UI audit shows holes in the hull of state’s flagship school
A day after the University of Illinois announced its new president would make a $620,000 base salary, an audit revealed numerous issues with the way the state’s flagship school system is run. Released May 13 by Illinois Auditor General William Holland, the 392-page routine audit found 47 issues among UI schools at Chicago, Urbana-Champaign and…
Profiles in Courage against wrongful conviction
A special event will take place in Springfield on Monday, May 24, when exoneree Rolando Cruz comes to Springfield to recognize those who helped free him almost 15 years ago. In 1983, 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico was kidnapped from her Naperville home in the middle of the day, taken to a nearby wooded location and brutally…
FLOWIN FREELY
Join spoken word artists in the fight against cancer May 23 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. The “AfroFlow Tour” stops in Springfield this Sunday at 6 p.m., featuring hip-hop and spoken word recording artist MIKE-E, vocalist Kenny Watson, DJ Invisible, African percussionist Keita, and Senegalese bassist and singer Pathé Jassi. The event, developed…
Letters to the Editor 5/20/10
JUBILATION OR SHAME? Recently I read an article (Guestwork: “Golden anniversary of the pill,” IT, May 13) commenting on 50 years of “The Pill” which presented the fact as a cause of jubilation for all the benefits it brought for women. This opinion was presented in an article format as if it presented a commonly…
CAUTIOUS COMEBACK
One measure of the local economy is monthly building permits, based on the theory that building shows confidence in the economy, which in turn spurs more growth. If the latest numbers from the City of Springfield are any indication, we may just be on the path to recovery. From January to April of this year,…
Portion distortion
It’s an all-out war. A fierce, raging battle. On one side are those who are working to modify American eating habits to become healthier and more sensible in order to combat what have become epidemic levels of obesity and other dietary-related illnesses. On the other side are prepared food industries equally determined to increase their…
A quarter century of Elvis Himselvis
The concept of Elvis Presley impersonation now seems a given in our list of cultural entertainment choices, but at the time Rick Dunham began his pretender adventure in 1985 the King of Rock ’n’ Roll had died on his throne (or did he?) less than a decade before. Others began the business of being Elvis…
Auditor uncovers millions in misspent state funds
A series of audits released last week reveal a rash of problems among state agencies and programs. Performed by the office of Illinois Auditor General William Holland, the audits expose millions of dollars of undocumented spending, lax enforcement of inventory and spending controls and poor staff training that resulted in inaccurate financial records. An audit…
Kurt Crandall
The harmonica surely must be the easiest instrument to learn and the most difficult to master, thereby giving the world a glut of mediocre harp blowers and a handful of skillful players. Kurt Crandall, included in the latter category of harmonica enthusiasts, plies his trade across the U.S. and Europe on a regular basis from…
Preventing Alzheimer’s
Brent Bohlen, a retired state worker and current exercise enthusiast, is an unlikely person to be speaking to doctors at a high-level conference on Alzheimer’s disease held this month at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield. But several of those researchers say he may have discovered an effective form of prevention against the…
Robin Hood hits the bullseye
Prequels have always struck me as nothing more than a desperate attempt by film studios to milk the last dollar out of a previous successful film. (Butch and Sundance: The Early Days anyone?) And while Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood is not technically a prequel, it does strive to fill in some of the gaps in…
Pictorial topography
Champaign photographer Larry Kanfer is the artist whose work makes the walls come alive at the Robert Morris Gallery downtown through July. The exhibit features artwork that spans his career, including pieces from his popular Prairiescapes series. His portfolios also contain major collections of the entire American landscape and much of southern Europe. Kanfer has…
Noise about noise
Were a boom car to drive past city hall while Springfield’s city council was in session, the din would make it impossible to hear what the aldermen were saying. This is the sole public advantage of allowing the super-amped hip-hop-mobile to roam the capital’s streets at will, but anyone who has been following the debate…
East side murder brings call for change
A slightly tense and confrontational passion filled the air of an old meeting room at Union Baptist Church on Springfield’s east side. Gathered there on a humid Thursday evening last week were more than 50 activists, neighbors and business owners – all concerned about the state of their neighborhood. Their meeting was precipitated by tragedy,…
Pioneer fun
Meet the future Clayville Inn (pictured). The old stagecoach stop and first brick building in Sangamon County is part of a small historic village and site of the Clayville Spring Festival May 22-23. This promises to be an exciting two-day walk down history lane and all-around fun time all for ages with demonstrations, exhibits, tours,…
Springfield whipped up a storm
Today, Springfield’s downtown square is a peaceful place. Its manicured lawn and grand Old State Capitol suggest that it was a location of thoughtful debate and mannered discourse among our early lawmakers. But before the Old State Capitol was there, the square was the site of violent punishment for lawbreakers. Like many frontier towns, Springfield…
Park party
The Springfield Park District welcomes the public to their Summer Jamboree May 22 at Lincoln Park. Always a day full of outdoor fun for the family, visitors can win great prizes and participate in free activities all day. Representatives will be on hand from the Washington Park Botanical Garden, Nelson Center, the Recreation Department, Pre-school…
Hip-hop et cetera
Nationally known hip-hop recording artist and poet, Michael “MIKE-E” Ellison and his nationwide AfroFlow Tour perform at the Hoogland May 23 as part of the American Cancer Society’s tobacco prevention campaign using music, comedy, spoken word and dance. The night opens with local artists Latrice Ware, Larry Hemingway, Sr., Tebe Zalango and the local winner…
Nana’s chocolate pudding
If you’ve only ever had pudding from a box, you’ll be surprised at how flavorful this homemade version is – and that it doesn’t take much more time than the pre-fab stuff. Nana used regular Dutch cocoa; I prefer Hershey’s Special Dark, and substituting dark brown sugar for white. Made with skim milk, it only…
In Illinois politics, it’s Goofballs vs. Goofballs
It occurred to me not long ago that the best analogy for this year’s governor’s race would be if the Washington Generals played the Washington Generals. The Washington Generals basketball team was formed in the 1950s specifically to play solely against the Harlem Globetrotters. The Generals lost more than 13,000 games in the ensuing decades…
What a holy mess our oil addiction is causing
Luckily, as our country tries to cope with another oozing oil disaster, we have political leaders with the insight, expertise and cool heads to analyze the problem precisely and guide us to rational long-term solutions. For example, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. Known as the Sage of Paint Creek, Texas, this towering intellect was among…
