Cover Story
Remembering
Our annual REMEMBERING edition, the last issue of the year, reminds us small-town folks that people we thought we knew we didn’t know as well as we wish we had, and those we didn’t know, we wish we had known. It reminds us that many more have died this year than we could possibly write…
City of Springfield 2024 budget hearings
The city of Springfield will begin its annual budget hearings on Jan. 10. These budget presentations will provide an overview of the city’s fiscal planning and allocation strategies for the upcoming year. The public is encouraged to attend and participate. The schedule for the hearings is as follows: Jan. 10 at 5:30 p.m. Presentations by…
Sara Lee Knobloch
Sara Lee Knobloch (nee Poling, Coplea), age 82, passed from this life onto the next Dec. 27, 2023. Born Aug. 11, 1941, in Cerro Gordo, Illinois, to Jacob D. and Ruby F. (Copeland) Poling, Sara attended Bement High School and Lincoln Land Community College. She married Leo M. Coplea in 1959 and they divorced in…
Suzanne “Susy” Woods June 11, 1948-Dec. 8, 2023
Long before Susy Woods began advocating for children with disabilities throughout Illinois, she graduated from high school at Ursuline Academy and was preparing to become an Ursuline nun and teach. She left the convent after an accident caused her to have seizures that interrupted her studies. “The Ursulines felt that their way of life would be…
James “Pate” Philip May 26, 1930-Nov. 21, 2023
Former Illinois Senate President James “Pate” Philip, the last Republican to lead a legislative chamber in Illinois, reflected a bygone era when DuPage County was a conservative bastion and Republicans had power in the General Assembly. In the two decades since Philip lost his role as Senate president, Republican influence in the Statehouse has atrophied…
Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko Jan. 23, 1972-Jan. 21, 2023
It is hard to believe that January will mark the first anniversary of the passing of Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, director of the Illinois State Museum. Cinnamon was a force. Named after a secret agent popularized in the 1960s action TV series “Mission Impossible,” she lived up to all the complexity of her namesake, a super-spy whose…
EMMA SHAFER April 13, 1999-July 11, 2023
“She was so empathetic, generous, humble and her leadership was so subtle, so loving, so free of ego that it almost defied the usual ways leadership is defined in our society,” said Alyshia Galvez, a professor at the New School in New York City, where Emma Shafer earned a bachelor’s degree in urban studies. Emma’s…
Music for the new year
Welcome, one and all, to the new year weekend. The extra good news for this year is, when New Year’s Day falls on a Monday, then the party day of New Year’s Eve is on Sunday, which gives us an extra good day in the weekend to explore and enjoy live music. The big NYE…
RICHARD MILLS July 19, 1929-July 16, 2023
Springfield lost a legal community stalwart on July 16 when Judge Richard “Dick” Mills of Springfield passed away. A child of the Great Depression, Richard grew up in the river town of Beardstown, weaned on small-town values he learned at home, in church and in a one-room schoolhouse. Mills had many dimensions to his life,…
RICH BRADLEY May 13, 1940-July 3, 2023
Radio legend Rich Bradley left us in 2023. Countless NPR listeners across central Illinois will remember him as the comforting voice over the airwaves going back to the mid-1970s. Rich was a constant, from the early days when Sangamon State University’s WSSR went on the air in 1975, and long after its transformation to WUIS by…
MELVIN GEIGER Feb. 24, 1936-March 9, 2023
Sam, the neighborhood basset hound, knew where to find a kind heart and comforting hand. “Every time it would rain, that poor dog would become afraid and come to our back door and start scratching to be let in. Of course, Mel would always let him in to our house. One time, that dog walked…
PAULA J. HARRIS Aug. 27, 1952–April 10, 2023
While washing dishes, I feel her come up from behind. After Paula nestles my neck, she grabs my hand, turns me around and we begin dancing to the tune in her head. Then she begins to sing, leaving me to wonder if it was a real song or something she was creating. Paula loved to…
PROSHANTA K. NANDI Sept. 10, 1933-March 10, 2023
Proshanta Nandi is remembered for the cultural bridges he built between the Indian and larger Springfield community. However, on a personal level as characterized by a good friend of his, “Proshanta Nandi was one of those few people who maintained his integrity forever.” This was clearly consistent with Proshanta’s belief in humanity, equality and justice…
REV. WESLEY GENE ROBINSON-MCNEESE, M.D. Sept. 26, 1947-Sept. 18, 2023
During our Zoom introduction, I first recall hearing a lovely and calm voice in the background who offered coffee to the Rev. Dr. Wesley G. Robinson McNeese. With his endearing grace and style, he first acknowledged his wife of 46 years, LaVern Ollie-McNeese, for her love and care, while boasting of her excellent skills as…
JUNE DALLAS PEDEN-STADE Aug. 20, 2019-Dec. 22, 2022
We all know the saying, “Life is a journey.” None of us know how and when each journey will end or what joys and challenges are along the way. One little girl, June Dallas, was only given three years on this side of eternity, but what a difference her journey made. And continues to make.…
TODD MAISCH June 13, 1965-June 1, 2023
Todd Maisch never held elective office, but he was a fixture in Illinois politics for more than 30 years. Tall, handsome, always smiling, his face was one of the best-known in the Statehouse. At a time when folks jump from job to job, Maisch had the same employer for almost 30 years. As president of…
VINCENT SPERANZA March 23, 1925-Aug. 2, 2023
When it comes to memorable people in my life, Vince Speranza ranks in the top tier. He was born into a large Italian American family in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan and grew up on Staten Island. During World War II Vince was eager to do his part and enlisted in 1943. After completing…
Eric Welch June 10, 1972–Feb. 19, 2023
It’s probably fair to say that Eric Welch never got over SOHO. A gregarious and unfailingly humorous presence at local music events for years, Eric founded the SOHO Music Festival, which ran every summer from 2004-2016. The festival was both a showcase for original musical acts from the area and a charity event, raising thousands…
MARY ANN LAMM Dec. 21, 1938-June 4, 2023
Mary Ann Lamm’s work ethic and personality were key to her decades of electoral success in Sangamon County, friends and family members said. “She was always a public servant first,” Lamm’s daughter, Melissa Anderson, said of her mother, the former Democratic Sangamon County Recorder who served for 32 years – from 1976 until her retirement…
