Questions not limited to hat
A stovepipe hat that purportedly belonged to the Great Emancipator isn’t the only artifact at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum that needs further research to flesh out provenance, museum officials acknowledged Tuesday under questioning by state lawmakers. Eleven years after an appraiser raised questions about the authenticity of the hat and other items…
Adam Lopez arrested
Springfield school board member Adam Lopez was arrested today and booked into the Sangamon County jail on five felony charges. The charges include two counts of theft and three counts of financial exploitation of the elderly involving at least 11 victims, according to an indictment made public Wednesday. The total loss exceeds $1 million, according…
Under new management
A new owner is running a landmark Springfield building. After a two-year battle for control of Wyndham Springfield City Centre, downtown Springfield’s tallest structure, owner Robert Egizii in September turned over the keys to U.S. Bank and an outfit called LNR Partners, LLC., the bank’s “special servicer,” as per Sangamon County Circuit Court records. It…
Beware of the real gremlins
Here come the real spine-chilling horrors of the season: office-seeking politicians of the extreme right demanding votes on Election Day. With devilish signals to their base, they promise to be more Trumpian than Trump, offering a Mephistophelian agenda ranging from the harsher treatment of the poor to the more plutocratic alchemy enthroning the rich over…
Sign wars head to court
The last column I write before Election Day is always the toughest because some papers will publish this before Election Day and others will publish it after. So today you get a yard sign story. Let’s start with U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam’s campaign, which sent out two press releases during the fall campaign complaining about…
Letters to the Editor 11/8/18
EVERYONE NEEDS A PLACE TO GO The First Presbyterian Church of Springfield has respectfully requested that the mayor’s office and the City of Springfield address the chronic issue of human waste left behind nightly on our city streets and around public and private properties in the downtown area. Our church is located on the corner…
Editor’s note 11/8/18
Aside from the defeat of Gov. Bruce Rauner, the most exciting election result here was approval – by a wide margin – of a one-cent countywide sales tax increase for school buildings. The tax is expected to generate $10 million annually for Springfield’s District 186 public schools. That will allow implementation of the Springfield district’s…
Understanding the harm in hate speech
Due to the apparent disregard for civility in discourse in our country recently, as well as more mood and behavior problems in students, heightened anxiety in minority students and a trend suggesting extremist groups are trying to recruit youth, exploring the effects of hate speech appears to be in order. Hate speech is defined as…
A timely discussion of public policy
On Thursday, Nov. 8, hear a distinguished panel of local public policy experts discuss implications of the Nov. 6, 2018, midterm election with regard to gender politics; public policy affecting women, specifically women of color and young women; the relationships between campaign finance, redistricting and term limits on recruiting; and electing women to public office.…
Creative cookies and ornaments
Spend Saturday, Nov. 10 getting a jump start on your holiday décor and gift-making during these nature-themed crafting sessions at Lincoln Memorial Garden. Youth ages 5-12 are invited to create snowmen and reindeer ornaments from 10-11 a.m. Adults and teens ages 13 and up are invited to create a tree-cookie wreath from 2-4 p.m. All…
Apartnering up
My husband and I started having problems when I found an email he sent to his ex-girlfriend saying, “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He’s never complimented me during our five years together. He revealed that he and his ex used to…
#MeToo comes to prison
Most allegations are never proven, but accusations of sex between inmates and staff keep coming at Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, the state’s largest women’s prison. Sex between inmates and staff is illegal – under the law, prisoners cannot consent to sex with employees, and custodial sexual misconduct is a felony punishable by between two…
Best Of Party 2018
The second annual Best Of Springfield party, presented by Head West Sub Stop, was double the fun, with twice as many food and drink samplings and attendees as the first year. On Thursday, Oct. 25, hundreds of people packed the BOS Center to sample food and beverages from 27 different exhibitors and find out which…
Trying to get a killer under control
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, designed to focus attention on the impact of diabetes on millions of Americans. Over 110 million Americans have diabetes or are at risk for developing it, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney…
Trials and tribulations
The number of trials in Sangamon County Circuit Court has plummeted this year, mirroring a reduction in both trials and cases filed in courts nationwide. While the nationwide number of cases, and trials, has dropped steadily over the past decade, the local plunge has been dramatic and recent. So far this year, there have been…
Carrell and Chalamet shine in flawed Boy
At its best, Felix van Groeningen’s Beautiful Boy captures the sense of frustration, rage and helplessness parents feel when they see one of their children caught in the cycle of addiction. Good intentions mean nothing, questions go unanswered, worthwhile rehab centers are hard to find, and the realization that relapses are a part of recovery…
November to remember
We made it through the election (I think) and the time change (whatever), heading straight into the heart of November. Good thing there’s plenty of fine music to experience. Every once in awhile (actually, it’s happening a lot lately) profoundly great musicians of our time pass through the area, and on Thursday night the Paris-Belle…
Bruce Katz Band
Generally considered one of the premier roots/blues keyboardists in the whole wide world, Bruce Katz has played with most everyone, including Delbert McClinton, Butch Trucks, Gregg Allman and Ronnie Earl, but he shines brightest when fronting his own band and playing his own stuff. Joined by longtime cohort guitarist Chris Vitarello, with Katz mostly tearing…
archival find #18
archival find #18 this paper goes to print weds a.m. ithits newsstands thurs my bit is due atlatest mon p.m. so as of this scrawl Idon’t know whether my tues night yowlwill be joy or dismay I pray you votedmeanwhile here’s news of a childhoodclub: I’ve unearthed its handwrit charterwe were country kids didn’t have…
Friendsgiving
Growing up, my family didn’t play around with Thanksgiving dinner. Other holidays were open to interpretation, but every year on the fourth Thursday of November we ate the exact same meal consisting of turkey roasted with butter and sage stuffed with sausage and onion dressing alongside garlicky mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, creamed spinach, succotash and…
