Cover Story
Restaurants navigate a pandemic
The line outside The Feed Store on its last day stretched around the block. The Springfield mainstay has been around for 43 years. Its green sign faces the Old State Capitol plaza. It was a perfect place to pick up a sandwich, salad or some soup while downtown and eat outside or in the restaurant’s…
Registration for District 186 open July 21-31
The Springfield Public Schools board met last night to review a plan created by Supt. Jennifer Gill and some 100 or so staff. The board did not vote on a calendar for the coming school year or what model it might choose, instead voting to open the registration period from July 21-31. Registration is available…
Cropping up
Pot is going mainstream in Sangamon County, where three growing operations are under consideration by state and local regulators, including one that would have an elected official as an owner. Jeff Fulgenzi, a trustee of Lincoln Land Community College, is listed as a manager of a limited liability corporation that wants to convert The Gym…
Michael-angelo Madigan
I’m numb as a statue I may have to beg, borrow or steal Some feelings from you So I can have some feelings too —Warren Zevon Farewell, former Lt. Gov. Pierre Menard and Stephen Douglas. After working in the same building since 1971, House Speaker Michael Madigan wants to get rid of the Menard statue…
Now that’s a wrap
Foods wrapped and cooked in leaves appear in culinary cultures all over the world. In Mexico, tamales are wrapped and steamed in corn husks or banana leaves. In Thailand there is a dish known as aeb consisting of fish wrapped and cooked in banana leaf packets. Zongzi is a Mandarin Chinese dish made with sticky…
Topsy-turvy times
Welcome to our present state of confusion, where things “feel upside down and not in proper order,” according to the definition of “topsy-turvy.” My mom used the odd phrase to describe our situation back during the initial days of the shelter-in-place order, and the expression seems even more pertinent now in these nonsensical times we’re…
Midnight River Choir
A favorite of many folks around here, these fellers hail from New Braunfels, Texas, and have been putting out good music through releasing records and traveling the country since 2009. They first played the Springfield scene several years ago and continue to entertain in the area on a regular basis. Based in Americana music with…
Charming Springs delivers timely message
Taking its cue from Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow, director Max Barbakow and writer Andy Siara bring a new twist to the time loop premise with Palm Springs, a quirky comedy with a weighty undertone that manages to find new angles to explore in a mini-genre that had seemingly exhausted all of its possibilities…
Sweet sounds of summer
Spend a lunch hour listening to the sounds of local musicians showcasing their talents. For the next few weeks the Springfield Area Arts Council (SAAC) and the downtown Adams Family are hosting the Artist on Adams series of summertime outdoor concerts at the Café Moxo Patio. The performances will take place every Tuesday and Thursday…
Editor’s note 7/16/20
This week brings realization that the pandemic will last longer and the recession will go deeper than most of us had hoped or imagined a month ago. It is like having both hands tied while working on anti-racism, engaging in a national election campaign and keeping businesses open and people employed. Illinois, unaccustomed to being…
Boards and commissions matter
The recent controversy over discrimination in the composition of Springfield city boards and commissions goes well beyond the statement by Alderman Joe McMenamin, who attempted to justify the appointments of west side individuals at the exclusion of those living on the east side. The statement reflects an attitude that has historically prevailed and has been…
Can a new director turn IDES around?
Gov. JB Pritzker has not had a lot of luck with the Illinois Department of Employment Security since taking office in 2019. Pritzker appointed Gustavo Giraldo as his IDES director in March of last year. Giraldo abruptly walked out of the office two weeks later. The Pritzker administration has never explained why. A couple of…
Vermont poem # 1, 2020
“This hillside cabin of yours has dispelled all our desire to see points further east. Climbed Camel’s Hump yesterday, our introduction to the Green Mountains – the beauty is over- whelming. Ate our picnic on a sunny ledge at 3000 feet. Five miles up a Vermont mountain is very different from the same distance on…
Letters to the editor 7/16/20
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. WALK THIS WAY The Sangamon County Historical Society’s annual cemetery walk, which was revived in 2015, has in the past included presentations about a number of those interred in the “Colored Section,” Block 5 of…
MASKS?
This week’s Sangamon County Board meeting lasted a tick longer than two hours, which is longer than typical. More than half of board members stayed away – and who, really, could blame them – opting to participate remotely and figure out the finer points of mute buttons while they were either listening intently or doing…
UIS PLANS CAREFUL COMEBACK
Hand sanitizer, face masks and lots of cleaning. University of Illinois Springfield has announced it will reopen campus for fall semester. UIS’ “Return to the Prairie” plan lays out details including protocol for quarantine should staff or students fall ill. A “blended course delivery” model was chosen that merges in-person and off-campus learning. The approach…
Defund police?
Calls to reallocate police funding have become more pronounced in recent weeks. But what activists are proposing when they say “defund the police” is not always clear. Planned Parenthood Illinois Action (PPIA) – the political advocacy-oriented arm of the state’s reproductive health organization – hosted a discussion July 9 that addressed the idea to defund…
Determined to tell the story
This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center. For more stories about the effect of COVID-19 on museums, please visit the Prairie State Museums Project at PrairieStateMuseumsProject.org. Like museums all over the world, the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum (AAHM) closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the…
