Cover Story
A plan to save downtown
Four development groups have told Sangamon County officials they may be interested in building a 200- to 300-bed hotel on a county-owned parking lot along South Ninth Street and collaborating with the county to double the size of the BOS Center. County officials declined to reveal names of the groups that expressed interest through responses…
State highway cameras could be used to investigate human trafficking
A bill passed in this year’s legislative session would rewrite the definition of a “forcible felony” to allow Illinois State Police to use images obtained from automatic license plate readers in cases involving human trafficking and involuntary servitude. Automatic license plate readers are cameras that capture images of vehicle license plates. After obtaining pictures captured…
An antidote for cynicism? Catholic Social Teaching
If you’ve driven past the Sacred Heart Convent and Sacred Heart-Griffin High School campus on West Monroe Street recently, you’ve probably noticed the many “golf signs” – what the printer calls them – around the perimeter. They proclaim, “Hear the cry of Earth,” “One Global Human Family” and “Immigrant Rights & Dignity.” Our hope is…
The first face of hope: How United Way brings comfort after crisis
When flames consume a home, what families remember most is not always the fire. Sometimes, it’s the face of the person who showed up when everything else was gone. That face is often Mary’s. A longtime volunteer supported through United Way of Central Illinois, Mary responds after housefires to provide emergency supplies and emotional support.…
Why the omnibus energy bill failed to pass
I asked Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch last week about the failure to pass an omnibus energy bill (the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act) during the just-ended spring legislative session. “I think the same thing that happened on energy happened on all the things, you know. Big bills take time,” Welch said. “And I…
Ballerina falls flat, Dangerous Animals has bite, Al Pacino can’t do justice to The Ritual
De Armas in over her head in Ballerina If there was ever a scene-stealing moment, it occurred when Ana de Armas made a brief appearance in the 2021 James Bond adventure, No Time to Die. As Paloma, she claims to be a fresh-faced spy with only minimal training. This proves to be a modest assertion…
Armory renovation plans detailed
The nearly $500 million effort to improve the Capitol Complex, including a major renovation of the long-vacant Illinois State Armory, continues to take shape in downtown Springfield. State officials presented updates about the project at a Citizens Club of Springfield gathering May 24, sharing details on completed segments, current construction efforts and secrets found. The…
Illinois bill aims to lower cost of prescriptions, rein in pharmacy benefit managers
A bill that seeks to control the rising cost of prescription drugs while also offering financial help for many small, independent pharmacies in Illinois cleared the General Assembly May 31 and has been sent to Gov. JB Pritzker for his signature. The bill, known as the Prescription Drug Affordability Act, would put new regulations and…
County Market to permanently close pharmacies
The pharmacies in all three of Springfield’s remaining County Market locations, as well as one in Chatham, will permanently close as of June 12. All ongoing prescriptions have been purchased by CVS. Customers will be able to fill their prescriptions at any CVS location in Springfield, according to a spokesperson for Quincy-based Niemann Foods, which…
Something Rotten! is something sensational
Something Rotten!continues its run June 4-7 at the Springfield Muni. Performances start at 8:30 p.m. and tickets are available at TheMuni.org or at The Muni box office beginning 90 minutes before each performance. Something Rotten! premiered on the Muni stage as a boisterous, splashy and somewhat inappropriate parody that gleefully skewers both Shakespearean comedy and…
A taste of Ireland
Dancing at LughnasaThe play will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 6; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 7; and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 8., plus 2 p.m. Sunday, June 8. Tickets are $22 for adults or $20 for seniors over 60 and students. Call 217-523-2787 or go to hcfta.org to reserve tickets.…
June in tunes
Howdy and hey to the first full weekend in June of 2025. Come along as we go searching for fun in the sun and check out the live music made in the shade for you and me. Thursday begins with the big show downtown at the second Levitt AMP concert for 2025 as our friends…
Letters to the editor 06-05-25
PROTESTING WORKS Thanks to Kelley Hatlee for writing this fantastic guest contribution (“Does protesting really work?,” May 15). Nonviolent protest does matter, and it does work. The data is there to back it up. Local 50501 chapters, Indivisible, Women’s March and many more organization absolutely need pro-democracy Americans to get involved by making calls, engaging…
Step back in time to golden era of rock ’n’ roll
Pasfield House Sock HopSat., June 7, 7-11 p.m. | 525 S. Pasfield St. | info@pasfieldhouse.com DANCE | Step back in time to golden era of rock ‘n’ roll It’s not often one gets a chance to “step back in time and groove to the golden era of rock ‘n’ roll,” but that opportunity is on…
To a spider
When I reach at end of day The hostel where I always stay A haven in Ohio woods I find you among my goods This time I ease you carefully Onto a nearby buckeye tree Check to see no thread attached Your colors are completely matched I can’t restore you to your home But you’re…
This chicken salad never fails to please
Hooray for picnic season! From impromptu backyard lunches to outdoor concert series, excuses to stretch out on a grassy lawn abound. Enter what I affectionately refer to as “picnic salads” – that adaptable category of recipes that, while they contain little to no lettuce, yet are still included in the salad realm. Think pasta salad,…
