Marion, Illinois a Real Find for
Growing up in rural Wisconsin, filmmaker Hunter Adams knows what makes small town living unique and how tight-knit communities behave. With that in mind, he knew Marion, Illinois was the perfect place to shoot his new thriller Dig Two Graves, which premieres on I-Tunes March 24th. “To tell you the truth, we came to Illinois…
The nine-inning version
The piece about the Springfield Redbirds that appeared in the paper on March 23, 2017, was shortened by rain, so to speak. Readers interested in the complete version will find it here, as it appeared in our paper of Sept. 1, 1978. Unusually, it was not published as part of my Prejudice series but as…
The making of a fan
Opening Day is April 2, and in honor of the new season I bring you this column from 1978, when Springfield was, gloriously, home to the Redbirds, the St. Louis Cardinals’ AAA farm team. The piece was written in the mock poetic style beloved of lesser baseball writers and is embarrassing to read today. So…
How magical is Donald Trump?
Trump & Company claim they have a sweeping mandate from voters to remake America –but wait, it is just a magic trick – almost half of the electorate chose not to vote in last November’s presidential election. Here’s another fact: Those of us fighting for populist justice are stronger than we’ve been in decades. But…
Rauner almost catches Madigan’s ratings
You may have heard about a recent Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll which found that Gov. Bruce Rauner’s job disapproval ratings have almost doubled in the past two years, from 31 percent in March of 2015 to 58 percent this month. According to the poll, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s current disapproval rating is…
Letters 3/23/17
VISION OF TRUMP Senator Dick Durbin at the Gorsuch confirmation hearing commented that White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said Gorsuch represents the type of judge that has the vision of Trump. Durbin then chided Mr. Gorsuch by asking, “Why would Mr. Priebus say that when most Americans question whether we need a Supreme…
Editors Note 3/23/17
It gave us a shudder to hear the new secretary of state rattling his saber this week about Korea. The policy of “strategic patience” with North Korea is over, he said, and “all options are on the table” – presumably including a preemptive military strike – to respond if North Korea threatens South Korea. Did…
In praise of pragmatism
As you watch the health care proceedings on Capitol Hill, imagine what things might be like if we lived in more functional political times. In particular, what if Congress were run by pragmatists? It would not change the issues at hand. On the one side, you’d have the Republican majority in Congress, which for the…
Prints by William Crook Jr.
On Thursday, March 23, join local artist William Crook Jr. for a discussion of his print series titled “Portals into Springfield.” Since the 1970s, Bill has created art depicting life in Springfield and the surrounding area. Crook cites Springfield’s natural landscape as well as the capital city’s architecture and historical legacy as inspiration for his…
Lots of laughs
Mason City Limits Comedy Club is honored to host former contributing writer on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and current writer and frequent guest of the “Bob and Tom Show,” Rob Haney March 24-25, at 8 p.m. on both nights. Haney is a relatable comic whose jokes center on gentle recognition humor about kids…
A “hoppy” holiday photo op
Kids can meet with and pose for a commemorative souvenir photo with the Easter bunny during White Oaks Malls’ Easter Bunny Photo Experience sponsored by The Gymboree Corporation and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. In addition to meeting the Easter bunny and posing for a photo, each child will receive a special Sing-themed headband and activity…
A world of blurt
I’m in love with my married female co-worker. I’m married and have no intention of leaving my wife, and I doubt she’d leave her husband, even if she shared my feelings. I love how caring and kind my co-worker is – how she understands that you show love through action. I do this by often…
Museum comeback
The Illinois State Museum, founded in 1877, reopened its doors on July 2, 2016, after being closed for nine months due to budget cuts at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The closing – which extended to the entire Illinois State Museum system, including Dickson Mounds in Lewiston and the Lockport Gallery, along with the…
A playful play
“I had always had this dream to do a play about Abraham Lincoln’s wedding,” said Springfield Art Association curator of collections Erika Holst. “I have zero theater background, so I just couldn’t do it myself.” Holst was introduced to Springfield-based writer Rose Harmon who, it turned out, has an undergraduate degree in theater and a…
A push to enforce nursing home staffing laws
When Springfield resident Jerry Rabbe learned his mother had Alzheimer’s disease, he began to search for facilities to treat her condition. Rabbe took his mother to the Villas Senior Care Community in Sherman. However, Rabbe’s mother, Mary, would reside in three other nursing homes in less than two years. Mary resided in the Villas for…
Bill makes it easier to expunge juvenile records
Legislation introduced in the House and Senate recommends programs to erase juvenile records and tougher discretion in obtaining those records. The legislation, known as the Youth Opportunity and Fairness Act, was recently introduced by Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Frankfort, and Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Buffalo Grove. The Fairness Act would automatically eradicate records of juvenile arrests in…
HEALTHY FOOD TEAM
The Central Illinois Foodbank is teaming up with the SIU Center for Family Medicine to distribute healthy food for the Sangamon County community. At 5 p.m. Thursday, March 23, the Healthy Foods Distribution will take place at the SIU Center for Family Medicine, located at 520 N. Fourth St. in Springfield. Members of the Springfield…
ARTS RESIDENCY IN ENOS PARK
The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery is partnering with the Springfield Art Association and Enos Park Residency for Visual Artists to offer a funded residency and art exhibition for the summer of 2017. The residency will last from four to eight weeks and is open to artists working in all media and at…
Beast forgets that less can be more
It was one of the most frustrating film-going experiences in recent memory. Disney’s live-action remake of its classic animated feature Beauty and the Beast is a combination of touching moments and garish excess, a movie that eschews the notion that sometimes less is more. Director Bill Condon goes out of his way to dazzle and…
Lady Carole turns 7
As I write this, I’m looking out the window into the beauteous out of doors, like a schoolkid or state worker begging the universe for something to happen that would legitimately allow responsibilities to fly out said window with me right behind. But alas, no such luck. Let’s start the week off with congratulations to…
Fireside Relics
With the release of Shot Out the Saddle, the second, full-length recording of original material from Fireside Relics, the band looks to “establish themselves as heavy hitters” within the Springfield music scene. The local group came together in 2009 to play covers of 70s hard rock, 90s grunge and contemporary rock-pop and soon discovered a…
What the pho?
Google released a report last year that analyzed what everyone’s cooking, buying and ordering. Google analyzed all the food-related search queries between January 2014 and January 2016. They listed the top five topics based on rapidly increasing interest. One of the top five trending topics was “pho.” Pho (pronounced “fuh”) is Vietnamese beef or chicken…
asylum poem #1
asylum poem #1 do any of you remember 1939 when a boatload of 935 jews approached our shores and we sent them back to auschwitz? Note on the above: look in Wikipedia or other source material for Captain Gustav Shroder and the St. Louis for accurate details of the full story. This event was later…
