Lies, damn lies and governors
A useful reminder from Charles Wheeler, writing at Illinois Issues. “Speaker Madigan’s Democrats have controlled our General Assembly for more than 30 years. Speaker Madigan’s Democrats have controlled spending in our state government for more than 30 years,” Rauner said. “The Democrats have spent our state into the toilet for 30 years.” Apparently history wasn’t…
Judge says thief can’t be cop
A Sangamon County judge has ruled that Sharon “Sherry” Waldron, who pleaded guilty to shoplifting in 2013, cannot be a county sheriff’s deputy. The department fired Waldron in 2012, after she took potted plants from a Sherman park and was charged with theft. After her acquittal of theft charges in 2013, Waldron, whose appeal of…
After the atom
COVER Photo by Exelon via Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Illinois has a long history with the atom. The world’s first nuclear reactor began operating in 1942 beneath a football field at the University of Chicago, where scientists with the secret Manhattan Project were developing the atomic bomb. Illinois now has 11 commercial nuclear reactors generating electricity…
Remembering Orlando
Emotions filled the conference room in the lower level of the PAC building at the University of Illinois Springfield as Kerry Poynter, director of the UIS LGBTQA resource office and his staff read the names of the 49 victims who lost their lives to the actions of a terrorist-affiliated gunman. On June 13, Omar Mateen,…
Hearty grain salads for summer
Black bean salad PHOTO FROM ISTOCKPHOTO.COM With the warm summer weather comes weekend cookouts and busy schedules. These hearty vegetable-packed and protein-rich salads keep in the fridge for up to five days and are perfect for light weeknight suppers or busy weekday lunches. Not only are these salads delicious and satisfying, they pack a hefty…
New City Road
photo courtesy of Scott Hammann / Clear Focus Photography Named after a blacktop south of town heading out to the country through New City, this band is like family to each other and plays to the crowd with the dedication and closeness of relatives. With the active stage presence and powerful lead vocals of the…
Letters to the Editor 6/16/16
CARTOON BY CHRIS BRITT BUREAUCY BOTCHES PAPERS Bruce Rushton’s analysis of the ongoing crisis at the Papers of Abraham Lincoln was well-written and informative (“Shredding Lincoln,” June 9). If government mismanagement of the Papers Project continues on its present course, we can expect the entire project to move out of state, as did the Grant…
Leadership through Adlai’s lens
Join former U.S. Senator Adlai Stevenson III on Thursday, June 16, as he discusses modern politics through the multi-generational lens of his family’s political leadership. In additional to serving as a U.S. senator for 11 years, Adlai Stevenson III ran for governor of Illinois twice. His father, Adlai Stevenson II, served as Illinois governor from…
The story of Shoeless Joe Jackson
Fall from Grace: The Truth and Tragedy of “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, by Tim Hornbaker. Skyhorse Publishing, 296 pages. Writer Nelson Algren once observed that “Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring.” Fans of Chicago’s baseball teams would certainly disagree since October is the month of baseball’s World Series and in the past…
June jams
Bones Jugs play Bar None on Thursday, June 16, at 8 p.m. PHOTO BY SNK PHOTOGRAPHY Welcome to mid-June in central Illinois. The weather is heating up along with the music scene, save for the occasional thundershower that washes out a performance. Here comes the Sangamon County Fair with plenty of hot, modern country in…
Mixing up the color palette
A collaboration between Pharmacy member artists Felicia Olin and Jeff Williams. The Pharmacy has been presenting quarterly group shows featuring work by its member artists since November 2011. Through the ensuing five years, a change of location and many members joining and leaving (and sometimes rejoining), the spirit of the Pharmacy has always been one…
LGBT love
On Saturday, June 18, join the Coalition of Rainbow Alliances for the 35th Annual Pride Picnic. This summery gathering provides an opportunity for the LGBT community and its supporters to come together for fellowship, a picnic meal and a pleasant evening in the park. CORAL will provide a main meat dish along with potato salad,…
Shellin’ out family fun
A busy weekend lies ahead for Springfield’s very own Prospect League collegiate baseball team. The Springfield Sliders play in Lisle on Thursday, travel to Quincy on Friday, and then swing back to the capital city for Saturday’s 6:35 p.m. start time against the Quincy Gems. Saturday’s promotion is Educators Night, sponsored by Horace Mann. Springfield…
Short of breath
The what-and-who part of the puzzle didn’t take long for the Illinois Department of Public Health to figure out. The why remains a mystery. Within months of receiving a 2014 report that members of the Williamsfield Fire Protection District near Peoria were filling ambulance oxygen tanks with plain room air, the department had identified culprits…
Editor’s note 6/16/16
David Axelrod of Chicago, who was President Barack Obama’s chief political strategist and senior adviser, now a CNN commentator, was in Springfield last week for the Illinois Press Association conference. He said he thought at first Bruce Rauner might be a progressive Republican as governor. Instead, Axelrod said, Rauner has made Illinois the “laughingstock” of…
Pots and kettles
The late Mike Royko, Sun-Times columnist Bruce Rauner is trying to divide Downstate from Chicago over school funding. It’s a low tactic that has a long tradition, as I noted in this column from the IT of June 5, 1981. The much longer original will appear on my blog, Second Thoughts. Chicagoan Mike Royko declared…
To my daughter, the Bernie fan
Dear Nora and Michael, I took my Bernie sign down today. The yard looks a little bare. He would have made a great president. But fair is fair. He just doesn’t have the votes. Do I think superdelegates are a bad idea? Absolutely. Do I wish the Republicans had them this year? Yes. They…
AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
One of the best things about working in journalism is getting to learn new things nearly every day. On June 10, we had a chance to look over our work from the past year at the Illinois Press Association’s annual awards convention, and it’s incredible how many different topics we covered in 2015. From homelessness…
transition poem #5
transition poem #5 my dad came from country schoolsmall for his age shy insecure hetold me of that first day walking up to the huge doors of the city schoolhe felt everyone was looking at himhe was wearing clumpy shoes like thegirl of the limberlost in the continuedstory he was following in the daily news…
Someday, her prince will run
PHOTO COURTESY AMY ALKON Amy Alkon I’m a single woman in my 40s. It’s been ages since I’ve seriously dated anyone. People tell me that I seem “closed off.” I don’t want to be, but I worry that I’ll get into another relationship that ends badly. I don’t want to die alone but I just…
Good news and bad news for Dems
The Democrats got a bit of good news and some serious bad news in a recent Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll. And that bad news is particularly negative for anyone who can be credibly connected to House Speaker Michael Madigan. The poll of 1,231 registered Illinois voters found presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton leading…
Bringing back Bill
Jim Hightower PHOTO BY LARRY D. MOORE What’s past, as Shakespeare has told us, is prologue. 2016 has been a wild political season. This year, despite the unnerving presidential freak show the Republicans are putting on, Hillary Clinton is the one who recently stunned me. Attempting to convince very wary working class families that she…
Empowered and employed
From left to right: Ann Jessup, Rev. Margaret Ann Jessup, Megan Shomidie, Shareese Tinsey and Cassandra Lusardi. PHOTOS BY Brittany Hilderbrand Shareese Tinsey, a Springfield mother of five children, had been struggling to find a job that would provide a steady income. That changed when Rev. Margaret Ann Jessup offered Tinsey a job at Wooden…
Lender forecloses on downtown hotel
The loan servicing company for banks that hold a mortgage to the Wyndham hotel in downtown Springfield has foreclosed on the property, claiming that the hotel’s switch from the Hilton to Wyndham brand in January violated loan terms. LNR Partners, a property management firm that also services commercial real-estate loans that fall into trouble, is…
Magical Dory helps us find ourselves
Dory voiced by Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Dory. There’s no question that Pixar Animation radically changed the way big-screen cartoons were created, as well as what audiences should expect from them. These brightly told morality tales weren’t just for kids, as they spoke to concerns that touched upon not only childhood issues and trauma but…
