Grace about town 5-6-04
I want to thank all of you who sent me your ideas for improving our lovely city. Some were brief — “Cut down on noise polluation” (I assume they added the extra “a” for effect) — and some were mighty long and serious. Last week I mentioned the many complaints about other Springfieldians, but other…
People’s poetry 5-6-04
Cemetery Walk Large gathering of people to tour the resting places of those who traveled here to Springfield or were born here or left and returned but all are spending their final slumber beneath the branches of Oak Ridge aristocrats and gentleman women of character and lowly con men all sharing the earth in this…
Movi e review
Monstrous monster movie deserver an angry mob Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) wants to hatch his unborn progeny. He thinks that Wolfman’s blood and Frankenstein’s constitution are key to his plan. Enter Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman), a secret agent for the Vatican and emissary charged with killing evildoers. Along with his trusty sidekick, Carl (David Wenham),…
Breaking point
Over the past year there has been an unusually high number of suicides among U.S. troops in Iraq, and hundreds of soldiers experiencing stress-related psychological problems have been evacuated from the country. Given a recent burst of urban warfare in places such as Fallujah and the Pentagon’s decision to extend the tours of duty of…
A new blue
Indigo Grill is a spinoff of the city’s popular west-siderestaurant Indigo, but it has a face all its own. There are signs that the two restaurants are related — extensive wine lists, creative menus, and large paintings of blue dogs dotting the walls of both establishments — but several differences are evident as well. The…
Four best bets for Denzel Washington fans
Some people who work in film are actors, and some are stars. Denzel Washington is undeniably both. The TV drama St. Elsewhere first brought him attention, but his supporting role as antiapartheid martyr Steve Biko in Cry Freedom proved that he belonged on the big screen. Throughout his impressive career he has shifted effortlessly from…
Packed house
Every emergency and transitional shelter in Springfield remains filled beyond capacity despite the warm temperatures that signal the onset of spring. The names of men, women, and children are scribbled on waiting lists to occupy worn mats on cold basement floors rather than spend a restless night outdoors. Later this month, social service providers will…
Hired guns
When a suicide bomber parked a van disguised as an ambulance in front of the Shaheen Hotel in the Karadah neighborhood of Baghdad on Jan. 28 and blew himself up, he killed four people and wounded scores of others. He also blew the lid off a dirty little secret of the Coalition Provisional Authority: Due…
Toxic Rx
Dr. Spomemka Luedi is used to being ignored. Miles, her 9-year-old autistic son, won’t look her in the eye, talk, or listen. The Downers Grove dentist is one of many Illinois parents whose children began to show signs of autism after being vaccinated. In the ’90s, some research had identified a possible link between thimerosal,…
Rest in pieces
This weekend some 30,000 people are expected to stroll the expansive, rolling hills of Oak Ridge Cemetery for Mother’s Day. And if someone is injured while visiting a loved one’s gravesite, Springfield native Robert Pinkston won’t be surprised. “The mismanagement of that cemetery has created a dangerous environment,” Pinkston says. “If a skinny 8-year-old kid…
Knoepfle 5-6-04
old emblems where we have gone into our other selves we do not need to find each other at home in that country or bother to know what we know beloved things familiar images a place of concord the lights that burn there burn without flickering © John Knoepfle 2004
quick takes 5-6-04
“OBVIOUSLY, I’M BIASED” Sinclair Broadcast Group, in a move that captured national headlines, pre-empted last Friday’s broadcast of Nightline on its eight ABC Television affiliates. The reason? Anchor Ted Koppel planned to read the names of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq, and that was deemed unpatriotic. On Sunday, Sinclair’s Springfield station, WICS-TV (Channel…
A raindrop, trembling on grass
Alison Krauss has come a long way since her days on the Champaign talent-show circuit. The violin prodigy formed her own band at age 10, won the Illinois State Fair fiddle championship two years later, and scored a recording deal with Rounder Records by the time she was 14. By 16, she’d dropped her debut,…
Successful container gardening
Many gardeners do not have the space, energy, or time to devote to a flower or vegetable garden, but a container garden can add color to a patio, deck, balcony, or walkway. Some gardeners even incorporate containers into an existing garden as a way to add variety. Anything that will hold soil and plants and…
Spring cleaning
Last July, just after Don Kliment had been appointed police chief, he was invited to the fellowship hall of an East Side church for a Saturday morning meeting of Unity for Our Community. One question the members had for Kliment was why it takes Springfield Police Department so long to shut down a known drug…
Earth talk 5-6-04
Dear Earth Talk: I want to garden this spring without using chemicals. Are there any safe, non-toxic garden herbicides? — D. Muller, Jackson, Miss. There are now several natural herbicides on the market. One of the most effective natural ingredients is corn gluten meal, a yellow powder that is a waste product of the corn…
Now playing 5-6-04
Strike up the band — several of them in fact. Let’s see who’s on first, who’s on last, and what’s in between. All the signs of approaching summer are here. The oak trees are leafing out, the swallows are back, folks are donning shorts and losing shirts, but most importantly, the beer gardens are open.…
A passion for rail preserved George Pullman’s legacy
Although today we live in what might be called the post-railroad age, it is impossible to overstate the importance of railroads in the formation of our great nation. Before their appearance in the 1830s, the single, unified United States we think of today existed only in the minds of political thinkers, not in the minds…
On the road with Stein and on the Web
Poet laureate Kevin Stein is giving Illinois its words’ worth. When appointed to the four-year post three months ago, Stein promised to give four public readings per year. His appearance last week at the University of Illinois at Springfield was his 16th. Stein’s self-deprecating banter with the audience set the stage for his accomplishing one…
This isn’t Dixie
The concept of “racial slippage” is back, and it’s being misapplied to Illinois. The term describes a situation of minority candidates’ doing worse on Election Day than the polls predict. According to the theory, some white voters lie to pollsters and tell them they support a black candidate because they are embarrassed to admit that…
Prairie Notes 5-6-04
One of the best things about warm weather is setting up the grill and watching the kids play in the yard. Naturally, we want our lawns to look good and be safe places to roll around in — especially if you happen to be young enough to do that without . . . aftereffects. Lawns…
letters 5-6-04
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com A LINCOLN-HEARTED MAN Thank you for the excellent feature on Jerry Jacobson…
Aldermania: Classic controversy
All aldermen were on their best behavior (for a change) Tuesday night when the Springfield City Council met for what looked like a brief agenda. Ward 5 Alderman Joe Bartolomucci, whose questions about a lawsuit settlement loan have had Mayor Tim Davlin roasting over a spit ever since the last council meeting, sat through this…
