Eastside Story
Ron Fafoglia says he’s fairly conservative. He jokes that he falls just to the right of Genghis Khan. This would make him a perfect candidate for fighting terrorists or hosting his own talk show or finding a way for Republicans to take back the state, anything other than what he’s doing, which is placing low-income…
Read his lips
By now, you’ve heard that Governor Rod Blagojevich was so surprised about the state’s budget deficit that he is considering raising taxes. He claims the deficit is $4.8 billion–at least a billion higher than he’d expected–and not the kind of hole he can just cut his way out of. If he really didn’t know the…
Bards of the Sangamo 6-19-03
Shirley’s Eyes One misty morning, three visions, pleasant reverberations, came to me– your veiled face, a nocturnal lily blooming in the twilight of my hope, and a silver harp. I couldn’t discern your smile, but your eyes shone opalescent fire, more mysterious than stirred gray embers, ash glow from a burned out star. You sparked…
The nutcrackers
“Would you like to try some pecans this morning?” “Six pecans a day will lower stress.” “Pecans will keep for two years or more in the freezer.” These comments–cheerily addressed to strolling shoppers at the downtown farmer’s market–are the calling cards of Karen and Norma Voss, sisters-in-law who sport matching pink cotton shirts. Behind a…
One for the union
The end is in sight for what is said to be the longest ever arbitration between the City of Springfield and the police union. Starting with a 1997 decision to cut back on the overtime pay that officers earn for showing up at traffic court, the negotiations have stalled and broken down so many times…
The Highway Side
What you missed: Private eye Nick Acropolis is sent to McKinley to investigate the case of a trucker charged with smuggling cocaine. A truck stop waitress then hires him to look for her missing son. Nick examines his client’s truck. A secret compartment is empty, but Nick finds four small bundles hidden within a pile…
“The Last Great Radio Show”
You might not remember it–the show last aired more than 25 years ago–but for those who do recall Monitor the memories are vivid. Depending on the listeners, they’ll cite the celebrity hosts, the improvised comedy sketches, or the nonstop flow of news, sports, and music. Most recall the theme–a series of beeps and tones known…
Back to the land
When Joseph Standing Bear Schranz discovered an arrowhead last October lying on a forest floor near Carlinville, he knew an eight-year-old dream was about to come true. How the White Earth Ojibwa ended up in this patch of prairie woodland is not only a remarkable story of his own determination–it’s a testament to a singular…
Lenny Bruce isn’t funny
As its title makes plain, the interesting new book The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall and Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks), by Ronald K.L. Collins and David M. Skover, traces the myriad legal troubles of arguably the most influential comedian of the past 50 years. But the volume, which also includes a CD…
Going Organic
For local caterer and cooking instructor Julianne Glatz, using organic ingredients comes naturally. She grew up on an organic farm and her grandparents, Robert and Esther Stevens, sold organic produce for more than 20 years in Springfield. “My grandmother was into health foods before it was the fashionable thing to do,” she says. Today, Glatz…
Now Playing 6-19-03
What’s this, the beginning of summer? Come on and join your human ancestors: Praise the summer solstice this weekend! Why not start with a Thursday night visit to the Underground City Tavern in the Hilton? Mike Barfield, co-founder of the critically acclaimed roots-country group the Hollisters, brings in an all-star line-up to promote his new…
Confessions of a supernumerary— EXTRA!
Supernumerary (-noo’me rer’e, -nyoo’-) [adjective, noun, pl. -aries] adj.1. beyond the usual or necessary number; additional; extra. 2. beyond the number needed or desired; superfluous. noun 1. an extra person or thing; one beyond the usual, regular, or prescribed number. 2. a person who appears on the stage but usually has no lines to speak,…
Defender of the faith
His Internet name was “poppa bear,” a chubby, sprawled-out-naked-on-the-couch elderly man attracted to slim, muscular males, ages 20 to 40. In the real world, his name was Father Francis Gera, a priest at Holy Dormition Byzantine Catholic Church in Ormond Beach, Florida. Gera was bold, or dumb–most likely both. The e-mail address he used at…
Aldermania
It isn’t just my imagination. Cindy Cody, the local expert on the City Council, officially confirmed that, yeah, come to think of it, it is kinda weird that three of the ten council members share the same name. Cody, deputy clerk for almost 17 years, says she can’t remember a time when even two council…
Now Playing 1-23-03
It’s colder than a well digger’s–well, it’s colder than most anything a well digger has, but don’t let that stop you from finding some sizzling music to thaw the January freeze. Friday is shaping up as the hot spot of the weekend. Ozzy Train makes its farewell stop in Springfield at Marly’s Pub from 9…
Movie Reviews
Chicago Using the classic musical form as a foundation and throwing in just a dose of MTV razzle dazzle, Rob Marshall’s Chicago is the musical Moulin Rouge wanted to be. Chicago shows far more restraint than Baz Luhrmann’s overrated exercise in excess by eschewing MoulinRouge’s seizure-inducing editing. Instead, Marshall favors sharply choreographed dance numbers executed…
Absentee landlords
The new Springfield Medical District Board isn’t following the usual prescription for master planning. For starters, the swearing-in ceremony scheduled to take place at the board’s first meeting this coming Wednesday will not include the four board members appointed by Governor Rod Blagojevich–he hasn’t appointed them yet, and has no immediate plans to do so.…
Knoepfle 6-19-03
old man on his birthday the family all flying in pray god I don’t die they would never forgive me I would never get over it © John Knoepfle 2003
Ahead of his time?
It’s one thing to say that the whole concept of race is a phony social invention. But making this statement when your job, your livelihood, and indeed your career have been built on this very concept–well, that takes a special brand of backbone. Yet Lawrence C. Johnson did just that last week when he declared…
Wait ’til 2007
When April 1 rolls around–the day of the city’s general elections–only a little more than half of Springfield voters will have a choice in who will represent them on the City Council. Out of ten wards, incumbents are running unopposed in four: Chuck Redpath (Ward 4), Irv Smith (Ward 8), Tom Selinger (Ward 9), and…
Gentlemen, wreck your engines
Last Sunday was hot and muddy at the Sangamon County Fairgrounds. In a field behind one grandstand sat row upon row of wrecked cars: 71 V-8 rust buckets from Detroit’s golden age, and 33 compacts with their doors and hoods wired shut. All of the vehicles had their windshields removed; batteries and gas tanks were…
French for a Night
The Illinois Country was once part of a French colonial empire that formed a great crescent from Quebec to New Orleans. New France embraced the Great Lakes and followed the Mississippi to the sea. Three villes–Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Prairie du Rocher–drew voyageurs from Canada and migrants from the mother country. They farmed the rich American…
Your Turn. . . 1-23-03
Don’t count us in Dear Editor: I write to correct inaccurate information found in a letter to the editor in the January 16 edition of the Illinois Times. The letter incorrectly states that Sojourn plans to participate in a march in connection with a group called the Illinois Citizens Against Abuse & Brutality. Sojourn is…
Movie Review
Alex and Emma After director Rob Reiner bombed with his last two films–1996’s Ghosts of Mississippi and 1999’s The Story of Us–he returns to familiar territory with Alex and Emma, a delightful romantic comedy that borrows heavily from two of his biggest hits, The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally. The premise is more…
Your Turn. . . 6-19-03
Congratulations Illinois Times contributor Jack Clark–author of our original detective serial, The Highway Side–has been named a 2003 Shamus Award finalist for his first Nick Acropolis novel, Westerfield’s Chain (St. Martin’s Press). The Private Eye Writers of America has been awarding the Shamus to detective novelists for the last 22 years. Past recipients include Ross…
