New EPA head’s powers cut
Days after Gov. Bruce Rauner appointed Alec Messina director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the new director’s powers have been altered due to a potential conflict with federal environmental regulations. Prior to joining the Rauner administration as an adviser to the governor last year, Messina was executive director of the Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group,…
Timely “Purge” A Pointed Reflection of Our Times
There’s always been an obvious social/political subtext in James DeMonaco’s Purge films. Regrettably, our country has come to the edge of enacting the sort of severe class politics these movies revolve around. No, it hasn’t gotten to the point where citizens are allowed to kill and maim whomever they wish for a 12 hour period…
“BFG” An Empty Exercise
Box office pundits spent a great deal of time wondering this week why Steven Spielberg’s The BFG tanked during its opening weekend at the box office. (For the record, it brought in $19 million against a $140 million investment) The only thing I can figure is that they hadn’t seen the film because it’s quite…
Congratulations!
One of Jeff and Bree Parsons’ wedding photos, depicting the family on the beach. Photos by Colindres Photography. When last we heard from Jeffrey Parsons, he was in a Texas courtroom, winning a fight to keep financial records from the prying eyes of the Internal Revenue Service, which figures all might not be kosher with…
Naming right
A follow-up to a follow-up: I recently noted (see “Ask the kids”) that School District 186 has begun the process of devising a formal process for renaming district facilities. Is it a process that school boards lacked in the past, or gumption? In “A school by any other name” I complained about how it’s been done…
Work? What work?
Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood There is courage in politics, they say, and there is also chutzpah. And then there is state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood. State comptroller Leslie Munger stopped issuing paychecks to lawmakers in April, figuring that they should have to wait for their money along with private vendors, universities and tons of other…
Nose to the grindstone
The Mill, a retail store and education center, was modeled after the original Hodgson Mill. PHOTO COURTESY HODGSON MILL Earlier this month I was searching out local ingredients to include on the menu for a fundraising dinner. I was surprised to learn that Hodgson Mill is located in Effingham, just 75 miles southeast of Springfield.…
Rauner builds a wall
CARTOON BY CHRIS BRITT
Intellegence tests of our times
CARTOON BY JEN SORENSON
insectpoem #9
my current focus has been cecropia alovely moth now in its beginning stagesa botanist at my sister’s elderlivingestablishment has glass jars set up withunhatched eggs strings of pale pearlsand all the numerous hatches – tinyblack fuzzy worms long as a fingernailbusily munching box elder leaves a ledgerdetails progress: five instar stages theysplit their skins keep…
“Shallows” Dead in the Water
Some films are half-baked from the start and never get around to fully developing what could be a worthy premise. Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Shallows certainly falls in that category as it leaves the audience, as well as its main character, stranded with no where to go. Nancy (Blake Lively) is the damsel-in-distress as she sets…
“Resurgence” A Bloated Piece of Nothing
As far as I know, there was no great demand for a sequel to “Independence Day” and what with the many financial successes in his past, I can’t imagine that its director Roland Emmerich is in need of money. Which leaves me asking, “Why was “Independence Day: Resurgence” made?” It’s likely that you’ll be asking…
Ask the kids
I read today that the policy committee of School District 186 is considering adopting a formal process for the naming of district facilities after citizens deemed worth of the honor. You might well wish to forget it, but I addressed that issue in a 2011 column titled, “A school by any other name” in which I came…
Imaginary landscapes
Faithful reader Brent Hahn responded to my maunderings about natural beauty and politics, “The blossomy haw, remembered,” with this reminder that the sensible person who lives in a place bereft of scenery simply makes some up. I grew up in Springfield. and moved away, but lately I’ve been back a lot. And I’ve decided my…
At the corner of Someplace and Nowhere
Breaking the norm, Indian Hills subdivision street names recall the original residents of the place that is now Illinois. PHOTO BY DAVID HINE Attentive readers might have noticed my recent preoccupation with the problem of place – how people come to define a place as a “place” and what it means to the people who…
Souring Chicago’s sweet treat
Jim Hightower PHOTO BY LARRY D. MOORE In May 2015, bakery workers in Nabisco’s monumental 10-story plant in Chicago’s Marquette Park neighborhood had been expecting some sweet news from their corporate headquarters. Rumor had it that their renown facility – after more than half a century and millions of Oreos – was about to receive…
A good idea, just don’t over-promise
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS Illinoisans are undeniably furious about the way their government has been running (or, more accurately, not running). They’re looking for solutions and some are grasping at anything within reach. A downstate newspaper editorial the other day attempted to pin the blame for just about all of our state’s fiscal and economic…
Letters to the Editor 6/30/16
Map of proposed Hunter Lake ANOTHER INCONVENIENT TRUTHAt the May 17 CWLP electricity generation public forum, Mayor Langfelder said the proposed Hunter/Lake II is more about economic development than the need for more water in a severe drought. He may have revealed an inconvenient truth to the Army Corps of Engineers and USEPA, who…
Editor’s note 6/30/16
How refreshing it is to hear Illinois Republicans fighting with Illinois Democrats over how much money should go to Chicago Public Schools. What a breath of fresh air to hear arguments over what should be included in the Department of Corrections appropriation, or how transportation projects can be funded to keep construction alive. This is…
Unsocial media
President Eisenhower said, “If you aren’t in the middle of the road, you are in the gutter.” What he expressed 60-plus years ago applies to today’s Facebook. Sure, there are lots of pictures of happy family gatherings, new babies, memories of past good times. But increasingly my newsfeed is filled with hatred, largely from the…
A Fourth of July slasher
You Are Not Alone This Saturday, join B | Movie Studios for the premiere of one of the most anticipated horror movies of the past few years, You Are Not Alone. The first-person POV thriller is considered “one of the scariest serial killer slashers I have ever seen” according to the LA Horror website and…
Fun for the Fourth
Capital City Celebration Usher in our nation’s birthday with two days of family fun hosted by the Springfield Jaycees during the annual Capital City Celebration. The festivities begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, July 2, with a CrossFit competition hosted by Rail Splitter CrossFit. A cornhole bags tournament hosted by Capital City Cornhole LLC begins…
Street art
Paint the Street Fest Join the Springfield Art Association for the annual block party that encourages community members to literally paint the streets of downtown Springfield. For $30 per square, individuals and groups of up to six people will be able to paint a 6-foot-by-6-foot square of road on Washington Street between Fourth and Seventh…
Books, animals, crafts
Wild About Reading Visit the Henson Robinson Zoo for a Wild About Reading program geared towards children ages 2 and up with a love of books, animals and crafts. The pet-themed program requires preregistration, which can be done by calling the zoo at 585-1821. The Henson Robinson Zoo opened in 1970, and is currently home…
The gift of blab
PHOTO COURTESY AMY ALKON Amy Alkon My girlfriend tells her mother and her friends pretty much everything. Literally four of her friends and her mom were weighing in on her recent urinary tract infection. I just don’t get why she feels the need to let everybody know her business, and it’s the opposite of what…
Opioid Illinois
Even four years after successfully kicking his addiction to prescription pills like Percocet and Hydrocodone, Darren still red-flags himself at doctor visits. “I am a recovering addict,” said Darren, a Springfield resident who asked to use a pseudonym for this article. Darren is one of 2.1 million people nationwide who have become addicted to prescribed…
Jimenez and DelGiorno gear up for campaign
Incumbent Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Springfield Anthony DelGiorno, a Democrat Incumbent Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Springfield, is seeking election to her first full term as representative for the 99th District covering part of Springfield. She faces fellow Springfield native Anthony DelGiorno, a Democrat, who says that Jimenez is not doing enough to truly represent her…
Fun while it lasted
Ward 6 Ald. Cory Jobe PHOTO BY DAVID HINE Conceding that he’s behind on paperwork, Ward 6 Ald. Cory Jobe says that he’s shutting down a fund intended to finance community improvement projects in his ward. The Ward 6 Revitalization and Rehabilitation Fund, launched in 2011, has helped pay for such things as a sign…
State orders fixes to Viper Mine waste plan
A plan to dump coal ash waste near Elkhart needs significant work, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The proposal would create more room at an existing waste site for coal ash produced by Springfield’s municipal power plant, but neighbors who are opposed to the plan say DNR hasn’t addressed their concerns about…
A BATTY STANDOFF
Springfield police handled a bizarre standoff earlier this month when a man wielding a baseball bat allegedly began attacking his neighbors. Gregory Bosie of Springfield was arrested on June 15, following an hours-long standoff with police at his apartment on North Fifth Street. According to a police report about the incident, Bosie put several of…
NO FREE FAIR
Free admission to the state fair on its first night has been a longstanding tradition in Springfield. No more. This year, the Department of Agriculture plans to charge $5 to enter the fairgrounds on the evening of Aug. 11, the fair’s opening night (officially called Preview Night), which has long been known for a parade…
Yates’ Tarzan a rousing, moving success
Alexander Skarsgard as Tarzan in The Legend of Tarzan. PHOTO COURTESY Warner Bros. Legendary film producer Darryl Zanuck once said, “The secret to success in Hollywood is giving the public what it wants before it knows it wants it.” In the spirit of that statement and in an effort to keep you ahead of the…
July music is here
The “Watch Them Burn” tour heats up Thirdbase Sports Bar on Friday night with The Convalescence, plus Nethersphere, Dedwayte and Green Messiah. PHOTO BY RACHEL WILLIAMS Happy upcoming Fourth of July! When America’s Independence Day lands on a Monday, many folks receive a generous gift of a three-day weekend and maybe more. Those of us…
The Dead Hands
The Dead Hands PHOTO BY JENNIFER LUBBS These Chicago guys got a good start in the business by winning WGN’s Breakthrough Band competition in 2014 with their first single, “Grind Your Teeth.” After spending 2015 promoting and playing the latest release, Shiny Things, the guys headed back into the studio last February to start on…
