So long, Josie
Josie Lowder plays a farewell show with family and friends at Julia’s Kitchen & Lounge and Homespun Republic on Sat., April 4. There are plenty of fun and exciting shows this weekend, plus some that may not fit into that category considering your taste and constitution, but overall, as usual, the scene is on it.…
Speechwriter, poet, author
Shelterbelt: Jericho Brown On Friday, April 3, at 7 p.m., poet, speechwriter and author Jericho Brown will present the keynote speech at the UIS Student Technology Arts and Research Symposium (STARS), at UIS Brookens Library. Brown grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, and worked as the speechwriter for the mayor of New Orleans before pursing a…
“Follows” Fails to Follow Through
A great deal of buzz has sprung up around David Robert Mitchell’s independent horror film It Follows and it’s easy to see why. The director successfully creates an atmosphere of dread that hangs over his sympathetic protagonists and the premise is one that lends itself perfectly to be exploited and explored within the horror genre. …
Eyes that light up a womb
I’m a 35-year-old guy who’s doing online dating and who’s against having kids for moral reasons. Don’t get me wrong; I love kids. I just don’t think we need any more people on this crowded, violent planet. I’m wondering whether I should make the “no kids” thing clear in my profile. I know this can…
Illinois politics hall of shame
CARTOON BY CHRIS BRITT
Prescription lockdown
For recovering addict Nick Gore, the cost of heroin abuse is all too real. “In my three years that I’ve been sober, I’ve lost 16 friends to overdose,” Gore said. “Those 16 people that died all started with prescription narcotics; that is where their addiction started.” Gore spoke to state lawmakers last week at a…
Child care groups fear closure
More than 1,200 people signed up last week to testify in support of legislation to fund an important state child care program, expressing opposition to deep cuts proposed by Gov. Bruce Rauner. The House Human Services Committee met March 19 to consider additional funding for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) through the end of…
Hip-hop and what not
Sometimes there’s so much going on that the only way to properly discuss events comes from the shotgun approach of blasting away willy-nilly. Let us proceed with vain aim to hit all. I’ve been amiss lately in lauding the efforts of those running, organizing and hosting the Torch Tuesday hip-hop happening held at Bar None…
Political economy
Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford PHOTO BY TIM WARD VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG “Because economic decisions are made by elected officials every day,” said Rockford state senator Dave Syverson to the Register Star recently, “we need to have officials who understand the economic impact of what they do.” Illinois lawmakers who do not understand such things, in the…
Debt buyers bury hard-hit consumers in lies
Good news, people: The “boom” is back! Yes, good times are here again, thanks to an economic boom that’s being generated by (of all things) bad times. As you might know from your own experiences, tens of millions of Americans have been hit hard, knocked down and held down in recent years by the collapse…
Bowling for hollers
Curses, foiled again• Brian J. Byers crashed his car while driving drunk and then poured water on the road so it would look like black ice caused the crash, according to police in Sparta, N.J. Byers drove the car home and had a friend drive him back to the scene, where an officer spotted Byers…
A softer, neo-liberal form of Raunerism
A newly formed group of self-described “center-left” Democrats claims to have secured $20 million in commitments to spend on state legislative races here. But that $20 million apparently isn’t meant to counter Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s infamous $20 million campaign stash, which he says will be used to support his allies and punish his enemies.…
Lincoln and the Jews
Lincoln and the Jews: A History, by Jonathan D. Sarna and Benjamin Shapell.Thomas Dunne Books, 2015. In the weeks preceding the controversial speech of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a joint session of Congress, Jewish Americans once again faced the dilemma of dual loyalties to the United States and Israel. It is a deeply…
Letters to the Editor 3/26/15
State Senator Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap, is pushing for new limits on video gambling machines in Springfield. If passed, his bill would likely eliminate many video gambling parlors. PHOTOS BY ELIZABETH ROBERTSON/TNS WHY PARLORS EXIST My name is Matt Gietl, and I am an owner of Miss Kimmees gaming parlors in Springfield. I do not understand…
veach poem #2
veach poem #2 my good friend becky put together afamily cookbook telling us which onesnot to eat (broccoli casserole) and otherchoice opinions she also made a bookcalled when grandma was a little girllots of growing up stories of herselfher kids my kids others I recommendeveryone do this for their familiespriceless and the whole back of thevolume…
Eggs for dinner
Oeufs en meurette PHOTO BY Arnaud 25 VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG Americans primarily think of eggs as something appropriate for breakfast and, on weekends, brunch. That’s changed a bit recently: fried or sunny-side-up eggs have been showing up as burger, steak, pizza toppings and more. Even though egg-topped dishes are sometimes overdone by chefs seizing on the…
Supersuckers
Supersuckers By calling themselves the “Greatest Rock-n-Roll Band in the World” these guys don’t lack in confidence or go much for modesty, but without mustering bluster and blasting out the jams, these guys wouldn’t be Supersuckers. Originally from Tucson, they signed to Sub Pop Records in 1992 after moving to Seattle and being around during…
Shuffle board
The April 7 general election is still more than a week away, but one thing is for sure: the Springfield City Council is in for some turnover. Springfield’s 10 ward seats are up for re-election on April 7, and two of the races are already decided; Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner and Ward 6 Ald.…
Insurgent ups the ante and succeeds
Theo James stars as Four and Shailene Woodley stars as Tris in Insurgent. PHOTO COURTESY SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT Smart, slick and superior to its predecessor Divergent, Insurgent does what every good adventure tale must, namely give us characters we care for as the whole world goes to hell around them. This is something often forgotten by…
FUNERAL PLANS
A full-fledged funeral train isn’t the only thing that might be missing at the re-creation of Abraham Lincoln’s funeral set for the first weekend in May. Before the interment at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Lincoln’s body – the real thing – was taken to the State Capitol, where the assassinated president lay in state for 24…
Editor’s note 3/26/15
At this writing, the Illinois House has passed a stopgap budget fix, waiting for the Senate to act to keep government running till June 30. Many Statehouse watchers are so amazed and pleased that legislators and the governor can agree on anything, they forget what is being agreed. Schools and nursing homes are being cut.…
Public service powerhouse
Abner Mikva On Thursday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m., the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library plays host to Abner Mikva, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014 for a career of service spanning all three branches of government. The Chicago resident served in Congress from 1969-73 and again from 1975-79. He then served…
ENDORSED BY ICON
Springfield ICON (Inner City Older Neighborhoods) is endorsing political candidates for the first time. The group focuses on cleaning up blighted properties, reforming the city’s waste-hauling system and other efforts to revitalize neighborhoods. ICON chairwoman Carol Kneedler announced the group’s endorsements on March 25, saying that the group’s roughly 40 members voted on which candidates…
Women on wheels
Central Illinois Showdown On Saturday, March 28, Decatur’s Prairieland Punishers, a women’s flat-track roller derby league, will host the Central Illinois Showdown roller derby bout. This bout is the 2015 season home opener for the Punishers, whose two teams will compete in two bouts on Saturday. The Prairieland Punishers Backlash will take on the McLean…
Governing by crisis isn’t governing
After Congress came a hair’s breadth from shutting down the Department of Homeland Security a few weeks ago, members of the leadership tried to reassure the American people. “We’re certainly not going to shut down the government or default on the national debt,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Congress,…
On the stump
Making points: Candidates Jim Langfelder, left, and Paul Palazzolo, right, have carved out differences between themselves but share the same goals for the city. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE It is near the end of a grueling day on the campaign trail. The two candidates for Springfield mayor are sitting side by side in a Lincoln…
Ward war
Ward 7 Alderman candidates Joe McMenamin, Sarah Delano Pavlik and Michael Higgins Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin can be forgiven if he feels like a walking bullseye. After one term in office, McMenamin has held firm to certain principles, chief among them an insistence that the city take painful steps to deal with burgeoning deficits…
Leading ladies
Makers: Women in Politics On Monday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m., join the Springfield branch of the American Association of University Women to view a documentary on groundbreaking women in politics, medicine and other fields that were previously closed to women. The 2013 documentary highlights the struggle for women’s equality during the past five decades.…
