“Maleficent” An Unnecessary Take on an Old Tale
Some things are better left alone. Sometimes, those who wear white hats shouldn’t have them tarnished while those who don the black version shouldn’t have them lightened. Obviously, in life it’s better to understand how people become the way they are but as far as some forms of entertainment, absolutes are better where dramatic tension…
SOHO turns 10
“SOHO is a vehicle to expose Springfield to its own unique talent” Twenty years ago, Eric Welch had a vision. “I was 21 years old,” he recalls, “and I’d started going out to the bars and seeing local bands that I was thrilled by. Then I would go downtown to all these music festivals –…
Amen
A while back I complained about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permitted the use of explicitly Christian prayers to open public meetings even though such rituals make it plain to non-Christians present that they are not part of the community. I belatedly ran across Chicago Reader columnist Michael Miner’s treatment of the same topic. Read…
“You can’t not catch ’em”
A faithful reader alerted me to a fun piece in The Scientist, which describes itself as the magazine for life science professionals. As everyone knows by now, various species of Asian carp have come to infest the state’s waterways, in particular the Illinois River. People have talked about poisons or electric shock to rid the Illinois of these…
Hipster patriotism
The June 2 issue of New York magazine included a good piece by Will Leitch titled, “Is 2014 the Year Soccer in America (Truly) Goes Mainstream?” Leitch charts soccer’s surprising rise in popularity among U.S. fans. He (aptly, I think) describes the current national men’s team going the World Cup finals in Brazil as “an…
Another 15 minutes of fame
Curses, foiled again• British police arrested five members of a Liverpool gang for breaking into a clothing store after-hours after they attracted the attention of customers at a bar next door with loud banging while using a sledge hammer to smash the door. The suspects were apprehended after a high-speed chase. Attorneys for the defendants…
Six degrees of Michael Madigan
There’s an old Statehouse saying that House Speaker Michael Madigan cares mostly about two votes each Democratic legislator makes: One to re-elect him Speaker, the other for his chamber’s operating rules. Some, like Rep. Elaine Nekritz, have gotten away with voting against Madigan’s rules. Nekritz explained to Madigan why she voted against them and he…
Schutte headed for Aspen – again!
Central Illinois Organic Farmer Stan Schutte with Chicago Chef Tim Graham. PHOTO COURTESY TIM GRAHAM Two years ago, I wrote about Stan Schutte, the central Illinois farmer whose heritage breed Tamworth pig won the national Cochon 555 competition against other regional winners in cities all around America with pork dishes created by Chicago chef Jason…
Open your files
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that state’s attorneys are subject to the state Freedom of Information Act. The May 22 ruling came after at least three courts ruled that prosecutors need not respond to FOIA requests because they are branches of the judiciary by virtue of being created by the same article of the…
Blended a familiar concoction
Drew Barrymore as Lauren Reynolds and Adam Sandler as Jim Friedman in Blended PHOTO COURTESY WARNER BROS. PICTURES As funny as it sounds, I held out a modicum of hope for Blended. After all, two of Adam Sandler’s more successful films, The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates, also co-starred Drew Barrymore and there’s no…
Inside look
This downtown architectural walking tour begins in front of the Lincoln Herndon Law Office on south Old State Capitol Plaza at Sixth and Adams streets at 5:30 p.m. Join Anthony Rubano (pictured here on a previous tour), of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, who will discuss the architectural styles, materials and treatments on Adams St.…
A novel of the coal mine union struggle, set in Virden
Sixteen Tons, by Kevin Corley.Hardball Press, 2014. These are perilous times for the working men and women of America. Recent elections have swept conservative political leaders into power in state governments across the nation and those elected officials have set their sights on the wages and benefits of workers in the public and private sectors.…
Local network investigates innocence nationwide
David Camm PHOTO BY BILL CLUTTER A Springfield-based network is helping connect wrongfully convicted people across the country to professionals who can help. The Investigating Innocence organization was formed in January 2013 by local private investigator Bill Clutter and University of Illinois Springfield students. The group connects criminal defense attorneys and private investigators to inmates…
In central Illinois, VA means delay
Ed Boblitt just before his deployment to Vietnam in 1968. To his left, his fiancee Janice. The couple broke their engagement in 1969 and were married in 2009, 40 years later. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs scandal is starting to hit closer to home. It was late 2013 when Dr. Sam Foote filed a…
More of the same from Congress
I felt a brief surge of hope about Congress a few weeks ago. It was returning from Easter recess, and Capitol Hill was filled with talk about immigration reform, a minimum-wage bill, a spending bill to keep the government operating, and maybe even funding for transportation infrastructure. But, as I said, it was brief. That’s…
Letters to the Editor 5/29/14
ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX K. FONG/MCT LEARNING CURVESDid anyone else find it odd that Jeanne Allen of the Center for Education Reform didn’t spell out what she means when she says she wants parents to “take 20 years of lessons learned and move them into every community?” (“What parents need to know about schools,” May 22.)…
Unwavering spirit
The Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Dairy of Anne Frank opens Theatre in the Park’s summer season May 30. There will be six performances in the outdoor theatre at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site in Petersburg. “The play transports the audience back more than 70 years to experience what it was to be a Jew…
Firing back
PHOTO BY RON JENKINS/MCT Three people denied permits to carry concealed firearms have sued the state, saying that the state has violated their rights by rejecting applications to carry concealed weapons. The plaintiffs each received a form letter from Illinois State Police stating that their application was rejected based on concerns from law enforcement that…
Koch brothers demand more
Hypothetical conundrums can provide some valuable learning experiences for students of corporate management and ethics, so let’s study one. Suppose you’re a corporate chieftain who’s an adamant acolyte of Ayn Randian, free-enterprise fundamentalism, despising government regulation, compulsory taxation and government intervention in the purity of the holy marketplace. But – whoopsie daisy – suddenly a…
May into June music
Hospital Job plays punk at Skank Skates on Friday, May 30. PHOTO BY TISH GOFF As we wrap up the end of May music scene, things are hopping and happening all over the place. With June on the rise we’ve got the SOHO Music Fest downtown on June 6 and 7, The Romantics at the…
Medical marijuana rules spark concerns
Speaking from his wheelchair, Dennis Garland of Chatham addresses regulators in a May 21 public hearing on medical marijuana, urging the state to roll the program out immediately. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Illinoisans want their medical marijuana sooner, cheaper and with fewer restrictions. At a May 21 public hearing in Springfield, several speakers asked the…
Presidential politics
Personalities, politics and power have been on parade since House Speaker Michael Madigan proposed that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum be divorced from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and become a standalone state agency. The proposal came one week before adjournment and without input from Gov. Pat Quinn, who would lose authority to…
New City Road
Named after a blacktop south of town, New City Road plays country music of the hot and modern type, keeping the traditions alive while still rockin’. Originally formed a year or so ago, the band underwent some personnel changes, with Aley Mundstock (lead vocals), Harry Lounsberry (keys, vocals) and Ryan King (guitars, banjo), remaining from…
Exclude me in your prayers
I have long wondered why God, who for decades has been routinely invited to watch over the General Assembly and guide its deliberations, has asked Mike Madigan to do that job for him. Now I know. The prayers recited by invited clergy to open legislative sessions in Illinois weren’t specific enough to make clear which…
musicpoem #32
driving listening to music over NPRvisualizing choreography costumes Igot to wondering what music can’t yousee dancers real music I mean well bachbut no there are all those gigues gavottesbut a brandenburg? the third? dancerswould be exhausted before the end of the lastmovement dervishes unless they took turnsoho here’s good ol’ flight of the bumble beedidn’t…
Letters to the Editor 5/29/14
Once again the General Assembly leaves town amid chaos, with a who-knows-what’s-in-it budget that doesn’t balance with projected revenues because legislators refused to pass the income tax extension that Illinois sorely needed. Deficits remain, backlogs will grow, reforms will be shelved, cuts will be needed. In other words, the status quo continues. Some may argue…
First-class bells
PHOTO BY ANITA STIENSTRA The International Carillon Festival returns to Washington Park June 4-8. Touted as one of the world’s most important and prestigious carillon events, this year’s carillonneurs are Robin Austin (USA), Geert D’hollander (Belgium), Frans Haagan (The Netherlands), Claire Halpert (USA), Caleb Malamed (USA), Eddy Marien (Belgium), James Rogers (USA) and students Annie…
Que syrah syrah
I’ve been dating a fun, very attractive woman for about a month, and things have been going great. However, on our last date, we were out at dinner, and the female server accidentally spilled an entire glass of red wine on her dress. Though the server seemed mortified and apologized profusely, my date absolutely lost…
