Brother, can you spare an Abe?
How desperate is the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, which owes nearly $10 million for Lincoln artifacts? Check out the foundation’s GoFundMe.com campaign, set up after quiet efforts to secure a state bailout failed. “Save Lincoln Artifacts! Donate NOW!” In just one day, the foundation has raised $1,125 toward its $9.7 million goal, according to…
Selling Lincoln
The collection includes gloves that Lincoln wore to Ford’s Theater and a hat that has had its provenance questioned. Shortly after the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation closed a 2007 deal to buy a trove of Lincoln artifacts for $23 million, the nonprofit foundation signed an agreement with the state-owned presidential museum aimed at ensuring…
H.O.T. means hope for the homeless
When Nate Schwiethale joined the Wichita police force 17 years ago he was assigned to downtown, where he spent most of his time dealing with homeless people, who often had substance abuse problems, mental illness or both. He would arrest them for drinking or panhandling and send them off to jail. After a short stay…
Patience, secrecy in the Kochs’ conspiracy
In 1933, a handful of wealthy Wall Streeters were upset that the newly elected president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had dared to tax the rich in order to fund programs to lessen the painful poverty people were experiencing due to the Clutch Plague. They were so upset that they came up with a ridiculous plan to…
The state of higher education in Illinois
Eastern Illinois University’s legislative liaison Katie Anselment had some strong words for legislators during an Illinois Senate Higher Education Committee hearing last week. Anselment testified against a bill that would create a pilot program to allow a downstate community college to offer nursing bachelor’s degrees. The four-year universities view this legislation as a dangerous slippery…
Letters to the Editor 5/10/18
KEEP AMTRAK STAFFED When properly staffed, Amtrak train stations provide a vital transportation link for many communities with limited transportation alternatives. However, Amtrak has recently begun eliminating customer service representative (ticket agent) jobs at many stops across the country. While Amtrak trains will continue to stop at these stations, passengers will lose access to: •…
A fate worse than death
My grandmother, whom we called “Nana,” always loved children. Many times, she asked me to give her great-grandchildren. In 2000, the moment finally arrived. But it didn’t seem to matter. Eagerly, tenderly, I lay my newborn son in her arms. She sat motionless, her eyes void. No expression whatsoever. I searched her face, desperately hoping…
Cigars and craft beer for charity
On Friday, May 11, don’t miss the FatAss 5K Craft Beer and Cigar Festival, located on Seventh Street between Celtic Mist and the President Abraham Lincoln Springfield – a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. The festival, a precursor to Saturday’s FatAss 5K and Street Party for Charity, features food and drinks for purchase from food trucks…
Saturday night sketch comedy
Don’t miss the first-ever complete sketch comedy show by Capital City Improv, titled One Flu over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The show, which will be presented twice on Saturday, May 12, is inspired by the words of Abraham Lincoln and the music of Queen and is perfect for fans of The Second City or “Saturday Night…
Children in concert
On Saturday, May 12, experience a magnificent concert that will close out the 2017-2018 season for the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony and Sangamon Civic Orchestra. The concert, under the direction of Matthew Sheppard, features Sir William Walton’s “Crown Imperial.” The concert will also include a Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony performance of Franz Schubert’s “Symphony No.…
More fire than smoke
As a basketball player, Heather Moore didn’t fit the mold. Chiefly, she was too short and too slight – vintage media guides from High Point University in North Carolina, her alma mater, list her at five foot six. In middle school, she played at south of five feet, and her coach told her that she’d…
New Orleans groove, excellent cause
“I’m just another New Orleans musician, that’s all I am,” said Charmaine Neville, who will be returning to Springfield to perform with her band at Erin’s Pavilion on Friday, May 11. The singer and bandleader is being modest. A member of one of the most influential and longstanding families in American music, Neville has relatives…
A fictional Illinois small-town police chief, pregnant and endearing
Kelly McMullin is a 30-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, having served the final decade as a detective in the bomb squad. Relocating to Loda, in east central Illinois, he began his writing career to clear his mind of the many memories from police service. His teenage daughter suggested that he write fiction with…
Ireland’s ambassador visits Mother Jones
On May 4, Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States, Daniel Mulhall, visited the Mother Jones Monument in Mount Olive, where he met with Northern Illinois University Prof. Rosemary Feurer, director of the Mother Jones Heritage Project. Mulhull traveled to central Illinois with Brian O’Brien, Consul General of Ireland, whose office is in Chicago. The ambassador…
Celebrating three decades, Skank Skates needs help
George Sinclair started building skateboard ramps as a bored Petersburg teenager in the 1970s. At 16, the city of Petersburg paid him $300 to build a 10-foot half-pipe for a contest at a citywide event. “I built it, they had the contest, and then they gave the ramp to me,” he said. The young Sinclair’s…
Faris and Derbez keep Overboard afloat
There’s really no reason for Rob Greenberg’s Overboard to exist. The 1987 original with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn is a perfectly serviceable light comedy that’s readily available on streaming services and has become a cornerstone of the TBS movie canon. Actually, the true purpose of this vehicle is to introduce American audiences to Eugenio…
Made-up music and mom
Welcome to Mother’s Day weekend in the merry month of May. The made-up music comes on strong as several all-original artists take to the stages. Let us first send our heartfelt condolences to the family of Shane Shomidie for the tragic loss of this fine, young man, who is the son of musician Micky Shomidie.…
The Pine Mountain Logs
When they say “you’re not bragging if it’s a fact,” those “theys” could be talking about The Pine Mountain Logs, who claim to be “The World’s Best Cover Band with International Fame in Global Proportions” and actually, in several valid opinions, most likely are. Existing as the alter ego of the original music band Venice,…
mothers day poem #7
mothers day poem #7(in a letter from my father, 1960) “Your mother is in Chicago working onher American Music project. Some dayI’ll have to harness her ability and energyto some enterprise in which the pay isin line with the genius brought to the task.I could retire! The current joke around hereis that I have taken…
Irreverent paella
I was traveling recently and needed to stop for a dinner break while en route. I found an attractive looking restaurant that specialized in “fusion” cuisine. I ordered a grilled chicken Banh Mi and Korean Kalbi baby back ribs. Though both dishes were tasty, the Banh Mi was merely a grilled chicken sandwich with carrot…
