Cover Story
Illinois escapes
North. East. West. South. Any direction you head in Illinois, the NEWS is good for salvaging some summer adventures. As the state awakens from its pandemic hibernation, tourism sites are opening and scheduling events for August and September – with precautions and caveats, of course – creating opportunities for daytrips and weekend destinations. As Carol…
Council member’s wife has COVID-19
Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer’s wife, Lisa, has tested positive for COVID-19. The diagnosis was confirmed yesterday, according to a written statement from the city released this afternoon. “I would like to stress to everyone that this virus is real and impacting families and neighbors across our community,” Hanauer said in prepared statement. “We are…
Coronavirus hits state Department of Revenue
Three state Department of Revenue employees who work in the Willard Ice Building in Springfield have tested positive for coronavirus, prompting some workers to be sent home until Monday. The building remained open to the public today. The outbreak began unfolding last week. On July 22, a manager in the department’s central processing bureau, sent…
Staff and residents test positive for COVID-19 at Lewis Memorial Christian Village
Two residents and three staff at Lewis Memorial Christian Village in Springfield have tested positive for COVID-19. That’s according to communication sent to family of patients and a hotline number that regularly updates information about coronavirus. The retirement and assisted living community publishes the hotline number on its website: 217-547-5560. Those numbers were up-to-date as…
Play ball!
Baseball returned last week. I’m a casual sports fan – wake me up when playoffs arrive, and I don’t much care who wins or loses so long as the game is good. I feel the same about hockey and basketball and football and beach volleyball – any competition is worth watching if it is close…
Glory days prove tempting in Used to Go Here
I suppose that looking back at the past is inherent in our nature. The phrase “If I knew then what I know now” is one tinged with regret, a futile thought that many of us fall victim to, time and again. Kris Rey’s I Used to Go Here is a delightful, though flawed examination of…
Into August music
Here we go travelling on through July 2020 and into August, working through the pandemic problems and dealing as best we can with all the issues brought and wrought by this incredibly drastic change in our lifestyles. Let’s see what’s out there to enjoy in live music land. First and foremost, as we do every…
JukeRox
This group can play it all and does every time out on the stage, and has the 2019 Illinois Times Best of Springfield Overall Band award as a party band to prove it. Bandmates Janet Morris (vocals), Kylan Davis (vocals, keys), Kent Starr (guitar, keys), Eric Austin (drums), Tim Copp (bass) and Jake Jensen (guitar)…
A call for change
Citizens and lawmakers have long called for re-thinking who is represented at the Capitol via portraits and statues. Earlier in the month, House Speaker Michael Madigan called for the removal of Stephen Douglas and Pierre Menard statues and other changes. Members of Black caucuses have asked for change as well, like a new statue of…
Pritzker warns of return to restrictions in counties with growing infections
Gov. JB Pritzker on July 30 traveled to two of the four counties in Illinois that are now in danger of having to reimpose economic restrictions because of rising COVID-19 numbers, warning that bars, restaurants and other businesses could be forced to close again if people don’t follow public health guidelines. “As much as I’d…
Number of House Democrats calling for Madigan’s resignation grows
Cracks are beginning to show in Michael Madigan’s hold over the House Democratic caucus that he has led as speaker for all but two years since 1983. Three more members of that caucus called for Madigan to resign this week, at least as House speaker and chair of the state’s Democratic Party. They join another…
The U.S. has no choice but to lead the world
The United States is the most powerful country in the world. By any measure, we are preeminent. We have challenges and vulnerabilities, and we are not as dominant as we once were, but no one else comes close to America’s military, economic and political might. Whether we like it or not, we cannot escape the…
Madigan must make changes or retire
A couple of days after the July 17 disclosures in ComEd’s deferred prosecution agreement with the US Attorney’s office, House Speaker Michael Madigan called individual House Democrats to try and reassure them that all would be well. According to multiple legislators, the House Speaker told his members that he had done nothing wrong and that…
vermont 2020 perseids remembered
vermont 2020 perseids remembered in the rowboat calm lake starry sky no moon daughter demi and I talk quietly or not at all keeping watch for shooting stars tonight is the perseid shower it’s been an hour still no display suddenly a giant ball of fire arches across the sky horizon to horizon momentary daylight…
Letters to the Editor 07-30-20
A LASTING LEGACY The Hoogland Center for the Arts board of trustees and staff were saddened to learn of the passing of our benefactor, Charles R. Hoogland. Mr. Hoogland was a dynamic force in Springfield, both as an entrepreneur and philanthropist. Of course, his business acumen was legendary. He was the founder and CEO of…
Tips for picnics and parties during a pandemic
The summer picnic season has always been fraught with hazards from a food safety perspective, even without the added stress and fear of serving food amid a raging global pandemic. Cookouts, potlucks and warm outdoor temperatures provide untold opportunities to contract a food-borne illness, and now more than ever, it is in our best interest…
Getting real
Eight years after doubts arose, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum still hasn’t resolved a question about what was once a centerpiece. Did a stovepipe hat purportedly worn by the Great Emancipator actually belong to Lincoln? After initially defending the hat’s authenticity in response to 2012 media reports, the museum over the years has…
Editor’s note 07-30-20
Our Summerguide edition this year, like every year, is all about things to do, but this year there is no extensive calendar of events, theater, concerts and sports. Instead readers are guided to keep summer simple, and joyful. In her article, “Salvaging summer,” p. 15, IT writer and mom Lana Shovlin says she reads in…
TESTING REMAINS FLUID
During the July 20 school board meeting, member Tiffany Mathis raised concern about where asymptomatic kids could get tested. This was after it was announced an Illinois Department of Public Health testing site in Springfield would be leaving. The site, outside the county health department building on South Grand Avenue, had been the only option…
COVID-19 takes its toll on museums
This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center. For more stories about the effect of COVID-19 on museums, please visit the Prairie State Museums Project at PrairieStateMuseumsProject.org. It is practically impossible to overestimate the impact of COVID-19 on museums, according to the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). The organization released a survey on…
DO AS I SAY…
Ward 8 Ald. Erin Conley spoke up Tuesday after a man told the city council that he questions the purpose of masks. “I’m not going to wear my mask everywhere,” declared the man, who, like everyone else in the audience, had a mask, perhaps because folks entering city hall for the meeting were told to…
Salvaging summer
This summer, we had big plans. For the first time since we’ve been a family of five, we were going to go on vacation. We decided to drive north to a tiny town in Michigan, rent a cottage on the lake and spend a week surrounded by breathtaking scenery and shimmering, silver water. During the…
No easy answers for returning to school
“With child care closed, how are people supposed to go to work?” “Will we receive COVID-19 protection pay increases?” “If a teacher dies, will the district be held responsible?” “Will my family receive death benefits if I die from COVID-19?” These are just some examples of the several hundred questions collected by the Springfield Education…
Lyric flights
John Prine died on April 7, killed by COVID-19. If you don’t recognize the name, you probably won’t care that Gov. JB Pritzker in June proclaimed Prine the first Honorary Poet Laureate of Illinois. A much-loved character, Prine grew up in Maywood and got his break in Chicago and lived there for a while. He…
Black Lives Matter maintains momentum
Black Lives Matter Springfield has been cautious about planning demonstrations as of late, given public health concerns. The rally it held this year in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd was organized as a car procession. That way folks could participate without running the risk of interacting with an infected person. To…
The debate over Salade Nicoise
Back in the days when I was still a dentist, after giving an injection and waiting for anesthesia to kick in, I’d have an opportunity to chat with my patients for a bit. Karen, one of my longtime patients, knowing of my interest in food and cooking, told me about her recent trip to NYC…
