Cover Story
Little Love Stories
Millions of words have been written on the subject of love, whether in books, poems, plays or songs. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked Illinois Times’ readers to share their own love stories with us, but in 100 words or less. The responses encompass not only romantic love, but stories of family members, dear…
New reports find U of I law professor violated sexual harassment policy
A University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign law professor facing a new investigation into claims he sexually harassed students and fellow faculty has been found in violation of the university’s sexual misconduct policy. That’s according to internal investigative reports from late last year that Illinois Times obtained through a public records request. The law firm hired by…
SIU to provide prison health care
With an eye toward expansion, Southern Illinois School of Medicine plans to hire doctors to work in Illinois prisons, which are under pressure to improve health care that critics say amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. A mentally ill inmate has died from gastrointestinal bleeding two months after swallowing two sporks – a nurse determined…
Opera lady
Phyllis Brissenden loved opera and parties. Photo courtesy of John Hayes “Heartland” and “Midwest values” can be loaded terms these days. And then there is Phyllis Brissenden, who died in December and recently landed in the New York Times when word got out that she left an estimated $45 million to the Opera Theater of…
What’s wrong with roses?
Roses are an enduring Valentine’s gift. Aphrodite was the goddess of love in Greek mythology. According to some stories, the falling of her blood led to the first red rose. The modern story of rose production also comes with a dark side. In Kenya, conditions for workers, the majority of them women, have long been…
Uneven playing fields
The Ball-Chatham Community Unit School District has agreed to make changes to middle and high school sports after federal civil rights investigators found disparities between athletic programs for boys and girls. The district, no later than the 2022-23 academic year, will provide equal athletic opportunities for boys and girls in the district’s middle and high…
Group pushes for gender parity at SIU School of Medicine
Last week three doctors presented to a crowded room at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield about measles. What was subtly remarkable was the makeup of the panel. All three doctors also happened to be women of color. “It’s refreshing to be able to serve on a panel of women on a topic…
Is there a trickster in the house?
Storytelling is everywhere. In business, there is the “power of the story.” We curate our lives on Facebook and Instagram. We are told we must “own our narrative.” Storytelling is as old as time. Now Gil Opferman has taken his lifelong love for storytelling and has written a delightful new play, Beyond the Beanstalk: You…
Tad Derek O’Brien
Try experiencing something different this week and take a live listen to a classical guitarist, arranger and composer instead of the usual offerings. A Springfield native, Tad Derek O’Brien started his musical journey at age 13 with lessons from the late guitarist Tom Lewis, who obviously instilled a lifelong love of learning music in young…
Freedom from smoking
By becoming a Freedom From Smoking® facilitator you can help make a positive impact in the lives of those affected by tobacco addiction and lung disease. You will learn how to conduct sessions and group activities, what challenges may arise and how to handle potential roadblocks. As a certified facilitator, you will be responsible for…
Saucy poetry and such
Tucked away in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library’s vaults are love letters, Valentine’s Day cards, romantic books and beautiful pictures from Valentine’s Days past. Join ALPLM manuscripts curator Christopher Schnell as he discusses changing attitudes about love, romance, dating and relationships using material from the 19th and 20th centuries. The audience will be invited to…
Editor’s note 2/13/20
Frank Edwards was the aw shucks alderman, known for the common sense he gathered at his auto body shop and a reputation for integrity he earned as a firefighter. Because of his character, fellow aldermen turned to him to fill in as mayor after Tim Davlin’s death. If he made too much of being mayor…
Here’s how to conquer climate change
Scientists agree that to forestall dire climate consequences, total carbon emissions must be stopped by 2050, and one-half eliminated by 2030. There is only one way to make quickly such gigantic reductions of emissions: place an increasing tax on carbon fuels and let market forces take over creating cheaper, non-carbon replacement fuels. Let’s see how…
Pritzker has an extensive agenda
I’ve read and heard a lot of commentary about what Gov. J.B. Pritzker didn’t say in his State of the State address last month. Some folks are still quite angry that he didn’t address their pet causes. And the previous day’s guilty plea by former Sen. Martin Sandoval prompted the news media to focus mainly…
love poem
glen gould plays bach and hums hunched over the keyboard he plays bach and hums you listen for the humming you wait for the humming you smile when you begin to hear the drone bass to the partita you love the humming because glen gould loves bach so much he has to hum and you…
Letter’s to the editor 2/13/20
CORRUPTION IN THE STATE We send the legislators our money, only to learn it is not enough because they over-promised and overspent. Then they want more of our money, so they raise our taxes and fees. So we send them more money, but they don’t have the decency to give us a fair, open and…
Fondue says, ‘Fond of you’
In her essay Love in a Dish, the renowned American food writer M.F.K. Fisher wrote about the importance of couples eating together. “There can be no warm, rich home life anywhere else if it does not exist at the table, and in the same way there can be no enduring family happiness, no real marriage,…
Diocese cracks down on transgenderism
The Diocese of Springfield has established policies and guidelines regarding transgender students in parochial schools, churches and other diocesan agencies. “A person cannot change his or her gender,” according to the guidelines. “Just as it would be pastorally reckless to provide weight-loss resources to a visibly gaunt anorexic who thinks she is overweight, it is…
Birds never takes flight
It says a great deal about Birds of Prey that despite its many explosions, slow-motion fights, gun blasts and copious shouting, I nearly nodded off. There are many movies that have no reason to exist and this latest misfire from DC Comics is one of them. Directed by Cathy Yan, who had one feature film…
Valentine music time
You can “Be My Valentine” or you could “Be Your Own Valentine,” but however you decide to spend your love light, energy goulash for the Saint Valentine Day celebration, please consider doing so with a healthy dose of live music. It’s the second Thursday of the month, and of course that means a “Music at…
