Rep. Scott Drury’s bid for…
Letters to the Editor 7/5/18
DEFENDING CORNELIUS In response to “State’s top Lincoln expert on shelf” (Illinois Times, June 28, by Bruce Rushton): James Cornelius has spent over 10 years as the Lincoln curator at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The 2012 “incident” occurred while working with then-director Eileen Mackevich. James spoke up while others bit their tongues,…
Editor’s note 7/5/18
Illinois continues its longstanding practice of giving shabby treatment to nursing homes. This week the Associated Press reported that for-profit nursing homes are having to front $300 million in Medicaid costs while the state blames its computers for a huge backlog in determining eligibility. Now comes news that a 113-year-old church-supported nonprofit, the 98-bed Pleasant…
A psychiatrist on separating children
When I was obtaining my master’s degree in public administration, perhaps the most influential topic I took was ethics in public administration. One of the focuses of that course was administrative evil. Our discussions on the topic centered on how individuals who in their personal lives were often kind and loving to family and friends…
Author Peggy Grande
On Tuesday, July 10, attend a book signing and presentation featuring author and former assistant of 10 years to Ronald Reagan, Peggy Grande. Peggy’s book, titled The President Will See You Now: My Stories and Lessons from Reagan’s Final Years, offers a candid look at Reagan’s post-presidential years as the former president met with world…
Artifacts come to life
Anybody’s Story: 200 Years of Illinoisans and Their Stuff is a series of vignettes inspired by the “Bicentennial and Beyond” exhibition at the Illinois State Museum, which features rare and rarely-seen artifacts from the museum’s 13.5 million-object Illinois Legacy Collection. During this two-hour performance, a lost tourist stumbles into the back room of an Illinois…
Fade diet
I got ghosted – dumped by a guy who just disappeared on me, no explanation – after three months of lovey-dovey dating. Clearly, he isn’t a great person, yet I’m unable to stop thinking about him and wondering why he left. How do I accept that it’s over so I can start dating again? – Plagued…
Prizewinning Illinois photography
2018 Images of Illinois Winners Once again, Illinois Times celebrates the wonders of the prairie state by showcasing winning images from the Springfield Art Association’s SAA Collective annual Images of Illinois photography contest. The seventh annual contest, which highlights images shot on Illinois land and/or water, had a submission period of March 1, 2018, through…
Eight reasons to shop local
1. Inject money into the local economy. When you shop local, your money and tax dollars stay in the community, helping your schools, your streets and your city’s coffers, which helps to fund everything from sidewalks to libraries. 2. You also keep money in the United States. In fact, if every family in the United…
Shopping local online
Online shopping is a tool that our culture has adopted in full force, and it is hard to argue with the convenience factor that online shopping provides. Even those of us who do our best to keep our dollars local need or want the convenience of ordering an item online every once in awhile. But…
Hundreds rally for immigrant families
Under a blazing sun at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 30, approximately 500 people gathered at the Old State Capitol plaza for a rally in opposition to current federal immigration policy. Part of a coordinated nationwide effort and organized locally by nonprofit organization Action Illinois, the speakers at Springfield’s rally mainly commented on the recent family…
Grant marches from Springfield Thursday night
A bookstore in downtown Springfield aims to educate visitors on the vital role Illinois played in the Civil War. Every Thursday night during the summer, Books on the Square, 427 E. Washington St., presents “Illinois and the Civil War.” A host of authors, scholars and historians conduct seminars analyzing Illinoisans who shaped the outcome of…
HUMMINGBIRD FESTIVALS
The Engle Farm in Roodhouse will be the site of two Hummingbird Festivals, scheduled for Thursday, July 12 and Sunday, Aug. 12. Despite this having been a disappointing year for area hummingbird enthusiasts, the ones attracted to the site’s feeders will certainly put on a show for festival visitors. Vernon Kleen, a licensed hummingbird bander…
BICENTENNIAL COIN DESIGNER
Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs recently announced Hayden Schumer of Chatham as the winner of the bicentennial coin contest. The design was one of five finalists voted on by the public. The winning design will be minted in silver on one side of the coin and distributed to commemorate the Illinois bicentennial. The back of…
Breezy Ant-Man and the Wasp is great fun
After the Sturm und Drang of Avengers: Infinity War, Peyton Reed’s lighthearted and breezy Ant-Man and the Wasp comes off as an effective palette cleanser. While the titular heroes face their share of dangerous situations, there’s never the sense that either will wind up on a slab or end up disintegrating into thin air. No,…
Jump into July
Once the famed Fourth of July flies by and the corn is several feet past knee height, the summer season kicks into to overdrive, setting up a midsummer sensation of live music revelations. Thursdays are turning into a hotbed of music making “pert near smack dab” in the middle of the week, and this one…
Cody Canada & the Departed
Cody Canada has been playing guitar and dreaming music since he was 8 years old, and he shows no signs of stopping anytime soon as he heads into a quarter century of professional playing. The former frontman for the popular Red Dirt rockin’ country band Cross Canadian Ragweed keeps on putting out music from the…
The Midwest Supper Club Revival
I’ve had some pretty amazing dining experiences in my life, like the time I had a 14-course meal at Chicago’s top-rated Alinea. I don’t remember much about the first 13 courses, but I do remember the finale: a helium-filled balloon made of banana taffy. I was told to “kiss” the balloon; the warmth of my lips melted a hole in…
S O S poem
S O S poem this is a blatant call for help to those who had classes with me or traveled overseas on those quirky hostel jaunts a fine local writer is assigned to write about me yes I know corrine frisch did that splendidly in this paper whenvol 4 came out but the slant of…
