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The lone ranger
Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Travis Koester may soon need a tattoo removal specialist. Then again, Koester’s colleagues might be willing to do the job themselves, judging by an Illinois Labor Relations Board case that reveals deep animosity between the deputy and his fellow cops. The labor board last month ruled against Koester, who had claimed…
A bawdy house of bad right-wing ideas
Ideally, elections are about ideas. In our dark times of money-soaked and bitterly negative campaigns, however, policy discussions are being shoved aside by raw partisanship and vitriol. This not only means that good ideas are ignored, but also that downright bad ideas can become public policy without the public knowing it. For example, one idea…
A hole Pritzker never closed
“I’ll be a check on the Pritzker-Madigan agenda,” Republican attorney general candidate Erika Harold says in her latest TV ad about Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner J.B. Pritzker and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. And now a similar line of attack is cropping up elsewhere. In southern Illinois, for instance, state Rep. Jerry Costello’s Republican opponent David…
Letters to the Editor 11/1/18
VOTE ON ELECTION DAY Americans are incredibly lucky to be able to vote, but just 56 percent took advantage of this opportunity in the last presidential election. In contrast, 26 countries have a higher voter turnout, with Belgium topping the list with 87.2 percent of the voting-age population casting ballots. With Election Day coming up,…
Editor’s note 11/1/18
The only campaign excitement we’ve seen around here is generated by Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, who is smart, energetic, practical and new. In her uphill battle to unseat Republican Congressman Rodney Davis, she has stuck to the issues and stayed out of the mud. Davis, a go-along-to-get-along moderate, is burdened by his support for repeal of…
The year of the woman in politics
It seems there’s a whole bunch of serious women making a serious leap this election year, giving new meaning to the phrase “a march on Washington.” Most political pundits declare this midterm season The Year of the Woman. That title was coined in 1992. It was minted after Anita Hill’s ungracious grilling by the Senate…
Affection between African-American men
On Thursday, Nov. 1, take in a reception for “Love You, Bro,” an exhibition by Chicago-based visual artist Stephanie Graham that explores relationships and the ways in which affection is expressed between African-American men. Graham’s photos, videos and installations examine subcultures, social class, relationships and Black America, and her work utilizes humor, soul and satire…
Stories from The Biggest Loser
On Friday, Nov. 2, join Sonya Jones, a speaker, author and a finalist on NBC’s hit weight-loss reality show “The Biggest Loser,” for a party celebrating the launch of her book, 44 Lessons from a Loser. The book includes stories from Sonya’s life on and off the “Biggest Loser” ranch, where in 2015 she came…
Business meating
A man asked me for my number at an event, saying he wanted to take me to dinner. I told him I’d just ended a relationship and wasn’t ready to date. Of course, he then said it’d be a business dinner, and I consented and wrote my number down. I feel that I had bad…
The real fight against fake news
Fake news is not a new thing. With the return of its annual list of censored stories Project Censored’s vivid cover art recalls H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. The situation today may feel as desolate as the cover art suggests. “But Project Censored is about fighting fake news,” editors Andy Lee Roth and Mickey…
Judge, prosecutor’s office exchange notes
U.S. District Court Judge Colin Bruce. Citing emails between U.S. District Court Judge Colin Bruce and employees of the U.S. attorney’s office, federal public defenders say the judge is so biased that defendants can’t get fair shakes. “Both Judge Bruce and the United States attorney’s office act as if Judge Bruce is still the first…
Faith Coalition registers hundreds to vote
Election Day is Nov. 6, a time when American citizens can exercise their right to vote. Unfortunately, many choose not to vote, for a variety of reasons. Some think their vote doesn’t matter. Springfield-based Faith Coalition for the Common Good is working to change that. By promoting voter registration and the importance of voting, the…
She fought the law and the law won
One of the most bitter child custody battles in state history ended Tuesday as Jennifer Watkins agreed to give up custody of her daughter Sidney to the girl’s paternal aunt. Watkins wept as she signed the paperwork in the courtroom of Cass County Circuit Court Judge Robert Hardwick, Jr. Just one reporter was present to…
COME TOGETHER THURSDAY
The Jewish Federation of Springfield and the Jewish Community Relations Council have made plans to “bring together the Springfield community” to mourn the loss of life at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. The gathering is 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Lincoln statue in front of the Capitol. “This will be an…
CONGRATULATIONS!
When last we heard of Springfield police officer Paul Carpenter, the city was paying $24,000 to neighbors who sued after the officer, while on duty, pulled over a woman who lived down the street whom he suspected of flipping off his son, or being related to someone who did. He dropped a flurry of f-bombs,…
Rhapsody missing a few vital notes
It is with great regret that I report that Bohemian Rhapsody is not the film Queen fans have been waiting for, nor is it the one the band deserves. A rote exercise from the start, this by-the-numbers biopic is a thumbnail overview of the highs and lows the London quartet endured, playing out in such…
November music comes
Here we are bouncing through the first weekend in November on the tail of Halloween and headed toward the holidays. It looks like the music roundup is solid as ever with a few twists. Our week kicks off with a bang as the Martin Barre Band plays the Curve Inn this Thursday evening. Who, you…
California Jeff
There’s no Jeff like California Jeff, and we say that with the full confidence he’s a one-of-a-kind folk-singing, storytelling and entertaining performer who says it like it is and is as he does. Honest and sincere with a strong and healthy penchant for devilishly dark humor and a blessed belief in the craziness and spirituality…
rivertrip poem #1
rivertrip poem #1 wandering the marina’s length atgrafton before a cruise on themississippi, illinois I began to jotthe names of boats their rear endssnubbed up against the dock gotto wondering why owners name theircraft as they do there were the usualSuzy Q’s but Low Bid? Oh Yeah? Zitz? Outnumbered? At the very enda houseboat a…
How not to cut a squash
This past summer I received a Facebook message from my old musician friend Eric. He wrote: “You will have to meet my girlfriend Cathy … she works for a company called NuWave doing infomercials … she works with a lot of cooks and is always looking to film. I told her to send you a…
