Marching with the kids for gun law reform
Seeing groups of high school students at Midway Airport on March 23 gave me a feeling that the March for Our Lives event the next day in Washington, D.C., would be big. Indeed, as I took the Metro train to the event, I soon found myself with thousands of others making our way to the…
Women unite in the battle against cancer
The annual Women’s Power Lunch Against Cancer inspires and educates, while raising funds for cancer research at Simmons Cancer Institute (SCI) at SIU Medicine. The 9th annual Women’s Power Lunch is Friday, April 27, at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel in downtown Springfield. It is an excellent opportunity for women to join together in the…
Congress deals blow to free speech
A couple years ago, I got an email from the blue. It was from a lawyer for an old employer: Mike Lacey is creating a database of former employees, could you please provide your home address? I did. Days later, I received a $5,000 check and a request to help locate other folks. So I…
Thieves in the suites
Today’s captains of corporate capitalism like to think of themselves not as mere businesspeople, but as modern society’s genius “innovators.” Sounds positive … until you ask the key question: Innovation for what purpose? After all, some of society’s most inventive minds are flimflammers, Ponzi-schemers, gamers and embezzlers. The latest of these is a hustle called…
An electoral marriage of convenience
The oddest political couple in all of Illinois did pretty well in last Tuesday’s Democratic primary. Two years ago, progressive firebrand Cook County Commissioner Chuy Garcia helped lead Bernie Sanders’ Democratic campaign in the Chicagoland area and was eventually named a national Sanders media surrogate. At the same time, Garcia also endorsed House Speaker Michael…
Letters to the Editor 3/29/18
CUBA IS COOL Bruce Rushton’s comments about Cuba (“Paradise and the Y Block,” Illinois Times, March 22) could not be further from the truth. I just visited Cuba in January. Every car had windshield wipers with no one there to protect them. The restaurants have wonderful food. Their economy is tough, but they survive well.…
Editor’s note 3/29/18
It’s hard for me to even find time to worry about Stormy Daniels with all the protest I’m getting from the puzzle people. What a determined group they are, pulling out all the stops in an effort to reverse our decision to put the puzzle online only starting in April in order to save on…
Beware a U.S. Constitutional Convention
The U.S. Constitution is the document that ultimately impacts every facet of our lives – our sense of freedom, our belief in equal justice for all and our ability to pursue our dreams. It is a document for which I have enormous respect. Yet one part of the Constitution has never been fully utilized: a…
Autism awareness
On Saturday, March 31, enjoy the second annual Kids Jumping for Autism Festival, a family-friendly festival held at the Illinois Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The event features a 60-foot-long hot air balloon obstacle course, a 40-foot-long ninja bounce and slide, and a 30-foot long-double slide with castle. Additionally, Sky from “Paw Patrol” and…
Comedians portraying comic book characters
Enjoy two comedy shows for the price of one on Saturday, March 31. The evening begins at 8 p.m. with a showcase of some of the top comedians in central Illinois followed by the third annual Comedy Central-style roast. The subject of this year’s roast will be Superman, played by Jeff Govednik, who will be…
Logistics of war
Enjoy a special mid-week Civil War Tech event on Wednesday, April 4, in celebration of many area schools being on spring break. Civil War Tech events provide hands-on activities for children ages 8-12 to explore the intersection between history and technology. April’s Civil War Tech event, titled “The Logistics of War,” will teach kids how…
Kinetic energy turns kids on
Everyone wins when Engineer in the Classroom (EITC) arrives in area fifth grades for 12 weeks each winter. Engineers from local firms visit participating classes – this year 12 – to generate excitement about careers in science and math. Classroom teachers engage students of all abilities and learning styles in an unforgettable cross-curricular experience. And…
Organic and excellent
Snow north of Springfield delayed several musicians from arriving at the venue on time, and may have resulted in a quirky flow to “Pipe Dreams,” Saturday’s Illinois Symphony Orchestra concert at Sangamon Auditorium. For example, an overture occurred midway through the first half of the program. But the music bristled with energy and excitement nonetheless.…
Presidents with Illinois roots meet at ALPLM
Four presidents with personal ties to Illinois left an indelible mark in American history. Thanks to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM), these presidents’ legacies are recognized in a new exhibit. “From Illinois to the White House: Lincoln, Grant, Reagan, Obama,” opened at the ALPLM on March 23. The exhibit honors Presidents Abraham…
Teens rally at Capitol for gun control
On Saturday, March 23, a reported 1.2 million people took part in the “March for Our Lives,” a nationwide demonstration demanding changes to existing gun laws. The demonstrations were spearheaded by the young survivors of last month’s massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 14 students and three staff members…
The bikers are coming
The nation’s largest convention of African-American motorcycle clubs is coming to Springfield. The National Bikers Roundup, scheduled for Aug. 1 through Aug. 5 at the state fairgrounds, will feature sundry motorcycle shows, stunt riding, music, food, open-air markets but, according to organizers, no beer vendors. Launched in 1977, the five-day event in past years…
ACK IN THE SADDLE
When last we checked in with the Grand Army of the Republic museum, it was cluttered, closed and at a crossroads. A curator with professional archival experience had replaced a caretaker, and there was much work to do organizing and reorganizing one of the city’s smallest but scrappiest museums, a place that has survived since…
DRINK UP
It’s official. As of this afternoon (Thursday), the Buzz Bomb Brewing Co. will, officially, be open for business. While Springfield’s newest craft brewery has been pouring suds for a month, the ribbon cutting, with chamber of commerce types and folks from Downtown Springfield, Inc., expected, is set for this afternoon at 4 p.m. No word…
Spielberg’s Ready Player One: Pop Culture 101
Some things fit like a hand in a glove, and Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s novel Ready Player One is certainly a “peanut butter meets jelly” kind of moment. Taking place in, of course, a dystopia in the near future, the story is a smorgasbord of pop culture allusions that come so fast and…
Let’s march into April
We are now wiping our hands of March and moving into April this weekend, whether you like it or not. And, yes, April Fools’ Day is on Easter in 2018, so make of that what you will. In the meantime, the music marches on into the misty mountains of mysterious makings. It looks like what…
Midnight River Choir
Folks around these parts sure like these Texas-groove band dudes who met while singing songs as they floated down the Guadalupe River some years ago. The mysterious “Midnight River Choir” heard on the water soon became a combo, and they’ve been riding a rushing current of growing popularity ever since. Bandmates Eric Middleton (lead vocals,…
easter hunts poem #1
easter hunts poem #1 authentic thrills do not come oftennor are they oft forgot: one from myearly years, the easter bunny hidtiny candy bunnies all over the housewe four kids searched with squealsof delight at each discovery I peekedbehind the door of my room and herelay a whole cardboard box with somethirty of the precious…
Gonzo garbanzos
It’s that time of year when I’ve about used up last fall’s winter squash in my basement and all of last summer’s vegetables from my freezer and I’m looking for meal planning inspiration from my pantry. As I await the first spring radishes and lettuces, I’m leaning more on dried and canned beans to balance…
