Seeing Grandma in a new setting
In “Underground movements” (Nov. 12, 2009) I took a nearly serious look at the problem of what to do with human remains on a planet becoming short of both space and resources. Donating healthy organs is a crude recycling scheme, but its effect on the larger problem is minuscule, and in any event, what…
Our memory as a people
Yes, I do go on a bit about the library of Illinois history whose future is at stake in the wrangling over who runs the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. I believe that the fate of the library matters because history matters – history that is of a certain kind, or rather,…
Photo Gallery: The Pharmacy Highbrow/Lowbrow reception tonight and tomorrow
Tonight and tomorrow The Pharmacy will be presenting its latest show of new work by member artists. Photographer Pat Yeagle got some shots of the exhibit while it was still being constructed. Watch the slideshow below,
Higher mission
While researching my recent column on the State of Illinois’ historical library (see “An overdue policy on the library”) I made (or rather renewed) my acquaintance with John Francis Snyder. As recalled by Roger D. Bridges, the struggle in the 1890s and into the early 1900s to set up and run that library was dominated…
Rereading the past
In my recent column titled “An overdue policy on the library,” I quoted from a very interesting article about the history of Illinois’ history library, Roger D. Bridges’ “The Origins and Early Years of the Illinois State Historical Society” (Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Vol. 68, No. 2 (Apr., 1975), pp. 98-120). That…
And the winner is . . .
Wise heads at the statehouse have been scratched as observers try to make sense of the antagonistic stances taken by Illinois’ new governor. One explanation is that he is uninterested in actually governing Illinois, but is positioning himself as a Republican Presidential contender four years from now. Evidence accumulates that, for GOP voters, what matters…
No Resurrecting “Lazarus Effect”
I suppose it’s a prerequisite that characters in horror films have never seen any horror films themselves. If they did, then they would know better than to go into the dark house, venture into the creepy woods at night or pick up the hitchhiker at the side of the road. No, their ignorance is required so that…
Researching reefer
PHOTO BY Paul Kitagaki Jr./TNS As Illinois implements its long-awaited medical marijuana program, one state lawmaker is preparing for the next step: taxing and regulating recreational marijuana. Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, sponsors House Bill 2750, which would direct the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council (SPAC) to study the potential effects of taxing and regulating marijuana…
Rauner’s long shot: Right-to-work zones
About the articleThis article is the product of a collaboration between Illinois Times and the Better Government Association. The BGA is an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit government watchdog that specializes in investigativereporting with media partners throughout the state. The BGA’s Rescuing Illinois Project is an ongoing series of in-depth reports examining state government and its…
Many artists, multiple mediums
Mystic Harmony and 6×6 Painting Raffle This Saturday, join the Prairie Art Alliance for Mystic Harmony, a collaborative mixed-media art exhibition by Prairie Art Alliance members. The featured artists for this exhibit are Toni Wrightsman, Tess Sakolsky and Delinda Chapman, who will kick off the event with an ArtTalk 5:30-6 p.m. in the LRS Theatre.…
Music givers
The PaperRoute plays upstairs at Arlington’s on March 7 for an American Cancer Society benefit concert. Pictured are Sean M. Butler and Shayla Logan, two members of the seven-piece band. So many times when benefits and fundraisers look for support in drawing attention to an event, live music is involved. Many times the musicians themselves…
County cop hit again
A Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy with a history of running afoul of judges is again in trouble in a courtroom. This time, Deputy Travis Koester is in the crosshairs of U.S. District Court Judge Sue Myerscough, who has signaled strongly that she will find that he needlessly tased and arrested a woman who posed no…
Bureaucracy follies
Curses, foiled againGregory Dike, 38, received 11 years in jail for robbing 10 banks across England. Police arrested him after he booked a taxi for his getaway, but the driver realized what was happening and refused to wait. “He was undoubtedly a beginner,” Detective Constable Darren Brown said. “We found robbery ‘self-help’ downloads on his…
Pay as you leave
I guess you could call it a roaming charge. State Sen. Chapin Rose, a Republican from over Mahomet way, has introduced a bill to reform the program that grants tuition aid at state colleges and universities to roughly 140,000 poor students. Mr. Rose would like those students to repay those grants if they leave Illinois…
Hope fiend
I met this man a few years ago and it was like a thunderbolt struck us – the stuff movies are made of. He told me that his female roommate was just a friend. We went on a few dates before I realized she was actually his girlfriend. He promised that they were going to…
Is the American business community racist?
The film Selma calls us to consider where we stand today and what we are doing as individuals and communities about racial justice. In the past few months a rainbow of people has taken to protesting in cities throughout the country. Racial injustice brought to light by failures of grand juries to indict white police…
Pension tension
The Illinois Supreme Court will hear arguments on a lawsuit over public pension benefits next week, bringing to a head fundamental disagreements over the rights conferred by Illinois’ constitution and whether an emergency justifies overriding the constitution. If state employees and retirees are successful, they’ll see a law which undisputedly reduces the value of their…
Modern family
The patchwork quilt that is Illinois family and divorce law is getting restitched for the first time in nearly 40 years, with potential changes for divorce and child custody cases. The Illinois Family Law Study Committee, a legislative advisory group created to make recommendations for updating the state’s marriage law, is proposing a handful of…
Second Exotic: Bland and familiar
Diana Hardcastle and Ronald Pickup in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. PHOTO FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES The last thing I expected going into The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was to hear the whiny blues-rock strains of George Thorogood and the Destroyers. And yet, there was “Who Do You Love?” blasting from the screen as…
Gold Poem, for the Veaches
Good friends, I wrote this poemtwo years ago, at the Veaches’ Golden Wedding celebration, and Jerry’s death, but didn’t print it. Now I do; I’ve been with the Veach family the past two weeks, at Becky’s death and a loving moving ceremony. We are Family. Many of you will remember Becky from her Chatham and…
Cultures and characters
Writing Chicago: A Literary Reading The UIS ECCE Speaker Series continues on Friday, March 6, at 7 p.m., with a presentation and readings by fiction writer and poet Stuart Dybek. Dybek will read from his new collection of short stories about love, Paper Lantern, and from two previous collections, I Sailed with Magellan and The…
Triumph, tragedy and Torch Tuesday
Torch Tuesday regulars hold up a poster in tribute to Tatted Lee, late member of Group of the Year winner AMN. PHOTO BY ALAN KOZELUH Since 2010, Bar None in downtown Springfield has played host to Torch Tuesday, billed as “the longest running hip-hop open mic in central Illinois.” More than just a showcase for…
One last request
Everett Cearlock , pictured with Bonnie Myers, enjoys a Cadilac ride made possible by Memorial Medical Center Foundation’s Sharing Wishes Fund, which grants the final wishes of hospice patients. When hospice patient Dorothy learned that her time on earth was coming to a close, she had a simple request: she just wanted one last margarita.…
SHE’S BACK – MAYBE
Sherry Waldron, a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy fired after being accused of stealing plants in 2012, has been ordered reinstated by an arbitrator who also ruled that she is entitled to back wages, which could cost the county six figures. The decision marked the second time that arbitrator Dennis McGilligan has ordered Waldron reinstated. His…
The art of text
The art of text The first portion of a new art exhibition spanning multiple Springfield venues opens this week at the Illinois State Museum. Pro-Text: When Words Enter Visual Art explores the varied ways that artists incorporate language into visual art, from traditional art to new media. This exhibit features work by emerging and mid-career…
Letters to the Editor 3/5/15
FACTORY FARMS Where are all the factory farms in Illinois? The Illinois EPA (IEPA) still has no idea. In early February, the Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water (ICCAW) and other groups filed comments to the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) due to IEPA’s lack of an accurate inventory of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)…
Sprout into spring
Locally grown ones are available throughout the year, even in darkest, coldest winter. And it’s also possible to grow your own all year long. Sprouts. They are simply the first growth of seeds. There is actually very little difference – both nutritionally and flavor-wise – between the first little peeps of green pushing through the…
Bruce’s budget address boo-boo
A rookie mistake has led to some big problems. House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton both believed that Gov. Bruce Rauner would ask to postpone the scheduled Feb. 18 budget address. The current fiscal year’s outlook was so incredibly dire (by the Democrats’ own making), that the veteran Democratic leaders figured Rauner…
Editor’s note 3/5/15
On Monday staff writer Bruce Rushton broke the story on illinoistimes.com that Vince DeMentri, anchor for WICS television news, had been involved in an election night bar fight at Hooters with Garrett Brnger, another reporter for the station. One of the combatants told police he had been bloodied when he fell from a barstool. Both…
Dexter O’Neal and Funk Yard
Dexter O’Neal and Funk Yard Currently based out of Peoria, singer-guitarist-performer Dexter O’Neal was born in Ferriday, La. His earliest musical memories are from that area, singing in one room churches with his grandmother. When Dexter was five, his family moved to Bloomington, Ill., where he sang in the Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church and spent…
BUILDING BETTER BRIDGES
How can a few file folders be used to support almost 70 pounds? Just ask Ben Thomas, Alex Harvatin and Tucker Schmidt from Sacred Heart-Griffin High School in Springfield. Their “Tacoma Narrows 2” bridge, made entirely of file folders and glue, weighed only 100 grams but supported an incredible 69 pounds to win the Illinois…
The KBParty of Plutocratic Rule
Shouldn’t America have at least one major party that isn’t beholden to the corporate elite? Well don’t look now, but such a party has recently popped up, raring to roar into the 2016 presidential race. Called the KBParty, it has the funding, political network and expertise needed to bypass the establishment’s control of the election…
