Cover Story
Pipeline protests
Farmers and landowners in Christian County have joined more than 100 residents of Sangamon, Morgan and 10 adjacent counties to formally challenge a proposed pipeline that would carry liquified carbon dioxide from the Midwest halfway across the state for permanent underground storage in central Illinois. Citizens Against Heartland Greenway Pipeline was granted intervenor status this…
Third time isn’t the charm
New York-based real estate developer David Mitchell says he hasn’t closed the door on his proposed $40 million acquisition and renovation of Springfield’s Wyndham City Centre into 274 market-rate apartments and more than 100 hotel rooms. But a 6-4 vote by the Springfield City Council on Oct. 18 to deny Mitchell’s GoodHomes company the required…
Cannabis grants help fund businesses
Taurance Thomas has sold hospital scrubs to select customers for more than seven years, but his dream is to open a brick-and-mortar retail store in Springfield that focuses on urban clothing. The 50-year-old Springfield resident hopes to bring that dream to fruition by the end of the year in a leased building at 2701 Old…
WIBL opens be lovely Boutique
Wooden It Be Lovely (WIBL) is known for its beautiful and colorful hand-painted furniture. This is a ministry started by Margaret Ann Jessup in association with Douglas Avenue United Methodist Church that offers hope and employment to women healing from lives of poverty, addiction and abuse. They recently opened the “be lovely Boutique,” featuring hand-poured…
Pharmacies face shortages
Pharmacists measure and count every day, but one calculation weighs heavily on Tim Gleason. “I have two kids, ages 2 and 5. I work from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. That means I have less than an hour to spend with them on weekdays before they go to bed. I’m thinking about shortening my hours…
Rosaline and Catherine Called Birdy showcase strong women, Werewolf is bland
Rosaline humorously skewers Shakespeare Charming, clever, and witty, Karen Maine’s Rosaline is an unexpected delight, a smart take-off of Romeo and Juliet that, each time it seemingly paints itself into a narrative corner, upends our expectations. Based on the novel, When You Were Mine, Kaitlyn Dever takes on the title role, a young maiden living…
Plans for Pillsbury site
It will cost about $10 million to level the 18-acre Springfield eyesore that was once the largest flour mill in North America. Just where the money will come from to demolish the former Pillsbury plant remains a bit of an open question, said Joel Zirkle, an owner of the Freeport-based engineering and environmental firm Fehr…
Fifth-Grade Memory: Posters
Fifth-Grade Memory: Posters when our teacher told us one of our class won the city-wide 5th grade safety poster contest I knew of course that it was me but surprise, it was my good friend nona smith who won with her picture of an open medicine cabinet with bottles of different sizes lined up on the…
Letters to the editor 10-13-22
GREAT IDEA I recently visited Springfield and had an enjoyable time visiting family and touring the impressive Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. I have fond memories of my childhood visits to the Illinois State Fair, so I was very interested to read Karen Witter’s article on the Route 66 Experience at the fairgrounds (“Monarchs…
Redefining masculinity
“Boys don’t cry.” That was the oft-repeated refrain my father said to my brother and me growing up. If one of us fell and skinned our knees, it was, “Knock it off, boys don’t cry.” It didn’t matter if we were 4 or 5. Crying was a sign of weakness and of questionable masculinity. When…
Stop trying juveniles in adult court
This year in Sangamon County, the state’s attorney successfully sought the removal of two cases involving adolescents to adult court for trial. It’s true that their crimes are serious, each involving a loss of life, but adult court is the wrong place for juveniles for three reasons: 1. adolescent brains are not yet fully developed,…
Going nuts about butternut
The R&D and Fermentation Lab at Chef Sean Brock’s Audrey restaurant in Nashville is one of only three of its kind in the whole world, the other two being in Copenhagen. My job in the lab is to find ways to unlock hidden flavors from foods through ancient food preservation practices like lactic acid and…
Another legal thriller by Scott Turow
Chicago attorney and author Scott Turow has returned to fictional Kindle County for the setting of his 15th book, Suspect. Turow’s courtroom novels place him in the upper echelon of the genre along with such well-known writers as John Grisham and Michael Connelly. He and Grisham often appear together to boost their legal advocacy for…
Ides of October music
No need to beware these Ides, for they come complete with good tidings of excellent live music simply there for you to enjoy. All that is needed is for said “you” to get out and participate in a number (or just one) of the many musical moments happening this week around town. First, allow me…
Both governor candidates use non-answers in debate
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey generally stuck to their talking points Oct. 6 at their first debate on the same stage. The questions and answers were similar to those posed during a forum organized by the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors, on which I served as a questioner. During the…
Editor’s note 10-13-22
I was trying to give international observers a Springfield perspective on the upcoming mid-term election. Has there been a problem with misinformation or disinformation during this political campaign? Not really, I told them. Has there been interference with the election process, or with press freedom to report on the election? Not here. I was being…
Powerful PAC wades into SAFE-T Act debate
The political action committee affiliated with the Illinois Network of Charter Schools is always well-funded, well-organized, well-run and often quite successful at electing legislative candidates who are supportive of their cause. But, unlike, say, Personal PAC, which focuses almost solely on the issue of abortion in its ubiquitous direct mailers, you don’t often see charter…
