Citizens Club discusses Springfield’s dysfunctional downtown
Dozens of Springfield residents, including government officials and concerned business owners, attended the Citizens Club of Springfield’s Sept. 26 meeting about a decades-old issue – the state of downtown Springfield. The meeting was moved from its typical location upstairs at the Hoogland Center for the Arts to the main floor LRS Theatre to accommodate the…
Judge rules feds can’t block Illinois’ disaster funding in response to immigration laws
The Trump administration cannot withhold federal emergency funding from Illinois because the state refuses to participate in federal immigration enforcement, a Rhode Island federal judge ruled on Wednesday. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January requiring the Department of Homeland Security and agencies under its command, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to stop…
Battle messy and ambitious, Dead of Winter tells wrong story
Anderson orchestrates ambitious Battle Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another comes fully freighted with great expectations. Proclaimed by critics as the front runner for the Oscar for Best Picture, it seems preordained to deliver the director recognition from the Academy that’s long overdue. Yet, much like Martin Socrsese’s The Departed, this is far from…
Distraction
My sister Jo was a reader. With the family parked outside the post office Joan took the farm mail and never lifting her eyes from the page walked up the familiar steps, disappeared inside, reappeared, and still reading felt her way down to the car. We all watched as she reached for the handle and…
Letters to the editor 9/25/25
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. NEED RESIDENTS If you want to revive downtown, you need a base of downtown residents (Springfield City Council SeeGov highlight reel, Sept. 2). The downtown merchants can’t rely on only tourist traffic. The Wyndham hotel…
Fall baking with apples
The desire to retreat into my cozy kitchen and comfort bake has been especially strong lately, but until recently it’s simply been too darn hot to turn on the oven. Now that the temperatures have dropped to a reasonable level we can finally start leaning into the coming season of sweaters and cider and warm…
September music moves along
As we roar on into the last weekend of September for 2025, fall is in the air and live music in the outdoor spaces is slowly coming to a close. For now, let’s enjoy what we have left of the season to the utmost, with almost complete abandon and definitely the most fun we can…
Popular car show returns to capital city
This weekend, all roads lead once again to Springfield for this major car show. Hundreds of street machines, muscle cars and hot rods will rumble into the capital city. They will be followed by thousands of spectators for this weekend of family fun, live music and entertainment. The festival begins with the Route 66 City…
UIS Innovation Center opens in Horace Mann building
The third floor of Horace Mann’s modernist glass and steel tower in downtown Springfield is now home to the University of Illinois Springfield Innovation Center, which includes the Innovate Springfield business incubator. “Our move to this strategic location will enable us to bring more people into our innovation ecosystem, including students, faculty, corporate partners, community…
State raises health insurance rates
The Illinois Department of Insurance finalized rates for 2026 health insurance premiums this month, exercising a new right to modify premium adjustments proposed by companies issuing small group or individual insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act. Surprisingly, most premiums filed by insurers increased after the state’s reviewal, including nearly all remaining Affordable Care Act…
SPD to stick with Flock Safety
In the wake of a state audit showing Illinois license plate reader data being shared with federal immigration authorities – in violation of state law – the city of Springfield plans to stay the course with the technology and the company involved. The audit’s findings resulted in Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias demanding that Flock…
