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The governor and the press
The most intriguing part of dustups over Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Quincy Veterans Home, where 13 people have died from Legionnaire’s disease, isn’t epidemiology. The governor’s ability to turn scandal into something worse is what fascinates and appalls. The state screwed up by failing to promptly tell residents, their kin and employees that an…
Trump’s new war
Get ready, America – here we go … to war! This kind of war is an affront to the values that most of us hold dear, and this war is truly nasty and evil: A war on the poor. Generalissimo Trump is personally directing the hostilities in this assault on – surprise – the U.S.…
With him, around him or through him
“Nothing’s more important for a governor than having a good budget because that allows you to manage the state to do your job.” Let that recent quote from former Gov. Jim Edgar as reported by The State Journal-Register sink in for a bit. “Nothing’s more important for a governor than having a good budget because…
Letters to the Editor 5/17/18
SPORTS GAMBLING The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law that prohibits sports gambling. I strongly disagree with the high court’s decision based in a states’ rights argument. I too believe in states’ rights, but this is not the issue in this case. The real matter at hand is whether the American people have…
Editor’s note 5/17/18
In Hamilton, the musical, at one point the lead character knows trouble is coming. “In the eye of a hurricane,” he sings, “There is quiet/ For just a moment/A yellow sky.” In this week’s cover story, Sen. Sam McCann is using the calm before the storm to gather petition signatures. If he gets enough by…
All rise! Drug court offers help and hope
A courtroom is not a place where you would expect to find scenes of celebration and tears of joy. Unless, of course, it is drug court. This month, over 3,000 drug courts and other treatment courts nationwide will celebrate National Drug Court Month and the most successful justice innovation in American history. By May 31,…
No H8, no labels
On May 19, Springfield Pridefest, the gayest celebration in town, returns for another year. The festivities kick off with a parade at 11:30 a.m., beginning at Fifth and Allen streets, leading north up Fifth Street to Jackson Street, and entering the Pridefest grounds via Capitol Street for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon. The afternoon will…
Movies in the Park
Bring your friends, families, blankets and lawn chairs to the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon on Friday, May 18, and settle in for a showing of Disney’s Coco, the first installment of the Springfield Park District’s 2018 “Movies in the Park” summer entertainment series. Coco is a 3D computer-animated fantasy film that tells the story of…
Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Attend a book signing and presentation by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Garrow on Tuesday, May 22, in honor of his book Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama. The book, which provides the most detailed description of Obama’s life before entering the White House, uses interviews and meticulous reporting to showcase Obama’s political ambitions and…
Waif watchers
I’m a 33-year-old woman, and I’ve always been thin. I lost about 12 pounds after a tough breakup. I’m working on getting back to a healthier weight. However, people keep making cutting remarks about how thin I look. Yesterday a friend said, “You’re so skinny it’s gross!” I’d noticed that she’d gained quite a bit…
Disrupter for governor
Talk about being unfriended. If State Senator Sam McCann from the Macoupin County community of Plainview was unpopular with the powers that be in Springfield before, he became a virtual pariah following his April 19 announcement that he would form the Conservative Party and become the third candidate for Illinois governor. The reaction from those…
World Affairs Council makes global issues local
Since 1988 the World Affairs Council of Central Illinois (WACCI) has been sponsoring programs to educate citizens in the local area about U.S. foreign policy, global economic and environmental issues and international politics. WACCI, affectionately pronounced “wacky” by its members, hosts a speaker series with recognized experts on a wide range of topics of global…
Bringing the world into the classroom
Mention the Galapagos Islands and many think of tortoises or Charles Darwin. Layne Zimmers discovered there is so much more to this area of the world when she was selected as a Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Grosvenor Fellow and had the chance to spend eight days with photographers, naturalists and storytellers on the Islands…
Digging the state out of the hole it’s in
On Thursday, May 10, at the Rendezvous Room in the Wyndham Springfield City Centre, NPR Illinois and Illinois Issues presented the first in their most recent series of traveling forums happening across the state, sponsored by AARP Illinois. The forums are collectively entitled “Election 2018: Seeking Solutions” and the Springfield event was moderated by NPR…
For good or ill, Deadpool 2 delivers more of the same
One of the secrets to the success of the character Deadpool is that he is the ultimate vicarious instrument. Much like Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry, he says what we’d like to say and responds to crises in a violent, straightforward manner. These characters are not handcuffed by the social niceties most of us feel compelled…
May music flowers
Maybe it’s the heat, maybe it’s the rain; more likely it’s both or neither, but whatever is going on, the music always starts to bloom around this time of year. Then everything melds – and sometimes melts – perfectly into summer festivals, outdoor gigs, burgoos, bashes, homecomings, fairs, beer tents, winery patios, and all such…
Jesse W. Johnson Band
Originally a resident of Springfield before relocating to Champaign, Jesse W. Johnson then moved to Chicago, where he made a splash as the frontman and songwriter in Jet W. Lee, a band that successfully recorded and toured nationally. Soon after a solo record release and time spent negotiating the music landscape, JWJ struck out with…
poem on chaplain firing #1
poem on chaplain firing #1 never under-es-tu-mitthe power of a je-su-it ©2018 Jacqueline Jackson
The best time of the food year
This Saturday is the opening day of the Old Capitol Farmers Market (OCFM). I’ve had the day circled in my calendar for weeks now – I feel like a little kid counting the days until her birthday party. Though I consider myself a farmers market enthusiast and regular, it wasn’t until I spoke with some…
