Cover Story
New vision? Or new prison?
The Lincoln Developmental Center, first called the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children, had a sordid history before former Gov. George Ryan closed it in 2002. Founded in 1877, it was an institution for developmentally challenged children and became the largest employer in Logan County. Ryan was pressured to shut it down by those advocating for…
Sheriff releases video of fatal jailhouse struggle
A Sangamon County jail video released today provides no clear view of an inmate struggling with jailers and being tased before losing consciousness on April 27, when he was pronounced dead after being rushed to a hospital. There is a 90-second gap in footage from a camera aimed down a corridor that gives a view…
Former secretary of state supervisor gets prison
‹ Left Center Right Resize Cancel Crop 660 x ✖i › ‹ Left Center Right Resize Cancel Crop 660 x 495 ✖i › A federal judge today sentenced a former top Secretary of State licensing official to 18 months in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the secretary of state and the…
Downtown divided
Mayor Jim Langfelder has changed plans to convert a portion of Adams Street into a pedestrian plaza during weekends, deciding that the street should remain open to vehicular traffic. The city had granted a permit to close Adams between Fourth and Fifth streets from noon on Fridays until Mondays at 7 a.m. through the end…
Sports betting
The Springfield City Council is contemplating a tax hike to help pay for youth athletic fields near the MacArthur Boulevard-Interstate 72 interchange. A proposed $36.25 million subsidy, including $30.5 million for construction and the balance for upkeep over 23 years, would be, so far as anyone can remember, the largest city grant for a private…
Working mothers hard hit by pandemic-related child care
New research shows pandemic-related child care burdens have magnified economic inequalities for women in the workforce in Illinois. That research was included in The Child Care Crisis in Illinois: A Survey of Working Mothers During the COVID-19 Pandemic, conducted by the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the…
Pandemic hit hotels hard
The Illinois economy shrank by 4 percent in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on many of its sectors, although there were signs of a recovery taking place late in the year. Those preliminary numbers, released last week by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), showed that the leisure, hospitality…
NEW MLK JR. STATUE
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White wants a new Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue in Springfield. White says he will contribute $5,000 toward a fund to design and build it. The current statue is across from the Statehouse on “Freedom Corner” – at the intersection of Capitol and Second streets. It was first placed…
WAR IN THE STREETS
If Mayor Jim Langfelder needs a second gig, he might want to consider being a traffic engineer. After announcing a plan to close Adams Street to vehicular traffic on weekends, the mayor now says that he wants to allow parklets – think jersey barriers fronting bars and restaurants that allow for al fresco while protecting…
Around the table with Mom
Mother’s Day customs in the United States are as varied as the mothers they celebrate. The holiday has evolved from its original purpose of promoting community service and education for women, to a more celebratory event reflecting a vivid patchwork of traditions. For some it’s a day to relax, some come to party, and for…
Mayhem in music
Oh, how I do love the month of May, with may-puns, may-days, maybes and may I’s all flowing together into a regular, delightful “mayhem” of merry-making, set up for weather-adjusted times of fun in the sun. Our live music scene is bursting at the seams, making up for last year’s loss by piling on the…
To serve, protect and tase
One question burns after the latest death at the local jail: Why have so many people died under the noses of people employed by the Sangamon County sheriff’s office? Say their names. Bobby Ray. Amon Paul Carlock. Maurice Burris. Pat Burns. Alonso Travis. Tiffany Rusher. And now, Jaimeson Daniel Cody, who died last week after…
Editor’s note 05-06-21
Ending this crisis all comes down to overcoming hesitancy. What is wrong with these people? They know the right thing to do, but instead stubbornly rely on excuses like not trusting the science, or needing time to see if it really works, or needing a friend or a faith leader to nudge them along. Come…
Hamilton and America’s legacy of gun violence
I may be years behind on the craze over Hamilton: An American Musical. But, when I finally did see it, it certainly left an impression. Mostly, I found it jarring in a way that continues to burn for me. I do love musical theater and films, so I also hold the same takeaways as do…
New director for LaSalle Veterans’ Home has no room for failure
The inspector general’s report on the deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs LaSalle Veterans’ Home is a maddening story of incompetence and chaos at every level. The IG report tells the story of an allegedly AWOL agency director; an in-over-his-head chief of staff; a crucial failure to fill an important upper…
Archival find # 37: “For Parents Day”
Archival find # 37: “For Parents Day” I found this saved in my folks’ files sent by myself, November 1978 Dear Mom and Dad, to say I appreciate the check is far too mild a word. You are the most generous people in the world and you have taught us all generosity too: with our…
Letters to the editor 05-06-21
PROTECT CITIZENS Many people were surprised to learn in last week’s cover story (“Force to be reckoned with,” April 29) that when police stop you for a broken tail light or any routine traffic violation, they may order you out of your vehicle for no other reason than the traffic stop, and doing so does…
