Restaurant Guide
Springfield offers dozens of places to grab a bite — from hot dogs on a stick to Eurasian bistros. Sure, we have all your favorite chain restaurants, but there are plenty of places that are unique to the capital city. Here’s a selection of some favorites. If you see the symbol by a restaurant’s name,…
People’s poetry
Cornfields i sat on a porch in central Illinois my eyes in wonder at the expansive view a sea of cornfields alive in the wind blossoming prospect of abundant yield the acres rolled grand and spacious beyond were horses on grazing hills the moment endless eternity displayed each seed, each stalk talked on the wind…
Gutless Beltway Democrats
Excuse me, but has anyone seen the Democratic Party? An outrageous war of lies rages in Iraq, nearly 2,000 American troops have died there, Iraq itself is spiraling down into civil war and theocracy, a growing majority of Americans now see President George W. Bush’s policy for the disastrous deceit that it is, and grassroots…
Eager for Edgar
Another poll shows Jim Edgar, a former governor, with a commanding lead over Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Taken late last month for the Judy Baar Topinka campaign, the poll has Edgar leading Blagojevich 51-38.2. Edgar led everywhere except Chicago, where Blagojevich held a 63.4-26.7 advantage. Edgar’s largest margin was downstate, where he was creaming the incumbent…
Quicktakes
LAW AND ORDER The University of Illinois at Springfield Center for State Policy and Leadership marks Constitution Day with a forum, “Politics, the Constitution, and Supreme Court Appoint-ments.” The keynote speaker, Professor Martin Redish of the Northwestern University School of Law, will be joined by distinguished panelists, including U.S. District Judge Jeanne Scott and Professor…
Unfinished, but completely satisfying
Brooding on his Wyoming ranch, Einar Gilkyson (Robert Redford) is a bitter man whose stubbornness seems to be the only thing that keeps him going. Brooding over the tragic loss of his only son a decade earlier, he’s a man whose life stopped on the fateful day and who lost his wife, and nearly his…
Sex sells, again
The surprise success of Wedding Crashers and The 40-Year-Old Virgin may revive the sex-comedy genre, but we are still a long way from its glory days. Today the genre is dominated by trash teen flicks, such as the American Pie trilogy, and moronic adult comedies aimed at a juvenile mentality, such as Deuce Bigalow: Male…
Cold gets hot again
Cold started 2003 on a roll. After a five-year apprenticeship with fellow Florida nü-metalheads Limp Bizkit, the band was turning away from the chest-beating aggressiveness of that waning scene for a more radio-friendly (but no less angst-filled) approach. It worked: They scored a pair of hit singles (“Stupid Girl” and “Suffocate”) off the disc Year…
The sting’s the thing
Many of us are enjoying cooler temperatures by getting outside and having a picnic, attending a family reunion, or spending the day at an arts-and-crafts festival. These activities, which usually involve food and beverages, may attract some uninvited guests. You know who I’m talking about: those stinging bugs sporting yellow-and-black jackets. Believe it or not,…
Whole lotta shakin’ going’ on
I once caught a whiff of a wet woolen overcoat. Before you could say “Sister Mary Magdalene,” I was transported to the winter of 1956 and a grade-school cloakroom hung with leggings still damp from a snowy recess. The poems in Marcellus Leonard’s new collection, Shake the Thunder Down, are strung with this kind of…
Jacqueline Jackson
poolpoem # 3 the trouble with the Y pool is it isn’t ringed with spruce hemlocks maples birches no blue sky above or clouds or stars or pelting rain so that the water leaps up to meet every drop it doesn’t have carly in her sleek shell sculling three lengths every morning or the long-necked…
Doveman’s gentle hodgepodge
Most musicians hate to be categorized, rejecting any attempts to label, contextualize, or otherwise rape their divine muse. Because they are, like, totally unique, they tell anyone who is stupid or polite enough to ask what kind of music they play that it can’t be described. “You just have to listen to it, bro,” they…
A big relief
Since the levees gave way to the forces of Katrina three weeks ago, the only visible remnants of many New Orleans neighborhoods are rooftops resembling lily pads. As a last refuge for hurricane victims, these rooftops doubtless saved thousands of lives in the Crescent City. With the help of some groups in Springfield, they may…
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 TEAR IT DOWN, AND I WON’T RETURN I have been following with…
The Springfield Syndrome
I once lived in a place so fresh that people could express their pride in residency simply by the way they put their renewal stickers on their license plates. Most motorists placed them properly, inside that rectangular dimple on the license’s upper right-hand corner, smack on top of last year’s tag. But others refused to…
A dash illegal
Their business was database development: Ulee Bob Waxon handled the people side, Yanks Avatar did all things technical. As Yanks measured it, he worked 80-hour weeks; Ulee did 10. Nonetheless, Yanks needed Ulee, for Yanks lived completely inside technology and struggled to communicate with other human beings. He did not understand the programming code for…
Preservationists in a jam
The Illinois Audubon Society has heard the reasons not to raze Margery Adams’ old farmhouse on Clear Lake Avenue: A remnant of Lincoln-era Springfield, the building is part of the city’s historical fabric and one of the few of its kind remaining in the city. They also say they’ve considered the alternatives but that most…
