A county in search of a vision
Last fall, a firm called The Development Consortium (TDC) was engaged to launch the Sangamon County Project to examine economic development in the region. TDC has offices in Petersburg and Geneseo, and is described on its website as “a professional organization specializing in site selection, financing, incentive negotiations, Illinois Enterprise Zones and related economic development consulting.” TDC…
Making Illinois safe for the Bs
Public higher education is in trouble in Illinois. Enrollment at most of the former “normal” schools is down, costs are rising and the best in-state students are signing up to attend out-of-state schools. What to do? The Chicago Tribune editors know. In a recent editorial, the paper proposed changes in governance structure and operations intended…
Think your job is safe from the robot invasion?
Industrial automatons have been on the march for years, devouring the middle-class job opportunities of factory workers. But this time is different. This mass-scale deployment of robots has already ushered in a whole new world of work. As a result, robots are rapidly climbing the pay ladder into white-collar and professional positions that millions of…
The 2017 exodus
If it seems to you that more legislators are announcing their retirements than in the past, you’re right, at least about the House. With last week’s retirement announcement by Rep. David Harris (R-Arlington Heights), a total of 24 House members have either resigned or announced that they weren’t running for reelection. That compares to 16…
Letters to the editor 10/12/17
PORT-A-POTTIES DOWNTOWN The current introduction of port-a-potties to the City of Springfield and the downtown area originated out of SearchLight: A Beacon for Serving the Homeless Community. Vice President of SearchLight, William Mercer, gave the SearchLight executive board a report regarding an oversize homeless man in a wheelchair. Because of his size and his wheelchair, the…
Editor’s Note 10/12/17
When the Trump administration this week gave notice it is scrapping President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, it was seen as an unsurprising move by the conservative administration to appeal to its “base,” but it was truly an attack on public health. The Environmental Protection Agency had previously projected that the Clean Power Plan would prevent…
Aldermen and big money
When Springfield City Council members repeatedly accept large campaign contributions from the same serial donors year after year, they invariably compromise their impartiality and subordinate the general interest to special interests. Last month, several serial givers held a “thank you” event for a quorum of aldermen. The event was exceptional in its boldness, notoriety and…
Nighttime bike brigade
On Saturday, Oct. 14, from 8-11 p.m., join Chef Michael Higgins and the Springfield Bicycle Club for a Moonlight Bike Ramble. The ramble will begin in the parking lot behind Boone’s Saloon, and takes participants on an 11-mile bicycle ride consisting of two loops. Prizes from downtown restaurants will be available to riders, with a…
Challenging the landscape of reform
On Wednesday, Oct. 18, take in an ECCE Speaker Series presentation titled “Challenges of Youth, Young Adults and Adults to Creating, Impacting and Enacting Reform,” featuring three leaders and proponents for social change. Panelists are Tommy Jackson II, advising director for University College at Kennesaw State University and a former defensive tackle for the Atlanta…
Pay Pal
An older male friend keeps paying for me – buying me meals and clothes. Am I making a mistake in accepting? I’ve repeatedly made clear that I have no romantic interest in him. I’m a struggling artist, and he’s highly successful. We’re basically BFFs, talking and laughing every day. He occasionally jokes that I should…
Project Censored
In America, we commonly think of press freedom and censorship in terms of the First Amendment, which focuses attention on the press itself and limits on the power of government to restrict it. But the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted in the aftermath of World War II, presents a broader framework. Article 19 reads:…
What’s behind bad behavior?
Educators are beginning to get answers to questions they have always asked: Am I doing something wrong? Why does a student react violently to a simple request? Why does another student retreat and sleep in class? And why, even after repeated disciplinary consequences, do some students continue with inappropriate behavior? The answer is that it…
Indie rock hero at Radon Lounge
For more than 20 years, Seattle-based singer-songwriter David Bazan has been wrestling with his demons in public, both as a solo artist and with his near-mythical band Pedro the Lion, which will be playing its first shows since 2005 later this year. Bazan’s tuneful songs – alternately punchy and dirge-like – drip with spiritual and…
A “welcoming city” in the making
A citywide committee is promoting a resolution affirming the city of Springfield as a “welcoming city that respects the innate dignity of all people,” according to an email circulated by the committee. “A public statement will convey that Springfield is a community that is compassionate, immigrant-friendly and welcoming.” Veronica Espina, an instructor at University of…
Guilty as charged
After more than four years in the Sangamon County jail, Oscar Brown is headed for prison. A jury last Thursday convicted Brown in connection with the killing of Charles Rice, who was 38 when he was gunned down on Jan. 30, 2013. Brown, 39, had previously beaten a murder rap in Rice’s death after Sangamon…
Downtown pop-up book shop
The Springfield Public Schools Foundation will host “One Eighty Six Books,” its first-ever pop-op book shop, on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 8 a.m.to 4 p.m. at the Old Capitol Farmers Market at 407 E. Adams in downtown Springfield. Proceeds from the event will be used to supply books for school libraries and classrooms district-wide. “We…
Members of Hope Presbyterian Church choir to sing at Carnegie Hall
Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY), a New York based production company, has invited the Hope Presbyterian Church choir, along with choir director Tom Heintzelman, to perform at Carnegie Hall. According to a DCINY press release, the choir had to go through an intensive audition process and were selected by members of the company’s artistic…
Battle only provides part of the story
The title of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ film Battle of the Sexes refers to far more than the tennis match at its core. Yes, it’s a fascinating, behind-the-scenes account of the grudge match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs that took place in 1973, but it’s also a portrait of a transitional time…
Mid-October music making
Feel the crisp breeze, the touch of fall, the fall of leaves, the sounds of leaves falling, and, oh, what else is that I hear? Yes, it’s the sound of live music all over town. First, let’s congratulate the popular local, contemporary country band Lick Creek for winning the “NASH Next” contest for the Bloomington/Peoria…
James Armstrong
Known as the “Ambassador of the Blues” and also as a resident of Springfield, Mr. Armstrong gets all the credit for being an excellent and constantly touring guitar player with sharp songwriting skills, an all-around good guy of the blues. With a lifetime of recordings and performances behind him, James is set to release his…
manzanar poem #2
manzanar poem #2 we’ve been fortunate thesemany years to have yosh goldenin our midst writing about theamerican concentration campwhere she was born also talkingto schools of this shameful andunpublicized part of our historynow we’ve been blessed by theskills and sensitivity of kazukoher daughter who has produceda prize-winning film on manzanarit was shown here last week…
What’s a cucurbit?
While attending one of Urbana’s Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery’s Farm To Table Dinners, I asked owner Leslie Cooperband if I could “stage” (work as an unpaid apprentice) for one of their events. Guest chefs, often from Chicago, would come down to the farm to create amazing meals, eaten communally outdoors. I was hoping my…
