Turning up the heat
Concern about the city of Springfield’s hiring practices for first responders has sparked a trio of new legal actions. Last week, Ward 2 Ald. Frank McNeil asked the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a formal investigation into hiring and promotional practices in the police and fire departments. This week, three top-ranked firefighter applicants rejected…
A second chance
If you’ve been waiting for cooler weather to finish your garden-chore to-do list, now is the time to get going. September gives gardeners a second chance to get around to unfinished garden tasks. Here’s a checklist to get you started: Trees and shrubs • Fall is a great time to plant trees and shrubs. Be…
People’s poetry
Road to Riverton Road to Riverton rainy & rutted Miles spent passing dulled river flow Deep forests denuded In late November grayness Hazy morning shadows touching long ago Up the creek to Riverton Bending ’long the Sangamon circle Plow horse to the wagon Turning back from city lights Bustle in the Capitol Blanded row by…
Maze crazy
This time of year, many family farms boast corn mazes. Paul and Sherry Staley have two — their 12-acre “Jungle Maze” and a three-acre “Mystery Maze.” But that’s not all. The Staleys have been in the entertainment-farming business long enough to go completely maze-crazy. They have constructed five straw mazes, ranging from an easy toddler…
Comedy crasher
Vince Vaughn may be the reigning king of comedy, yet he really isn’t a comedian. Normally that moniker is bestowed on an actor who began either as a standup comedian or a sketch-comedy actor. Steve Martin and, more recently, Jim Carrey are prime examples. The most fertile training ground is clearly Saturday Night Live, the…
State government as business
It’s time to take the governor at his word and run state government as a business. As always, a nationwide search has been initiated to produce a blue-ribbon committee to establish the course of action. The governor’s last nationwide search, as you may recall, found an Elvis impersonator and Megan Harlow, ex-showgirl trophy wife of…
Keeping Guard
The state of Louisiana, a third of whose National Guard troops are in Iraq, is activating 3,500 soldiers, roughly half of the state’s forces, to clean up behind Katrina, the hurricane that slammed New Orleans on Monday. Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, also with large Guard contingencies on overseas duty, have mobilized guardsmen to deal with…
Fall Guide 2005
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Letters to the editor
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com THE FACTS OF COMPETITION In a recent column, Jim Hightower deplored the…
Color your world
Like a first kiss or a loved one’s last touch or your child’s precious gap-toothed smile, autumn is one of those profoundly sweet experiences that tends to come and go before you’ve had chance to properly savor the moment. Don’t let that happen again this year. Go out and wallow in the fall. There’s a…
Yesterday’s news
In February 2004, Shawn Greene was the star of local TV. From his prison cell at Graham Correctional Center, he appeared in the final segments of an eight-part series to say that he shouldn’t have pleaded guilty to rape, that he only had consensual sex with the girl, and that his lawyer had not represented…
Grape escapes
Believe it or not, Illinois was once a leading wine producer, supplying about a quarter of the nation’s domestic supply. Then came Prohibition, and, for obvious reasons, business dried up. In the last 15 years, with encouragement from a state organization of grape growers and vintners, the number of Illinois wineries has increased 10-fold to…
Bush’s economic draft
President George W. Bush’s handling of Iraq has been such a mess that his numbers are in the ditch. I’m talking not about poll numbers (which are at new lows) but about his recruitment numbers. The Bush administration doesn’t need polls to show what the public thinks about its Iraq policy — the public’s judgment…
When pumpkins fly
As if being the nexus of the pumpkin universe weren’t awesome enough, Morton, Ill., is also home of the Aludium Q36 Pumpkin Modulator (essentially an enormous pumpkin cannon), a machine with no utilitarian value but really cool nonetheless. Designed by Matt Parker, vice president of Morton-based Parker Fabrications Inc., and a few of his buddies,…
Killing our enemies
Like most people, I reacted with revulsion, not shock, to evangelist Pat Robertson’s suggestion that we assassinate Venezuela’s president. Robertson, after all, has a record of saying things that thoughtful folks wouldn’t. That’s why he’s largely ignored — most media organizations tune out the rants of TV preachers and most talk-show hosts. In this case,…
Thirty-four winners
Springfield Art Association’s new exhibit of two-dimensional art, organized around the single theme of The Modern Landscape, represents a first for the organization: a show dedicated to Illinois artists. Amanda Lampert, SAA’s curator of collections, credits former executive director Erika Fitzgerald with the idea. “She wasn’t here to see the exhibit through, but I think…
The blues come around
The blues come in many styles and colors, fitting many different moods. Last weekend’s Old Capitol Blues & BBQ downtown music party was a good representation of the rowdy electric blues born in the bars of Chicago. If you liked that sound, look for more of the same this week. Joe Moss was weaned on…
All that’s fall
A quick guide to some of the festivals, celebrations, and other events that make fall special in Springfield and Illinois. Look for additional information in weekly editions of Illinois Times. SEPTEMBER Sept. 1-4 Chicago Jazz Festival: Feeling funky? Head north to one of the best jazz festivals in the country. Featuring such world-renowned jazz musicians…
Taking aim
Just as the cool autumn day begins to fade, the quarry suddenly appears. You’ve been waiting in the damp brush for hours to capture this moment. Heart rate down . . . don’t move . . . don’t make a sound . . . don’t breathe. . . Your heart is pounding like a cornered…
Especially people who care about strangers
Call me cantankerous, but I didn’t want to like Field Notes on the Compassionate Life. Sure that in the background I was hearing strains from the ’60s musical Hair, I wondered, “How can publishers be so cruel?” Do we really need a how-to book about searching for “the soul of kindness”? It was easy to…
Every track a money shot
Although no one can define it, most of us know pornography when we see it, and we do not approve. Never mind that we’re consuming it in record quantities; we still freak out at the sight of a wayward nipple. It’s strange that something as ubiquitous as porn has so few champions — and such…
Earth Talk
Dear “Earth Talk”: What are some of the trends in the construction industry that seek to improve the environmental impact of buildings? — Bianca Hoffman, Bridgeport, Conn. Builders, architects, environmental organizations, and forward-thinking governments around the world are working on a host of innovative ideas aimed at greening the built environment — from giant factories…
Third whirled
In the opening scene of The Constant Gardener, British diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) sees off his wife, Tessa (Rachel Weisz), as she leaves on a trip from which we know she’ll never return. From a Kenyan airstrip, activist Tessa is traveling with a Red Cross physician to a meeting with an unknown purpose; within…
Jacqueline Jackson
lakepoem # 7 doing the final summer laundry the sheets beach towels frayed shorts shirts sweats I grapple with the change machine the woman in charge known as the laundry lady takes the bill strops it against a corner you have to smooth them and pat them and straighten them out she says and that…
