Springfield police officers sued for alleged racial profiling
A Springfield man is suing two city police officers for alleged racial profiling following a traffic stop in 2013. Samuel Johnson, who is black, says two Springfield police officers pulled him over without cause in November 2013, arrested him without justification and illegally searched his car. He is asking for unspecified damages, although he…
Touche Amore
Tyler Kirby Photo by Thao Le…
Video Preview: Special Red at DEMO Project this evening
Brooklyn artist Victoria Calabro has transformed the DEMO Project space into a neon pink beachfront. If you don’t believe me, head over there yourself for the opening reception today from 6 – 8 p.m. for her exhibit “Special Red.” Check out the Illinois Times exclusive video below, shot earlier this week when Calabro was still…
Art Opening at UIS Gallery tonight
Image by artist Steve Ruiz The distinct whiff of failure is in the air at the UIS Visual Arts Gallery – but don’t worry – that’s exactly how it’s meant to be. Curator Trew Schriefer requested work from artists across the country that dealt with the subject of failure. “I wondered what it would be like…
Going for the fences
Woman of the Year, the 1942 movie starring Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn: Sportswriter Tracy invites the Hepburn character to her first baseball game, at Yankee Stadium. She arrives in the sixth inning or so; told that the score is 0-0, she says, “Good, I haven’t missed anything.” What is wonderful about the moment is…
Heavy meddle
Is it okay to keep your income a secret from someone you’re dating? I recently started seeing a girl I work with (at an advertising company). She believes women at our company get paid less on average, and I suspect she’s right. Yesterday she came right out and asked me how much I make. I’m…
Washington invaluable in slick Equalizer
Denzel Washington as Robert McCall in The Equalizer. PHOTO COURTESY COLUMBIA PICTURES There’s no escaping the “been-there-done-that” feel that hangs over the new Denzel Washington actioner The Equalizer. Based ever so loosely on the Edward Woodward television series from the 80s, you can’t help but draw connections between this, Washington’s own Man on Fire and…
Kris Bell Band
PHOTO COURTESY KRIS BELL BAND Billed as an “American Rock” band with “rockin’ your ass and meltin’ your face!” as a motto, the Kris Bell Band makes powerful rock with a groove, laden with melodic hooks and blazing guitars. Born and raised in San Diego, Kris began playing guitar at age 7, played his first…
Falling down
A shell of itself: Absent a roof, the Knox Flats building on Cook Street is now shedding windows, according to neighbors. PHOTO BY BRUCE RUSHTON After a third-story window came crashing down last month from the dilapidated Knox Flats apartments near downtown, caretakers of one of Springfield’s oldest homes are demanding that the city demolish…
Northend neighborhood
Seventeen historic homes make up this self-guided walking tour ranging from those completely renovated to those needing someone to make them beautiful again. Many of the houses are for sale. Enos Park neighborhood is located just north of downtown and houses on this tour are located between Third and Eighth streets. Tickets are available in…
SOLAR TOUR SATURDAY
Kevin and Stacey Rademacher’s house in Sherman looks a lot like their neighbors’ houses, except for one thing: the large, black solar panels covering the Rademachers’ roof. Kevin Rademacher says he installed the panels himself in May 2013, after purchasing a Chevy Volt, a hybrid car. The solar panels provide about half of the Rademachers’…
Editor’s Note 10/02/14
Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Gill is getting high marks for candor in the way she describes the dismal graduation rate, test scores and racial disparities of District 186. In her speech to the Springfield Citizens Club Sept. 26, the new schools chief demonstrated she understands the difficulties facing this urban school system with 15,000…
Canine costume contest
Springfield’s only Halloween party for dogs is Saturday, Oct. 4. Bring up to two of your canine companions, 6 months or older, to the Stuart Park Dog Run for a fun-filled afternoon of games and activities, a dog costume contest (with prizes), pet demonstrations, pet-friendly crafts, vendors, concessions and kids’ activities. Come early and stay…
Wall Street walls off young farmers
We know from the childhood song that Old McDonald had a farm – but e-i-e-i-o – look who’s got his farm now! It’s groups like American Farmland and Farmland Partners. These aren’t dirt farmers wearing overalls and brogans, but Wall Street hucksters in Armani suits and Gucci loafers. The latest fast-buck fad for high-roller investment…
Report from the People’s Climate March
The People’s Climate March in New York City on Sept. 21 was designed to be the largest mass rally in history to awaken a sleepwalking world to the dangers ahead. Even by the time you reached the subway station at Rockefeller Center one sensed the electricity in the air as people were scurrying to get…
Letters to the Editor 10/2/14
In the Sept. 25 Illinois Times cover story, “The darker side of amazon.com,” Jim Hightower writes that “Amazon is by far the largest online marketer in the world, with more sales than the next nine U.S. online retailers combined. That has given Bezos the monopoly power to stalk, weaken and even kill off retail competitors…
Architectural treasures of Columbus, Indiana
Completed in 1942, the First Christian Church created a dramatic impact on Columbus. Designed by architect Eliel Saarinen, it was the first contemporary building in Columbus. “Large Arch,” across the street in the library plaza, was created by English sculptor Henry Moore in 1971. Photo courtesy of the Columbus Area Visitors Center. More than 40,000…
October falls into line
Pine Mountain Logs (aka Venice) perform at Boondocks on Sat., Oct. 4, with the Groove Daddies for a benefit for Mary Bryant Home for the Blind. What’s shaping up in the fall music market? Let’s go see and hear what we can see and hear. Up first on the list, let’s welcome our friends from…
springfield 66 poem #1
springfield 66 poem #1 busy time this fri eve in springfield route 66 gala already begun hard to get to the old pharmacy to see tom handy’s photos of palms and their latticed shadows jim hawker’s unforgettable bored child embracing a curb it was like those mazes in a kid’s puzzle book you start out…
Businesses should lead the green revolution
Michael Higgins, chef and owner of Maldaner’s Restaurant in Springfield, says going green was a wise business decision for him. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Of the more than 83,000 chemicals registered with the federal government in the United States, only about 200 have been evaluated for potential threats to human health and safety, and only…
Okto-Beer Fest
Autumn is a great time to enjoy ales, porters, stouts and other malted beverages with substance. PHOTOS BY PATRICK YEAGLE In Munich, more than 4,000 miles away from Springfield, they’ve been partying for almost two weeks now, listening to oompah bands and eating Steckerlfisch (aka roast fish-on-a-stick) and sucking down liters of beer inside massive…
BROKE
Springfield developer Dan Mulcahy has declared bankruptcy in the midst of a lawsuit filed by former Ward 8 Ald. Irv Smith, who wants to dissolve a partnership formed earlier this year to redevelop the former First United Methodist Church at the intersection of Fifth Street and Capitol Avenue. In his lawsuit, Smith claims that he…
Appeals court upholds city’s panhandling ban
A federal appeals court upheld the City of Springfield’s anti-panhandling ordinance last week, but the panhandlers who challenged the ordinance aren’t giving up. In a 2-1 decision released Sept. 25, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that Springfield’s ordinance does not violate the First Amendment right to free speech. The…
An apple Oktoberfest: gemütlichkeit
Apples and Oktoberfest. Could there be a better pairing? Traditional German cuisine is filled with apple dishes, many especially intended for cooler weather. Gemütlichkeit is a German word that doesn’t have an exact English equivalent single word. But think of a combination of good food, good company, a stein of beer or two and plenty…
Music hath charms
Curses, foiled againPolice accused Ryan Mullins, 22, of breaking into a pharmacy in Swansboro, N.C., and stealing a safe containing prescription drugs. He made his getaway by tying a rope around the 100-pound safe and dragging it behind his vehicle for two miles before he passed a police cruiser. The officer noticed the safe being…
Funny honeys
Oct. 3-5 and 10-12 are the performance dates of the comedy musical, Pete ’n’ Keely, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Pete ’n’ Keely is about a divorced couple who are forced back together to revive their failing singing careers. Filled with favorite musical standards plus several original tunes, this jukebox fantasy recalls the…
And the race continues
Just a quick note to Bruce Rauner: The next time you try to claim that Gov. Pat Quinn is “personally” under federal investigation (an allegation that, as far as anyone can tell, is not true), it’s probably best not to say it while standing next to a different governor who actually is “personally” under federal…
