Cover Story
“No schoolers”
It was on L.J.’s 11th birthday, in December 2022, that child welfare workers finally took him away. They arrived at his central Illinois home to investigate an abuse allegation and decided on the spot to remove the boy along with his baby brother and sister – the “Irish twins,” as their parents called them. His…
Murder charges filed against sheriff’s deputy
A 30-year-old Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy was indicted July 17 on first-degree murder charges in the July 6 shooting death of Sonya Massey. Sean Grayson is in police custody, has been fired by the sheriff’s department and will make his first court appearance on July 18, when he will be arraigned on three counts of…
City council moves Frito-Lay project forward, despite objections from neighbors
Almost two dozen neighbors of what is expected to be a large Frito-Lay distribution center along Interstate 55 near the Chatham exit left a Springfield City Council meeting frustrated July 16. The council voted 6-3 in favor of zoning variances allowing the project to move forward. Voting in favor were Alds. Chuck Redpath of Ward…
Probe into shooting of Sonya Massey complete
The Illinois State Police investigation into the July 6 shooting death of Sonya Massey at the hands of Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies is complete. And Massey’s family plans to meet with ISP officials and the Sangamon County state’s attorney the afternoon of July 17 at the Springfield NAACP building at 801 S. 11th St. to…
A transformed terrorist
He was committed and unmovable in his personal and religious convictions. He was operating on his own. Yet he had the full support of his religious leaders. Everybody he could find who had veered from the teachings of the faith were subject to his incarceration to be brought back for trial and subsequent punishment. He…
Debate continues on fixing Chicago-area transit system
A little-noticed bill passed both the Illinois House and Senate that will generate $300 to $400 million a year for local governments, including $95-127 million for the Regional Transportation Authority. The bill (SB3362) will help capture sales tax revenue from more out-of-state retailers and in-state retailers who ship to Illinoisans in out-of-state locations. The new…
Protesters demand release of video in Black woman’s death
As recently as two weeks ago, Sonya Massey was acting “extremely paranoid” and had voiced concerns for months “about being killed by the police,” her cousin, Sontae Massey, told Illinois Times. Sontae Massey said July 11 that he is not sure why his 36-year-old cousin was exhibiting such anxiety. But Sontae Massey, 53, a manager…
Johansson and Tatum shine in Fly Me to the Moon, Maxxxine and The Convert both go awry
Moon an unexpectedly delightful throwback Greg Berlanti’s Fly Me to the Moon uses the conspiracy theory about the faked moon landing as the background for, of all things, a romantic comedy. Seems a stretch but it actually works. Thanks to a script that weaves together factual information, more than a bit of conjecture and palpable…
Partial closure for Interurban Trail
A two-mile section of the Interurban Trail used by bicyclists, walkers and runners will be closed until September because of earth-moving work at the future site of Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe. The closure is needed because contractors are removing dirt from the north side of the site and using it to raise the…
Springfield residents sponsor Ukrainian family
Tunzala Ahaieva knows the terror of war and the joy of finding a new home. And that new home is in Springfield, thanks to the generosity of a group of local supporters. The 31-year-old Ukrainian woman arrived in Springfield in March, along with her husband and son, with assistance from Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation.…
SAFE-T Act report card
Nine months after cash bail ended in Illinois, the state is taking its first steps in publishing the data that crafters of the bail reform law saw as essential to judging its effectiveness. The data shows that judges in the 75 counties served by the Illinois Supreme Court’s Office of Statewide Pretrial Services had collectively issued failure-to-appear…
Faith and forgiveness
An immigrant who first arrived in Springfield in 1948 received only three hours’ notice to leave her native country of China. The year before, on Christmas Eve, one of her brothers had informed her that “Chinese communist” insurgents had killed their father, mother, sisters and other brothers in a period of religious persecution. As political…
Letters to the editor 07-11-24
DOUGLAS HELPED MY SON I think sometimes people have a negative opinion about alternative school and the kids that get sent to these schools (“No teen left behind,” June 20). I was one of those people who thought negatively, so when my son got expelled and sent to Douglas, I thought his behavior would only…
What a flood taught me about the fire on Adams Street
June 11, 2008, was my daughter’s 10th birthday, but instead of frosting a cake, I was filling sandbags in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where we lived. The rain seemed to fall without end that spring, and the Cedar River was threatening to overflow its banks. I was the director of marketing for the National Czech & Slovak…
A magical, boozy dessert
Zabaglione (za-ba-lee-ohn) is a seemingly magical dessert that originated in Italy in the 15th century. Egg yolks are whipped with wine and sugar to create what is essentially a boozy custard sauce. Originally made with Marsala, the French quickly adopted their own version of the recipe using Sauternes, a lusciously sweet white wine from Bordeaux.…
Editor’s note 07-11-24
The quiet wait-and-see response by Springfield officials to the June 19 downtown fire risks loss of the Adams Street vibe. The situation is reminiscent of early 2023 when a leaderless downtown stood by and let a wealthy corporation “beautify” Washington Street by demolishing a historic building to put up a parking lot. Leah Wilson, a…
July-izing the music
Last weekend was a phenomenal showing of our music scene, but you ain’t seen nothing yet as there’s the Morgan County Fair in Jacksonville this weekend, the Menard County Fair in Petersburg and Chatham’s Jaycees Sweet Corn Festival the next weekend, then the Downhome Music Festival in downtown Springfield on July 26-27. And after that,…
Fundraiser to be “pawsitively hilarious” time
Four comics will take the stage Saturday during a comedy night fundraiser for the Forever Home Feline Ranch, an organization dedicated to finding homes for cats. “We started in 2009 and continue to grow. Last year we adopted out 351 cats. We are 100% volunteer, receive no grants, and we rely on fundraising and generous…
