Trial deliberations
The acclaimed courtroom drama Twelve Angry Men is on the docket for Sept. 28 through Oct. 7 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Adapted by Sherman Sergel and based on the Emmy award-winning television movie by Reginald Rose, the local production is directed by Laurie McCoy and features a cast of talented local actors.…
WE’RE IN THE MONEY
What do First Lady Michelle Obama, former Gov. George Ryan, the late Tim Davlin, basketball legend Michael Jordan and Illinois Times staff members have in common? All have money waiting for them at the Illinois treasurer’s office. State treasurer Dan Rutherford has made it his mission to get money to the oblivious, including Tenneco, a…
State gives Ameren a pollution pass
State regulators won’t enforce pollution limits on one of Illinois’ largest power generators until 2020 under a ruling released Sept. 20. The Illinois Pollution Control Board last week granted Ameren Energy Resources – a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation – a variance that allows the power plant operator to put off compliance with a…
Letters to the Editor 9/27/12
LIVING FOR THE CITY On Nov. 6, Springfield residents will have an important opportunity to vote on an advisory referendum to reinstate the residency requirement for new Springfield city employees. Residency is a vital issue with significant economic impact. Our city workers are well paid. By living in the city, they can contribute to our tax…
ENOS EFFORTS
The revitalization work continues in Springfield’s Enos Park neighborhood, as volunteers begin the process of turning a handful of old houses into new homes. On Sept. 22, 33 students from Lanphier High School in Springfield descended on Enos Park to start work on houses that were purchased by the Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association. Students…
Green machines
The 43rd Annual Steam Show and Fall Festival Days in South Jacksonville is Sept. 28-30. Featured tractor this year is the John Deere. Rick Trahan, The Black Smith Express, will give presentations on the history of this fine machine. And a 1949 John Deere A will be raffled off. Besides all the machinery and an…
Teaming up on truancy
If education is a path to success, getting students to show up is a step in the right direction. That’s why Springfield Public Schools and the Faith Coalition for the Common Good are rolling out separate but related programs aimed at improving school attendance. Sharon Kherat, transformation officer for Lanphier High School in Springfield, says…
Polls blind to state representatives’ shenanigans
I have two poll results to tell you about today. One is about an alleged criminal; the other is about a proven liar. Expelled state Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) is leading his only opponent by 38 points and is close to the 50 percent he’ll need to reclaim his seat. According to a poll of…
Eva Hunter Band
A Fancy Prairie native and Athens High School graduate, Eva got her start in show business with a family band, singing with her sisters. As the emotive vocalist developed into a rhythm guitar player and composer, her path veered toward that of the performing songwriter. Now several years later with five records independently released (the…
musicpoem #21
musicpoem #21 thinking about great moments I wasa timid college kid out of my depth attanglewood the famous music campkoussevitzky ambled the paths like awindow shopper I could spot from adistance take cover from any wild eyedfledgling composer frantically seekinga cellist to fill out his quartet I couldn’tplay a measure of his impossible scrawlsone evening…
City needs a residency requirement
Signs of an approaching election season are unmistakable as candidate signs clutter our view, TV ads inundate the airwaves and political party conventions monopolize the news. This upcoming Nov. 6 election is important because voters will help decide who gets the nation’s top job while they pick winners for congressional and state legislative seats, some…
Realism makes Watch one of year’s best films
Cop movies are a dime a dozen and writer/director David Ayer has done more than his fair share to keep the genre alive. Having written the Oscar-winning Training Day, and the Kurt Russell feature Dark Blue, as well as directed Street Kings, the filmmaker has specialized in bringing a degree of authenticity to his work…
Prosecutor faces voters
Ron Stradt says he’s running for Sangamon County state’s attorney to restore trust and integrity to government. “If you work in the county building, you can get away with just about anything,” says Stradt, who got more than 46 percent of the vote four years ago when running for state’s attorney against John Schmidt, who…
Spare and elegant: The William Maxwell style
Conversations with William Maxwell, edited by Barbara Burkhardt. University Press of Mississippi. (Literary Conversations Series) 241 pages. Hardback, $40. When Barbara Burkhardt, an associate professor of English at the University of Illinois Springfield, published her biography of William Maxwell in 2005, reviewers were justifiably enthusiastic. Maxwell, who spent his early years in Lincoln, Ill., in…
Sweet satire
Legacy Theatre opens its doors Sept. 28 for A HA! Theatre’s production of Sordid Lives. You’ll be in stitches over this musical-comedy melodrama about a Texas family of assorted quirky characters as they gather for the funeral of their matriarch after she dies in a roadside motel under less-than-Christian circumstances. A talented cast of local…
Blues ambassador James Armstrong
In this day and age of ubiquitous blues, finding a genuine and pertinent purveyor of the genre can be trying. Not to say all the variations of the I-IV-V performed in various instrumental configurations don’t have a place in the field, but experiencing a true-blue bluesman, as opposed to someone playing the blues, is like…
Missing the bus
In late August the Springfield Mass Transit District Board chose as its new executive director a retired Corrections Department internal affairs investigator. The new hire’s qualifications to run a public transit agency seem to be that 1) he is from Springfield and 2) is the son of a former Sangamon County board chairman. Karen Hasara…
Nona’s chicken tetrazzini
I love this dish, which combines Italian ingredients with a truly American retro topping: crushed potato chips. As a child that topping was my favorite part of my mom’s tuna noodle casserole. Nona’s seasoning:• 2 1/2 tsp. paprika• 2 T. salt• 2 T. garlic powder• 1 T. (freshly ground) black pepper• 1 T. onion powder• 1…
Our disgraceful minimum wage
Elites in Washington, on Wall Street and in the corporate suites have taken exquisite care of themselves. They’ve increased their take by offshoring our middle-class jobs, slashing American wages and benefits, busting the ability of unions to fight back, deregulating their nefarious corporate and financial operations, dodging their tax obligations, privatizing and gutting public services…
Dining with the King’s Daughters
“Hi, honey,” my grandmother said. “Do you want to come with me out to King’s Daughters this afternoon?” “Sure!” I replied. “When are we going?” It was an exchange we had countless times throughout my childhood. Though it might seem strange that a young child would be so enthusiastic about a trip to a retirement…
No jackpot
The best way to curb gambling might be for the state of Illinois to legalize it. The going has been slow since lawmakers more than three years ago approved video gambling outside casinos. Only last spring did the state gaming board start accepting applications from businesses, fraternal organizations and veterans groups for licenses to have…
Celebrating camelids
Families wanting to take their younguns out of town this weekend can experience the world of alpacas at Alpaca Farm Days at Alpacas of Indian Point Hills in Menard County. Your kids can see an alpaca up close and pet one if they want. There will be children’s activities such as pin the tail on…
The Guardian of Lawrence Avenue
Countless cars whiz through the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Lawrence Avenue every morning and evening, each driver urgently heading to the next stage of the day. At that infamous intersection, yellow lights are often seen as signals to speed up, and red lights are interpreted as negotiable. When a driver miscalculates – perhaps trying…
Pharmacists win abortion drug spat in court
Pharmacists can’t be fined for refusing to dispense an abortion drug for religious reasons under a court ruling released Friday. It’s a win for groups concerned with freedom of religion, but a defeat for abortion rights groups. The Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court last week found that an executive order issued in 2005 by former…
The tweakest link
I met this man, and it was instant attraction. I’m a 40-year-old woman with my own place, a car and a good job, and he’s an ex-convict who served four years in prison for selling meth. He’s very loving, but he has no car or driver’s license (it expired during prison), has a minimum-wage job, and…
