Cover Story
Liturgical Arts Festival returns to Springfield
The study of religion is fascinating because it is inherently the study of all the social sciences. But it is the many living, breathing faith traditions that show us the beauty of belief and our shared commonalities in life. These vibrant faith traditions help us to understand the relationship between human life and the natural…
A state tax on services?
Gov. JB Pritzker unexpectedly moved away last week from his long-standing opposition to taxing services, saying he didn’t want to start taking ideas off the table as lawmakers search for ways to fund and reform the Chicago region’s mass transit system. A major business group predictably pushed back. As you may know, Chicagoland’s mass transit…
Petersburg man pleads guilty to child porn charges
A 30-year-old Petersburg musician, music teacher and former volunteer in Springfield-area theater productions could go to federal prison for at least 15 years after pleading guilty May 3 to 34 counts of producing, receiving and possessing child pornography. Adam L. Power is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Lawless on Sept.…
Former owner of Chatham massage parlor arrested
When federal agents raided Rainbow Massage Spa in 2019, one of the two Asian females living and working at the Chatham establishment told investigators she didn’t know the name of the community where the spa was located and was warned by the owner not to go outside because it wasn’t safe. The alleged owner, a…
May music flows
Let’s give the merry month of May a happy hello and start enjoying a season of warm weather music. Dare I say, the really nice weather window doesn’t last long as the famed Illinois humidity takes over soon enough. But hey, we can certainly make the best of it knowing that there’s snow shoveling coming…
Lincoln and American Immigration
Preeminent Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer will speak May 7 about his new book, Brought Forth on this Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration, during an event at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. According to Holzer, the book “charts Lincoln’s political career through the lens of immigration, from his role as a member of an…
State to enforce law aimed at ending lending discrimination
In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that sought to wipe away the last vestiges of racial discrimination and redlining in America’s home mortgage industry. The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to make credit available in all parts of the communities they…
The Fall Guy a great screen pairing, The Idea of You is sincere, Unfrosted a scattershot parody
Gosling and Blunt keep Guy on track David Leitch’s The Fall Guy is a true tribute to the stunt performers who risk life and limb to make their on-screen counterparts look good. A former stuntman himself, the director’s inside knowledge proves invaluable in bringing not simply a verisimilitude to the film but an appreciation for…
An odd business partnership
An Illinois State Police officer who jointly owned a Wabash Avenue building with a Springfield man charged with using the site for sex trafficking and prostitution didn’t know anything illegal might be going on there, according to his attorney. “He denies any wrongdoing,” Springfield lawyer Scott Sabin said on behalf of state trooper Nathan Shanks.…
Twelve years later, vacant house comes full circle
A year ago, it was a political football, but April 29 it came full circle as a $1 real estate transaction. During the administration of former Springfield mayor Jim Langfelder, George Petrilli was fined more than $46,000 by the city for failing to maintain the dilapidated property at 820 N. Sixth St. But he paid…
Editor’s note 05-02-24
Campus protests bring memories of heady spring days trying to make a difference in the world. It wasn’t just that first spring, the awful spring that Martin was assassinated, then Bobby during finals week. There were antiwar protests every spring until graduation, peaking with a student strike after National Guard troops killed four Kent State…
Punishment
Punishment On the dock in the little lake in Wisconsin where we went as kids we discovered if we took a small scrape off a wet bar of soap, rolled it into a ball about the size of a BB and dropped it in the water a little fish swimming under the dock quickly …
Letters to the editor 05-02-24
IT’S THE CITY’S JOB Dean Olsen’s feature on our waste disposal system was very thorough, with many useful thoughts from various leaders in the community (“Talking trash,” April 4). I also appreciated the capsule descriptions of how other similarly sized Illinois cities collect waste, including cost and effectiveness. Springfield is a checkerboard of incorporation, and…
Leave your wine comfort zone
I was recently asked to participate in a blind tasting of freshly bottled 2023 rosés. The wines ranged in hue from pale cherry to deep pink, and many were bursting with classic rosé aromas of juicy berries and watermelon, delicate florals and complex spicy notes. My notepad was dotted with hastily scribbled stars and exclamatory…
The 39 Steps, hilarity with a side of espionage
The 39 Steps is a fast-paced, funny stage parody of the classic novel by John Buchan and the subsequent Alfred Hitchcock film. The spy-thriller plot points are all there but the vibe has been replaced with a frantic commedia dell’arte, a theatrical form characterized by improvised dialogue and a cast of colorful characters. Set in…
Relax your ears
Joel Styzens grew up in Springfield surrounded by music and started drum lessons at the age of nine. A part-time job in sales at the House of Music led to him teaching drums when he was 15. He went on to a professional career in music and has taught at the renowned Old Town School…
