Cover Story
Housing advocates celebrate legislative wins
After months of negotiations in the spring legislative session resulted in no final action on Gov. JB Pritzker’s flagship housing proposal, housing advocates are celebrating a few legislative victories – and holding onto hopes for future negotiations. Bob Palmer, policy director for the statewide housing coalition Housing Action Illinois, said some of the major victories…
Sex Pass takes swipe at Hollywood, Ladies turns workplace dynamic on its head
Sex Pass a Tinseltown parody Like many couples, my wife and I have an understanding. If, on the off chance, the actor Miles Teller, in all of his hunkiness, showed up on our doorstep, rang the bell and stated it was time for he and Beth to embark on their once-in-a-lifetime romance, I’m to, without…
Letters to the editor 7/9/26
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. THANKS FOR PUBLICIZING Thank you to Dilpreet Raju for his recent cover story on data centers and for his other reporting on this issue (“Divided over data centers,” June 25). I attended the April 7…
As good as not there
The country roads around Springfield are lined with solar energy collectors in the form of cornfields. Here and there are newer and more efficient solar collectors in the form of photovoltaic panels being built alongside of them as rural Illinois transitions from a food-based economy to an energy-based economy. And here and there folks are…
Two ways to freeze a neighborhood
Editor’s note: This article is a commentary on the BUILD plan as it existed in May. The plan has not yet been voted on, and it may undergo changes in the fall. The governor of Illinois recently came on the Strong Towns Podcast to talk about his administration’s BUILD initiative, a package of housing reforms that has received praise…
A short history of cooking on a stick
Roasting food on a skewer is a universal tradition with cultural significance dating back to the dawn of human culinary history. Nearly every culture has crafted its own version, from central Asian kebabs and Middle Eastern dishes to Greek souvlaki, Italian spiedini, Japanese yakitori and Southeast Asian satays, highlighting its deep-rooted importance worldwide. Long before…
July flying by
With summertime in full swing, the livin’ is, as expressed in song, easy. So let’s go have fun in the sun because we got it made in the shade with all the music being played in and around the area this upcoming week. Our Thursday Now Playing adventures in the summer begin with a Y-Block…
Teens present new musical based on Alice in Wonderland
Step into a world of imagination with this touching musical presented by the Active and Creative Teen Theatre. Set in the chaos of World War II, this story follows a young girl, Alice Spencer, who takes shelter with a friend in a London Underground station during the Blitz. As bombs fall on London, Alice clings…
Soccer success
Spend any time around Orlando Johnson, and whatever preconceived notions of sympathy one might have had before encountering him will quickly go out the window Johnson, 23, has got it going on. He’s got a handsome face, a cool hairstyle, and a lean, muscular, tall frame. He has traveled the country for free to play…
Data center details
Sangamon County’s average residential electricity bill has increased by more than 52% in the past five years when comparing seasonal data, according to a database constructed by Heatmap News and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That’s nearly 15% more than Cook County, and almost 10% more than the state, experienced over the same time frame.…
July 4
We celebrated July 4th on a woodsy farm, ourentertainment was the farm next door. Every time they sent up fireworks, there would bea dazzling display, a monstrous bang, amoment of silence, and then, from the nearbypasture, a chorus of low “moos” Did any ofyou ever have a Fourth like that? 2026 Jacqueline Jackson
