Cover Story
Politics and powerlessness
Last July 22, nearly 20 public officials and social service agency providers gathered in a conference room at Scheels, the sporting goods store with a big aquarium, to talk about the homeless. It was a special board meeting of the Heartland Continuum of Care, a consortium of public and private agencies required by the U.S.…
Party on, Wayne
State legislators are on hold, gatherings at the Capitol have been banned and senior centers have closed while public health experts and politicians warn people, especially the elderly and folks with underlying conditions such as diabetes, to avoid crowds. Nonetheless, public works crews on Wednesday distributed crowd control barriers on downtown streets where the city…
It’s spreading
While parades elsewhere have been canceled due to coronavirus concerns, Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade through downtown Springfield remained a go as of Tuesday. Brian McFadden, Sangamon County administrator, said health department officials have discussed large gatherings and the coronavirus. “I don’t know, specifically, about the parade itself,” McFadden said. “I know they’re going to…
DuQuoin fair director busted for DUI
State police arrested the director of the DuQuoin State Fair early Tuesday on suspicion of drunken driving after he crashed a pickup truck. Police reported that Joshua R. Gross, 42, was northbound in a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado on the Sherman Boulevard ramp leading to the freeway when he lost control, swerved left off the road,…
Cops get gassed
Squad cars are poisoning Springfield police officers, according to emails showing elevated levels of carbon monoxide in police cars have resulted in two officers being taken to hospitals since November. “The officer’s CO level upon arriving to the hospital was close to critical,” Deputy Chief Shawn Handlin wrote in a Nov. 19 email to David…
Money time
An attorney for the developer of a hotel proposed for downtown Springfield says the project is on track. But city officials say they haven’t yet received proof of private financing, which is required before the city can release tax increment financing money, and the deadline to provide such information is near. “If the developer needs…
March music making
Here we go into the first full weekend of March and with some nicer weather happening, you can almost feel the outdoor venues popping up to prepare for a summer of fun. In the meantime, let’s see what marches on in the music scene for now. Thursdays continue to shine and this week we have…
Good news, bad news
First, the bad news. The Kidzeum of Health and Sciences on Adams Street isn’t turning out as hoped when doors opened in 2018. Attendance hasn’t met projections. Revenue has lagged and debt is being restructured. Premises include 5,000 square feet of empty space. The business plan is being revisited. Staff has been cut. Public money…
Kurt Crandall
Considered a master of the blues harp, this bluesman does devilish duty on the chromatic harp, as well as the more commonly played diatonic harmonica. With credentials earned from decades of tours through Europe and America, relocations with dedication to blues hotbeds around the country and stellar songwriting, arranging and performing, Kurt Crandall in his…
Editor’s note 3/5/20
Now Democrats are left with two or three old white guys trying to inspire women, minorities and the young without losing the old white guys who haven’t gone over to the dark side with Donald Trump. Maybe the candidates can inspire with a message as simple as make America good again, which seemed to work…
Blues in the schools
The blues man begins by looking over the students in the room. It’s dead silent. James Armstrong is cool, presenting himself in a John Lee Hooker style three-piece suit and black shades. He talks to the kids about music, the instrument he plays, the places he’s traveled and why he plays blues music. He performs…
Stop denying adoption rights to same-sex couples
In my mid-20s I worked as a child welfare case worker. The work changed me, variably and deeply and permanently. There have been moments when I regretted the changes, wished I could ever again feel light-hearted, simple, fun. Never mind. My time in child welfare helped make me exactly who I need to be and…
America’s favorite clown
Richard “Red” Skelton (1913-1997) was an American comedian known for his work on national radio and television shows. He also had his own television comedy and variety show, “The Red Skelton Show,” which aired from 1951 to 1971 and won three Emmys. This weekend, the Hoogland Center for the Arts will present Remembering Red: A…
Emails show inner workings of the Madigan machine
Chicago’s public radio station WBEZ recently published a story about emails between House Speaker Michael Madigan’s former consigliere Mike McClain and top staffers in Madigan’s office. Federal investigators raided the former ComEd lobbyist’s home last year. The reporters culled pretty much all the really good stuff, including discussions about how Madigan was McClain’s “number one…
Ink as a medium
Explore the medium of ink at the opening reception for a collaborative group exhibition at The Pharmacy Gallery & Art Space. It will feature the work of artists who specialize in ink, plus a henna artist offering designs, screen printing installation and performances on both Friday and Saturday nights. The exhibition will be on display…
porcine poem #3
saltina a vietnamese potbellied pig once popular as pets she was little cute grunty had had milky oatmeal for breakfast as had I when I stayed overnight with a once-neighbor on a cross country trip my laden purse was open on the floor I looked down saw salty nosing through the contents – papers wallet…
Letter’s to the editor 3/5/20
LETTERS We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. STOP CHANGING THE CLOCK The bill to make Daylight Saving Time the year-round time has passed in the Illinois Senate and is headed for the House. I am all for stopping the clock-changing twice…
Dim Art House breaks ground
From the outside, Dim Art House looks like any other bungalow along MacArthur Avenue, save for the signpost on the lawn, which has already been creating a buzz, as artist Joey Wallace can attest. “The minute we threw up the sign, you could practically hear people saying, ‘What’s going on over there?'” Wallace is a…
THE MAYBE HOTEL
March 6 is the deadline for the developer of a proposed downtown hotel to prove that more than $73 million in private financing has been secured for the project. Otherwise, a city agreement to provide $450,000 for property acquisition, and more than $7 million in public money down the line, could be in jeopardy. Early…
FOOD FIGHT!
If there’s one constant at city hall, it’s cage fights, jello wrestling, mud slinging – call it what you will – inside city council chambers, and this week proved no exception as Ward 6 Ald. Kristin “Terminator” DiCenso went up against Ward 7 Ald. Joe “Master of Disaster” McMenamin for the championship belt in a…
Rainbow connections
Gay members of the central Illinois community are working to better include other LGBTQ people in events and organizing. As the acronym to represent gender nonconforming and nonheterosexual members of society stretches to include the myriad of queer identities – many now prefer LGBTQIA to include intersex and asexual people – some in the Springfield…
Hail the humble lentil
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” We’ve heard it time and time again, but Hippocrates’ words seem to ring especially true now, during these last frigid months of winter. It’s easy to feel out of balance when sunshine is fleeting and comfort is what we crave. Unfortunately, the insidiously delicious winter…
Civil war letters
In Their Letters – In Their Words – Illinois Civil War Soldiers Write Home, by Mark Flotow. SIU Press, 2019, 302 pages, $26.50. May be purchased at Books on the Square, Barnes and Noble, online at SIU Press or at markflotow.net. What did the Civil War soldiers from Illinois write home about? Enlisting? Camp life?…
Lack of urgency trips up Invisible Man
In 2017, in an effort to replicate the success of Marvel Films, Universal Studios attempted to create their own shared universe featuring their seminal monsters in a series of movies in which they would all interact. Money was spent ($125 million), the biggest movie star in the world was hired (Tom Cruise) and the property…
