Cover Story
Still building Athens
Forty-eight years ago, when Illinois Times had just opened for business, its very first cover story featured the Menard County community of Athens: “Rebuilding Athens: How to save a small town,” Sept. 18, 1975. There was a movement at the time to rebuild the waning small town, and optimism reigned because Athens, 16 miles northwest…
A controversial purchase
After spending $1.2 million on a new firetruck, the city of Springfield found out it is one inch too tall to fit under the viaduct near the main fire station. Once they discovered the problem, rank-and-file firefighters were sounding the alarm. “It’s too tall to fit under the Capitol Avenue underpass. So, anytime we have…
New tax on financial services industry unlikely
From Illinois law: “No unit of local government shall levy any tax on stock, commodity or options transactions.” That statute has long been targeted for elimination by the Chicago Teachers Union and its allies. The CTU reliably shuns any proposal to increase property taxes across the board, instead pushing often-times “magical” solutions as alternatives. It’s…
Pilot training program coming to Springfield
Southern Illinois University is planning to create a pilot training facility at Springfield’s Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport that eventually may instruct more than 100 students, Illinois Times has learned. The Carbondale-based aviation program confirmed Monday that the school is indeed considering such a facility for the capital city but said it is still in the…
Nuclear moratorium bill amended
On May 9 the Public Utilities Committee approved an amendment to a bill which would lift the moratorium on nuclear power plant construction. That amendment to SB 79 would exempt “relicensure” of nuclear power plants from the requirement that they use “advanced nuclear reactor” technology, which would be required for new construction. The proposal, submitted…
Letters to the editor 5/18/23
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. —- AMBULANCE SERVICES ARE CAPABLE Firefighters currently assist the paramedics on ambulances when there is a serious enough need to have more hands on board (“Ambulance arguments,” May 4). The level of care does not…
Ron Dougan on owls 03/20/1960
First day of Spring and we are snowed in. The hawks are hungry for the mice have gone under snow. The mice have never had it so good – they can chew off young apple trees four feet from the ground. Halfway to Janesville there’s an old shed with 7 small eared owls which have…
Take care of home care workers
Home care is essential to my family. During my late mother’s final days, home care workers made sure she was fed, clothed and comfortable so that I could be by her side as a daughter rather than a caretaker. My adult son is living with severe autism and requires near constant supervision. Home care workers…
When corruption is legal
The worst kind of graft is perfectly legal. I’ve been thinking about that these past few weeks as revelations are brought forth about gifts U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas received from a rich buddy. Let me preface my criticisms of the jurist by saying I often agree with his decisions. But that doesn’t absolve…
Solid Purple
The Springfield Theatre Centre’s production of The Color Purple is an absolute musical delight. The cast and crew put their hearts and souls into bringing the story to life, and their passion and energy are contagious. You might even find yourself tapping your foot to the music. Nevertheless, The Color Purple puts generational trauma experienced…
Don’t toss out the tops
Bunches of candy-colored radishes and vivid carrots are often as pretty as a posy of flowers, especially in spring when the foliage is lush and bright green. I always plant an excessive quantity of radishes in my veggie garden each year, partly because I enjoy them but mainly because they’re one of the first crops…
May music overflows
Hello friends, how are things? We have a problem this week in Now Playing land, and it’s an excellent, if unfortunate in a way, one to consider. There is so much good stuff happening this weekend that decisions based on time and space must be made by you, the local music aficionado, on where and…
The jewel of the Midwest (plus a gay day)
Every booth is a gallery in itself; each one showcasing a different medium, a different form of expression and a different intent of artistic output. The artists within those individual galleries come together each year for the Old Capitol Art Fair, one of the most popular juried art shows in the country. Whether you are…
White Men Can’t Jump a superior remake, Blackberry a cautionary tale
White Men Can’t Jump a superior remake, Blackberry a cautionary tale Now Streaming |Chuck Koplinski White surprises again and again Smart, funny and sincere, Calmatic’s White Men Can’t Jump, is one of the biggest surprises of the cinematic year, an unexpectedly entertaining remake that manages not only to improve on the Ron Shelton original but…
Editors note 5/18/23
The Springfield Park District is refreshing its playgrounds with some cool new equipment. “Push me. Push me again. Again,” was the plea at a zipline-like contraption that had its rider zooming maybe 30 feet from one platform to the other. Are you ready to stop now? “I don’t ever want to stop.” A little kid…
Public health promotes a different vaccine
Almost 90% of Illinois’ 1,443 documented cases of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, have been reported in Chicago and elsewhere in Cook County. But public health officials also want people in central and southern Illinois to consider getting vaccinated against mpox, depending on their risk of contracting the potentially deadly virus. The Illinois Public Health…
