Cover Story
Prison or treatment?
This story is a collaboration between Illinois Answers and the Chicago bureau of MindSite News. Bloomington native Shayla Woodworth had struggled with mental illness and addiction since she was a teen and spent time in jail in three states. She’d heard of mental health courts before but didn’t know much about them, and assumed they were something of…
“It didn’t have to end like that”
A federal jury in the Central District of Illinois has awarded $3 million to the family of a man who died while incarcerated at Jacksonville Correctional Center, concluding that a prison doctor and a private medical contractor were negligent in failing to treat a life-threatening condition. The verdict followed a weeklong trial in U.S. District…
Springfield’s story isn’t decline
The recent article “Tourism is up, but downtown is hurting” (April 23) captures a reality many Springfield residents and business owners feel every day: change is underway, and not all of it has been easy. Empty storefronts, the closure of a major downtown hotel and the lingering effects of a devastating fire have created real…
Pavlova is a beautiful, tasty dessert
Pavlova is a lofty, show-stopping dessert that’s at once beautiful, easy and economical. Essentially a giant baked meringue with a crusty exterior and a fluffy, marshmallow-like interior, pavlova is fervently beloved by both Australians and New Zealanders alike. The recipe’s history is a source of much dispute between the two nations which both claim it…
Antiracism and reimagining community
We are long past the denial stage in the face of increasingly open attempts to reassert white racial dominance. In just the past week: Race and white supremacy were socially constructed in Europe to justify the permanent enslavement of people based solely on skin color. That system became the economic engine of this country and…
