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Summerguide 2022
The annual fairs, festivals and events that are a staple of summer have returned this year, and performers will once again take the stage at the Springfield Muni and Theatre in the Park after a two-year hiatus. Springfield’s baseball team has a new name and new owners who plan to offer the community a lot…
$48 million in new construction for Springfield Clinic
About $48 million in construction work is underway to expand, improve and update services for Springfield Clinic patients needing pediatric, laboratory and imaging services, clinic officials say. “At the end of the day, this is all driven by the patients,” Tom Fitch, vice president of facilities, real estate and construction, told Illinois Times. “It all…
Letters to the editor 5/26/22
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. —- FIX DCFS Watching our politicians play political football and the blame game with DCFS is disgusting (“DCFS keeps teenager locked in psych ward,” May 19). The ones hurt by this are our most vulnerable…
Maverick barely passes muster, Men is a shallow take, Taste of Whale questions tradition
Maverick passes muster…barely The most anticipated movie since Avengers: Endgame, Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick comes with expectations its makers are eager to shoulder. With Tom Cruise calling the shots, it’s no surprise that he insisted the sequel be seen on the big screen, enduring a two-year delay to make that a reality, hyping it…
Illinois’ population has grown, not declined
Illinois peaked at 27 US House seats after the 1910 Census and subsequent reapportionment. That lasted until the 1940 Census, when Illinois dropped to 26 seats in Congress. We’ve been steadily losing ground ever since. It’s not that we lost population, it’s that other states in the West and the South grew much faster. California…
These honored dead
May 30 is Memorial Day. For many decades it was better known as Decoration Day, a day to honor fallen Civil War soldiers – South and North – by “decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.” That’s how the Grand Army of the Republic – a…
Why good investigative journalism matters
Recently, a couple of reporters at The New York Times published an intriguing story about conversations between House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and other members of his leadership team. It was shortly after the events of Jan. 6 at the Capitol, and they were talking about what to do about then-President Trump. His conduct, McCarthy…
Summerguide calendar
ONGOING Spring seedling sale Mon.-Sat., 9am-2pm. Vegetable, herb and flower seedlings grown from organic seeds and without chemicals. Sale continues while seedlings last. Jubilee Farm, 6760 Old Jacksonville Road, 217-787-6927. Litchfield Pickers Market June 12, 9am-3pm and the second Sunday of each month through October. Vintage items, antiques and collectibles. Live music and food vendors. Downtown Litchfield,…
Up at bat
It may be the first team in the history of American sports named after an open-faced sandwich. Jamie Toole and his wife, Melissa Gaynor, who head Springfield’s Lucky Horseshoes, say it is an example of how the new baseball team is determined to be community-oriented. They received hundreds of suggestions for what to name the…
Go see the sunflowers
Sunflowers are THE plant this summer. The bright yellow mega-flowers are springing up everywhere, and not just in fields and gardens. As the national flower of Ukraine, sunflowers have gotten a boost as supporters of the besieged country display them on houses, clothing and social media posts. Ken Johnson, horticulture educator for the University of…
Summer fun that’s absolutely free
Summer is here, and it’s time for fun. Springfield offers all sorts of family-friendly fun and the best thing is – it’s free. Here’s a highlight of just a few events that you may want to add to your summer schedule. And don’t forget the dog, there’s something in store for the family’s four-legged friend…
Family road trip fun
Summer is here, and with it comes family vacations. While modern airline travel accommodates all sorts of destinations and timelines, how about considering the more retro family road trip? Over the last two years, lots of families have opted for car travel over airline travel due to germs and pandemic uncertainty, but there are plenty…
Summer reading and much more
According to a study by Scholastic, summer reading is critical for helping kids maintain learning while school is out, foster social-emotional development, discover the joys of stories and elevate the importance of lifelong learning. Reading helps open doors to new experiences and perspectives, improves overall literacy, lowers stress and is a free or low-cost form…
Editors note 5/26/22
A shiny new fire station at 11th and Ash in Springfield will lift the economy and spirit of the Harvard Park neighborhood. Thank you Mayor Jim Langfelder, Fire Chief Brandon Blough and the Springfield City Council for sticking with the plan to build there, despite the need for mitigation of hazardous materials left from the…
Learn something this summer
Springfield is an historic place with interesting people of the past who helped shape not only the physical city around us, but also our culture as it has evolved since the early 1800s and our response to and participation in national events. We don’t have to look far to find the places that are keeping…
Black Lives Matter Springfield awards scholarships
Three local high school seniors are each receiving $1,500 scholarships to further their education, thanks to Black Lives Matter Springfield. The initial goal was to provide $500 scholarships; however, the organization tripled that amount as a result of community participation in “dine to donate” fundraisers and direct donations to the scholarship fund. Locally-owned AzTca and…
Making summer music
There is a lot of ground to cover for this summer’s music offerings, so this is going to be a packed couple of pages you’re about to read. Hold on for the ride. The Legacy of Giving Music Festival is going to lead us into the festival season on June 3 and 4 with its…
Springfield runner wins 100-mile race
Springfield may have the Fat Ass 5K, but Georgia has Dumbass events, sponsored by the Dahlonega Ultra Marathon Association in northern Georgia. Springfield’s Joe Miller, an ultramarathoner, competed in the Cruel Jewel 100 Dumbass event May 13-15 in the Chattahoochee National Forest. He finished in first place with a time of 23 hours, 40 minutes…
Taking the stage
Auditions have taken place. Stagehands are ready. Sets are being created and wardrobes selected. Now, it’s time for the curtains to be raised and the shows to begin. Let’s take a look to see what our local theater scene has in store for its audiences this summer. After a two-year hiatus, The Muni is ready…
Illinois hotels get $75 million in federal assistance
Illinois’ hotel industry received less than it requested from the General Assembly this year to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. But an industry leader said the final $75 million infusion definitely will help. “We’re very pleased with where we ended up,” said Michael Jacobson, president and chief executive officer of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging…
Cheese on the grill
A few years ago I was camping and I asked my companions: “Who would like grilled cheese?” The response was enthusiastic; everyone loves grilled cheese. “That sounds wonderful!” they exclaimed, “But we didn’t bring any bread.” “We don’t need bread,” I responded. “Have you heard about halloumi, the grillable cheese that doesn’t melt?” They eyed…
Remembering the butterflies
Memorial Day has me thinking about, of all things, butterflies. I remember when I was in grade school, I took an elective science class over the summer. It was pretty cool for an 11-year-old boy. We got to dissect mice, capture snakes and taxidermy fish. But the best part of the class involved bugs. We…
Memorial Day weekend music
Welcome, one and all, to the first big summer holiday weekend for 2022 and the closest thing we’ve had to a normal one in two years. I know you probably know that already, but by golly, by jove and by a lot of other things, it just feels good to say so. Now with that…
Jay poem #1
This poem is by my grandson, Jay Ryan, from a booklet he’s compiled of his work. In the Northern Hemisphere, conifers are tall. And in the negative latitudes, they are small described with adjectives like “prostrate” and “creeping.” Opposite is the set of stars in the sky, as are the man-in-the-moon’s eyes. Things are upside…
The migration of Black Americans
The Illinois State Museum presents its second annual Juneteenth art exhibition “NOIR II: The Migration.” In collaboration with Springfield’s Juneteenth, Inc., and national artists and co-curators, Korbin King and Michelle Smith, “NOIR II” is an exhibition of Black art by people of color depicting the migration of Black Americans. It tells the story visually, provoking viewers to…
