Reading aloud
Unless we are blessed with snow, December hereabouts can be a grim month, which might have been one of the reasons that Vachel Lindsay decided to shuffle off this mortal coil on the fifth of that month back in 1931. Which melancholy reflection started a chain of thought that took me (mentally at least) to…
Donald Trump’s strange bromances
“We’ve had a great relationship,” exulted a giddy Donald Trump, following his two-day schmoozefest in Manila with the thuggish president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte, a self-styled “toughie” who boasts of personally killing many people and who likes to compare himself to Satan, has been on a murderous rampage since his election last year.…
Local 150 and Dan Proft
Operating Engineers Union Local 150 is making good on its threat to back a Republican primary opponent against House Republican Leader Jim Durkin. The union local’s president, Jim Sweeney, told me he had about a dozen members in Durkin’s district passing nominating petitions for Burr Ridge Mayor Mickey Straub a couple of weekends ago. Straub…
Letters to the Editor 11/23/17
A DEEPER HOLE I write to congratulate Bruce Rushton on his fine article titled “Can I see your papers? No!” in the Nov. 16 issue of Illinois Times. In a time when libraries are faltering with fewer people actually coming and sitting in a reading room to do research, it is sad to see the…
Editor’s note 11/23/17
The furor over sexual harassment has led to what is being called a “day of reckoning,” with wrongdoers being held to account for their transgressions. The reaction to past abuse, sometimes long past, is now happening with lightning speed. By rapidly changing the culture that has tolerated harassment, women are becoming empowered to change the…
A solution to the demise of cursive
In case you hadn’t noticed, the world has changed. That, according to Darren J. Root, superintendent of the Auburn public schools, in a recent op-ed for the SJ-R. Superintendent Root noted that students no longer pass notes in class; they text instead, or Snapchat, or whatever. Nor do they write notes in class, he said, but…
A one-horse open sleigh
Make reservations now for a charming, horse-drawn carriage ride through picturesque Washington Park, decked for the holiday season. The carriage rides are hosted by Red Gate Farm LLC in conjunction with the Springfield Park District. Each carriage ride lasts for 30 minutes and seats 4-6 people. The cost per ride is $60 and all rides…
Chip Davis Christmas
Join the multi-platinum American Gramophone recording artists known as Mannheim Steamroller on Monday, Nov. 27 to celebrate the start of the holiday season, the 30-year anniversary of the first Mannheim Steamroller Christmas album, and the 40-year anniversary of Grammy Award-winner Chip Davis’ first Fresh Aire album. The live show by Mannheim Steamroller, the talented group…
The beers of winter
We are late. Usually, we do this in October, when oompah’ers are oompah’ing in oompah bands in the beer tents of Munich while drinkers pay homage to malted beverages without which the world would be much poorer. But, then again, everyone, really, does that during Oktoberfest season, when you can’t turn around at the supermarket…
Colorful stories from Rochester history
Cotton, Violins & Shots in the Night – A Timeline Visit to Rochester, Illinois By Raymond and Pamela Bruzan. 467 pages If you live in Rochester, you should pick up this book. If you live in Springfield or another town nearby, you, too, should pick up this book. What a delightful trip through history with…
Planning and doing
To say that Springfield is going ga-ga over a comprehensive plan would be an exaggeration in more ways than one. Peppered with quotes from Myron H. West, a planner who helped author the city’s first plan in the 1920s, the plan that soon will be up for a council vote is as much an endorsement…
A miracle cure
Sometimes, it pays to get your butt kicked. Ask Michael Goldsberry, erstwhile denizen of the Sangamon County jail. Goldsberry, who has a history of drug offenses and a problem with methamphetamine, has been arrested at least seven times since 2005 on felony charges, including four times since January. Charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, retail theft and…
Innocence Project receives grant for DNA testing
It was recently announced that the Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) will receive a $641,000 federal grant, part of a United States Department of Justice Bloodsworth grant. The grant is named in honor of Kirk Bloodsworth, who was exonerated by DNA evidence in 1993 after being sentenced to the death penalty, the first such case to…
Even Washington can’t save Israel
After seeing Dan Gilroy’s Roman J. Israel, Esq., I was left with the feeling I hate most when a movie is done – that of frustration. Featuring one of Denzel Washington’s finest performances, the film is tripped up by a conclusion that seems contrived and far too convenient, transformations in character that are too hard…
The Brat Pack
Hailing from the great city of Champaign, home of the University of Illinois, this group of fun-loving music makers really do “almost totally 80s music” as their promo states, and has been hard at it for some 18 years and counting. They also put on one heck of a show, recreating characters from the era…
The after-turkey sandwich worth waiting for
Sitting around the Thanksgiving table each year, watching my family tuck into their turkey and dressing, I’m usually content to just sip Champagne and nibble on some veggies. Maybe I’ll have a bit of turkey, but by this point I have been living and breathing this meal for some time, and it feels like every…
thanksgiving 2017 poem
thanksgiving 2017 poem it’s thanksgiving so let’s thinkabout suicide – never far frommy thoughts though I try not todwell on it – my second daughtersays my first daughter told herthe “demon” inhabiting her – she NEVER thought she was ill, only possessed from the outside – anyway she was afraid the demonmight demand she hurt…
Darkness and Light Perfectly Balanced in “Christmas”
A fascinating man with many conflicting attitudes and personae, Charles Dickens was a major celebrity from 1840 until his death in 1870. His serialized stories were a sensation, captivating readers in his native England and the Americas, millions waiting on tender hooks for each installment. He was much in demand for public readings of his…
Artistically decorated arbors
Gather your loved ones and take in some holiday splendor during Memorial Medical Center’s 28th annual Festival of Trees. This year’s theme is “Skates, Sleds and Snow” and the featured colors are blue, white and brown. Festival of Trees is your opportunity to view more than 200 creatively decorated trees and wreaths plus a hand-crafted…
Giving thanks for much
There are many things to be thankful for in this world, and I hope you take the time to address those pertaining to you and yours. I’m thankful to be able to write this column weekly and share my opinions on our live music scene. I sure hope you’re thankful that I do. Those old-fashioned,…
Bearing the burden of normality
In the Fall 2017 number of The Hedgehog Review, which is devoted to critical reflections on contemporary culture, Paul Christman explores life in ” a no-place that is also everyplace and anyplace”–the Midwestern U.S. It’s a topic I’ve touched on now and then (albeit with a more local focus, meaning the state of Illinois and its parts)…
Reign of terrier
I know humans are typically your subject, but this is a relationship question so I hope you’ll consider answering it. I have a new puppy (an 8-pound terrier mutt). I eventually want her to sleep in bed with me. However, she’s not toilet-trained yet, so I “crate” her at night in the laundry room (in…
How high can you go?
Usually, Amazon sells stuff at a discounted price. At the moment it is trying to sell something at the highest possible price – a second headquarters operation somewhere other than its hometown of Seattle. That takes in a lot of territory, and a hundred or so U.S. cities are competing for it. The prize (according…
Why reward bad corporate behavior with more tax breaks?
As anyone who has ever been to any of the many cities that are graced with a Trump hotel, casino, golf resort, etc. likely knows, Donald Trump insists that his name be gaudily displayed in giant letters across every structure he owns – preferably in gold. Now, he’s taken ownership of a massive new structure…
That was one weird veto session
One of the most unusual Illinois veto sessions I’ve ever seen wrapped up last week.The two-week session was supposed to be about whether infuriated legislative Republicans would abandon Gov. Bruce Rauner in droves over his signature of HB40, which provides government funding of abortions for state workers and women on Medicaid. The potential for drama…
Letters to the Editor 11/16/17
ROUND UP FOR HOMELESS A sure sign that winter will be here before we know it was the opening Sunday (Nov. 12) of our city’s overflow shelter.Thanks in part to the many generous CWLP customers who already “round-up” their bills to next dollar, the overflow shelter was able to add 18 more beds and other…
Why we need to worry about federal debt
As Republicans in Congress move forward on their tax plan, it’s worth remembering one thing: whatever the legislative particulars, keep your eye on the plan’s impact on the federal debt. Our debt load is already worrisome. It’s almost certainly going to get worse. There are a lot of different ways to characterize our fiscal situation…
Dazzling trees, wreaths and decor
Enjoy a long-standing Jacksonville tradition from a new location as Jacksonville’s annual Festival of Trees has relocated from Woodhaven Hospice to Pathway Services Unlimited. The three-day festival showcases designer Christmas trees, wreaths and other holiday decorations plus live, local entertainment and a gift shop featuring holiday décor, plus cookies and candy handmade by Pathway residents.…
Artisan-made gifts
Kick off your holiday season with a special Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping event at the Lincoln Memorial Garden Nature Center, home to the Split Rail Shop. The annual holiday market features handcrafted items made over the past couple of months from area artisans, such as centerpieces, swags, wreaths, one-of-a-kind tree ornaments and more. Early bird…
A play at the Place
Don’t miss Peculiar Inspirations, a fictitious theatre piece about modern Springfield writer Amy Lombard, who has been commissioned to write a play about Abraham Lincoln. An information-gathering mission has lead Amy to Edwards Place, where she comes face to face with muses such as Mary Lincoln, Thomas Lincoln and William Herndon, who are all dying…
The fast way to health and weight loss
In the guidebook for Narcotics Anonymous there is a paragraph which begins: “We have a disease; progressive, incurable and fatal.” The paragraph ends with the sentence: “Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results.” Though this is in reference to drug abuse and chemical dependence, these statements could be equally applied to the…
Homeless. The daily struggle.
Sitting quietly inside an empty McDonald’s, Tracey and Michael Gragg ponder how they’ll find shelter for the night. Married for 18 years, the Graggs have been homeless for the last two. Michael’s faltering physical condition has heightened the couple’s hardships. Currently he is blind, has hypertension, kidney failure and Stage 5 renal failure. “We’ve been…
Solid history, entertainingly told
James Krohe Jr., Corn Kings & One-Horse Thieves: A Plain-Spoken History of Mid-Illinois. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2017. This work of solid history, entertainingly told, is mistitled, or rather mis-subtitled; it should read: “A Witty and Profound Account of Life in Central Illinois from Prehistoric Times to the Present.” The author, James Krohe Jr.,…
Arts weekend in Springfield
This past weekend saw four separate, unique art events happening in Springfield at four different venues, each with its own flavor and focus, featuring artists working in multiple media, from this region and from elsewhere, some professional, others therapeutic. On Friday, the SAA Visual Art Center’s M.G. Nelson Family Gallery hosted “Morphology,” a collection of…
Can I see your papers? No!
A copy of A Survey Of The Ishams In England And America: Eight Hundred And Fifty Years of History and Genealogy is in the wind. Published in 1938, the 672-page tome that traces the ancestry of the Isham clan from British roots to their service in the Revolutionary War would hardly appeal to fans of…
City takes aim at Poplar Place
Nyree Morris says that she has no problems with her landlord in Poplar Place, where she’s lived since January, but she is nonetheless moving. Repairs and maintenance, Morris says, aren’t a problem, but she doesn’t like wood floors. There is also, she says, the issue of a recent shooting a few doors down from her…
Justice League: A ‘one step forward, two steps back’ affair
It seems as though every time DC Comics releases a movie based on their heroes, they only end up making their counterpart, Marvel Films, look that much smarter. Such is the case with their latest entry in the superhero genre, Justice League, a project in which the company’s most recognizable heroes come together to save…
Remember November music
Well, to say this was a tough week is an understatement of large proportions. I’m sure I speak for the friends and family of John Brillhart in thanking everyone for condolences, music, stories and all that goes with processing grief. So now we are on to remember the passed ones and respect what they did…
Craig Gerdes
Part of the burgeoning, modern, underground, outlaw, country music field, Craig Gerdes is makin’ tracks and on the move. His latest release, Smokin’, Drinkin’ & Gamblin’ (Sol records), is quickly gathering attention for a real honky-tonk, old-school, classic-country sound that embraces the heart and soul of contemporary outlaw country. Gerdes hails from rural central Illinois,…
