PrideFest 2017
A fine time was had by all at Springfield PrideFest 2017 this past Saturday. Check out our photo gallery to relive the fun (or experience it for the first time if you were unable to make it) of the first ever Springfield PrideFest parade including the drag show, the rock climbing wall, the happy…
Oh, for a Thucydides of the prairie
In 2013, a too-small audience gathered on the U of I main campus to listen to the first of a series of lectures offered by the Prairie Research Institute, as our state’s scientific surveys are now collectively known. It began like this: “On a bright summer morning more than 50 years ago, my father said,…
Trumpty Dumpty
Comandante Trump, El Jefe, the gringo strongman! That’s the image our current Commander in Chief seems to be cultivating. He has surrounded himself with generals, he cavalierly threatens war with all “bad hombres,” he is drastically bulking up military spending, and he imperiously slaps foreign leaders, whole ethnic groups and entire nations with demeaning tweets…
A good time apparently wasn’t had by all
The thin-skinned, strong-arm Statehouse partisanship of the past two and a half years reached out and infected the Illinois Conference of Women Legislators’ annual fundraising gala last week. COWL is a bipartisan organization which raises money every year to “assist mature women who wish to continue their undergraduate education,” according to its website. “The goal…
Letters to the Editor 5/18/17
HUNTER LAKE ALTERNATIVESSpringfield city officials are changing the decades-old design for Hunter Lake. They are considering reducing the lake capacity from about 21 million gallons per day to around 12 million gallons per day. A smaller second lake would still meet the city’s projected water needs over the next nearly 50 years, according to…
Editor’s Note 5/18/17
It was the largest commencement in University of Illinois Springfield history, with 1,270 graduates walking across the stage. Their poetic names – Indian, African, Middle Eastern, Chicagoan – reflect the global diversity that UIS has come to represent. Near the front of the procession of academics, just ahead of Chancellor Susan Koch and Timothy Killeen,…
The budget process remains broken
Think about this for a moment: Two days away from a federal shutdown, Congress comes up with a stopgap measure to keep the government operating… for a week. A few days later it arrives at a bipartisan budget deal lasting a bit over four months. This, in turn, moves the president to take to Twitter…
Awe-inspiring art
The 56th annual Old Capitol Art Fair will take place in downtown Springfield on Saturday, May 20, and Sunday, May 21. The fair will feature fine art for sale in a wide variety of mediums, created by approximately 160 participating artists from around the country. The Old Capitol Art Fair will also showcase award-winning art…
Turtle time
On Saturday, May 20, don your green or best turtle-themed outfit to celebrate World Turtle Day three days early at the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site. Children of all ages are invited to the historic home to hear and learn about Vachel Lindsay’s poem titled “The Little Turtle” and act out the poem using…
Outdoor family fun
This Saturday, unplug from your phones, iPads, computers, video games, televisions and other electronic devices and celebrate the beginning of summer during this fun outdoor exercise event hosted by the Springfield Park District. Visit with park facility and program directors to get the scoop on seasonal fun in Springfield’s parks, enjoy concessions available for purchase…
Tale of whoa
A dear friend who’s also a co-worker just went through a breakup with her girlfriend, and she’s devastated. I don’t know what to tell her. I’ve tried everything: You dodged a bullet; it’s a blessing in disguise; you’re better off without her; you should get back out there. Everything I say seems to be wrong, and…
The gayest day in central Illinois
“I figured if Peoria was ready, Springfield was ready,” said Springfield PrideFest founder Jonna Cooley, offhandedly describing her rationale for starting up the festival celebrating the central Illinois LGBT community, being held for the seventh year on Saturday, May 20. Back in 2010 Springfield resident Cooley was running a booth at a Peoria Pride event…
Runners honor a hero and friend
Organizers from Lincoln Land Community College, the Illinois State Police and Illinois Air National Guard will host the Brian McMillen Memorial Run/Walk Saturday, May 27, at 8 a.m. on the LLCC Campus. At this 10th and final celebration of McMillen’s joy, service and sacrifice, his friends and family will provide the remaining funds to endow…
Lincoln’s photographer was unlucky in love
One of the first people to photograph Abraham Lincoln with a beard was Christopher S. German, who set up a daguerreotype studio in Springfield in early 1861. Before President-elect Lincoln left for Washington, he sat for German twice: once on Jan. 13, and once on Feb. 9. If Lincoln asked German about himself, he would…
Home is where the art is
This past Friday saw two concurrent opening receptions featuring eight artists spread across two galleries on the Springfield Art Association campus in the Enos Park neighborhood. Between the two exhibits, Springfield art appreciators were exposed to innovative work from artists based in Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and California. Camille Silverman credits the sense of hectic movement…
Civil war
Disagreements and dysfunction have been so serious at the Papers of Abraham Lincoln Project that the former director once threatened to move the program out of Illinois, according to testimony during a recent state civil service commission hearing. The threat came to nothing, but a chance to transcribe nearly 80,000 Lincoln documents in two years,…
Saving seniors from budget cuts
A new bill pledges to save low-income seniors from budget cuts proposed by Gov. Bruce Rauner.In a press conference at the State Capitol on May 10, Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Skokie, Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, and health-care advocates introduced the measure, imploring lawmakers to stop Rauner’s proposal. The bill requires…
UIS sued
Two former employees of the Intensive English Program at University of Illinois Springfield have sued UIS, claiming the university discriminated against students from the Middle East and Mexico. The federal lawsuits filed by Driss El-Akrich, a former IEP interim director, and Jacqueline Tanner, a former instructor, mirror each other. Both plaintiffs say that they suffered…
Lack of clear direction maroons Covenant
What began as a simple haunted house story set in outer space has become an enigmatic, existential treatise on man’s place in the universe and his origins. Eager to fill their coffers once more with one of their most popular franchises, 20th Century Fox approached director Ridley Scott to revive the Alien series he helped…
Mid-May music making
Things are heating up weather-wise and in live music functions. All the outdoor venues are in full swing with the out-of-doors music festivals coming your way. Yippee! Thursday comes but once a week, and this one has a once in a lifetime (but seriously, folks … think about it, isn’t everything?) show happening at Bar…
Chris Antonik
Considered one of Canada’s most acclaimed blues artists since being nominated for the “Best New Artist” award in 2011 at the Maple Blues Awards, guitar-playing and songwriting bluesman Chris Antonik (pronounced “AN-tah-nick,” not “tonic”) is out and about promoting a new record titled Monarch. Called “big R&B filtered through a Canadian cloth captured with perfect…
Farmers market inspiration
This weekend is the grand opening of the Old Capitol Farmers Market (OCFM), one of my favorite times of the year because it marks the return of our beloved Saturday morning market routine. The first stop is always coffee from Custom Cup, then croissants and crepes before getting down to the serious business of shopping.…
family story #14
the green mountains grace the horizonwhere we have a summer place one ofthe range resembles a gently curvingbreast complete with nipple wheneverdriving into the small town nearby we’dexit the woods and the skyline wouldcome into full view I’d always say “there’sbubby mountain” the kids offended wouldgroan complain roll their eyes upbraid meone trip we came…
