Who’s rigging elections?
“You cheated!” is the lament of sore losers everywhere. Donald Trump warns – ominously, ludicrously – that the November election will be rigged too, presumably because the Democrats will flood the polls with phony voters. This is a nightmare from the Chicago of the 1950s that Republicans can’t get out of their heads. Things aren’t…
Laboratories of democracy
In a 1932 dissenting opinion, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis noted that the benefit of America’s federal structure is that “a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” During my two terms as Texas agriculture…
Long-forgotten court case bubbles up again
Gov. Rauner attended a meeting last week of his “Cabinet on Children and Youth,” but it’s not known if he pulled aside one of its members, State Superintendent of Education Tony Smith, for a little chat. The Illinois State Board of Education is reportedly mulling whether to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed eight years…
Letters to the Editor 10/6/16
ILLINOIS CLEAN JOBS BILLThe Illinois General Assembly can make our state a leader in clean energy. As a progressive leader in Springfield, I know that policy that supports energy-efficiency programs encourages economic development and keeps homes in our neighborhood affordable. That means adding new jobs to our communities and putting savings back into consumers’…
Editor’s note 10/6/16
As you’ll read in Patrick Yeagle’s cover story this week, Springfield is the capital of video gambling in Illinois. It has the most establishments offering video gambling – 176 – of any city, and the most terminals – 576. In the four years that video gambling has been legal, Springfield gamblers have lost $80 million…
Looking beyond the election
This campaign year has been full of twists and turns. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, let alone on Nov. 8. So talking about what comes afterward seems premature. But it’s been on my mind because I’m worried. This is not about who wins the presidency. I’m concerned about the aftermath of this…
Famed funnyman
See comedian Kevin Farley live this weekend at Donnie B’s Comedy Club. While Kevin is commonly known as the younger brother to “Saturday Night Live” superstar Chris Farley and the older brother to actor John Farley, Chris himself has a storied career that includes acting in, directing and producing films and TV shows, stand-up comedy…
Female health fair
Springfield’s premier event devoted to the physical, emotional and financial health and well-being of women of all ages returns to the Illinois State Fairgrounds’ Orr Building this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The festival features more than 100 confirmed exhibitors covering topics such as education, finance, fitness, health, beauty, fashion and home décor.…
Springfield’s history and heritage
See actors and actresses in period costume portray eight people buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery whose actions were central to the development of Springfield. Portrayed individuals include Leanna Donegan Knox, whose son William Donegan was murdered during the 1908 Race Riots of Springfield. The murder of young William Donegan eventually led to the formation of…
A mile in somebody else’s choose
I’m a woman who’s on the feminist dating app Bumble, where women have to make the first move. Men can only write back to women who message them. I thought this would be empowering, but even pursuing a guy in this small way feels unsexy and overly aggressive. Do I just need to get…
Gambling explosion
Orville Dash is no stranger to addiction. Now 79 years old, he is a recovering alcoholic but hasn’t drank a beer in 35 years. He quit smoking, too; he once inhaled three or four packs per day but hasn’t touched a cigarette in years. Still, there’s something about video gambling that keeps him hooked. Dash,…
Trutter’s art and architecture
The Trutter Center at Lincoln Land Community College presents “Trutter: Black and White.” Art and artifacts from the travels of Springfield architect Philip Trutter and his wife, Mary Kathryn Trutter, are on display along with black and white photographs of Trutter’s architectural projects, which include Capital Airport, the Municipal Building West, Franklin Junior High School…
Blackburn’s one-armed baseball player mystery
A discovery of long-forgotten articles in the Blackburn College archives has solved a lingering, and surprisingly controversial, mystery of the school’s history. The story involves a one-armed baseball player at Blackburn from a century ago. In recent years, debates have erupted over his identity. One popular belief was that the player was Pete Gray, who…
Obed and Isaac’s redux
It is the single biggest investment that Court and Karen Conn have made on a historic preservation path that has proven profitable. And the nickel tour at the new Obed and Isaac’s in Peoria that opened on Sept. 26 starts in the women’s restroom. It is instantly obvious why this is not the men’s room.…
The forfeit game
Police can seize lottery winnings and patches worn by members of motorcycle clubs under two recent Illinois court rulings. In one case, a Decatur man would have done well to exercise his right to remain silent during a 2014 arrest for selling drugs after officers served a search warrant at his home. Instead, Terrance Norwood…
Miss Peregrine overcomes a slow start to delight
Creatures who eat eyeballs to regain their humanity; children who are invisible or can turn you to stone with a glance or are lighter than air; and a sense of alienation felt by all. Yep, Ransom Riggs’ novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is right in director Tim Burton’s wheelhouse, as this tale of…
A musical fall
As the weather changes, so do our music venues. This week brings the last of the big outdoor festivals (as far as I’ve heard), and it is very likely the heaters came out and on last week in our indoor/outdoor beer/music garden areas. Before you know it, we’ll be singing “Auld Lang Syne.” Yikes! The…
Waterloo German Band
Based out of Waterloo in Monroe County, the Waterloo German Band began in 1939 then fell apart during the war for obvious reasons. By 1952, Waterloo resident and U.S. Marine Harry Wolf got the band going again with help from family and friends, and it’s never stopped. Ready for parades, parties, festivals and just about…
Sugar fundraisers
It’s fundraising season again. Kids are returning home from school with cookie dough and popcorn order forms, and churches and community groups are gearing up for their annual holiday bake sales. It’s hard to say no to the bright-eyed kid selling candy bars to raise money to buy new baseball uniforms, and why should we?…
familystory # 11
my bespectacled father small for his ageyoungest in his class stayed out a yearbetween high school and college andworked on the farm that job didn’t lastfor the married teacher in the one roomschoolhouse across the east twenty theschool my dad attended his first eightyears that teacher GASP got pregnantand you can’t have a pregnant womanteaching…
