Virtual meetings, term limits among rule changes
While the House Republicans made some decent points last week when arguing against the chamber’s new rules, they all but dismissed some pretty darned historic changes. For years, decades even, the House Republicans have argued for leadership term limits. House Speaker Michael Madigan rebuffed them at every single turn. Heck, Madigan retaliated against members of…
Go out or go home
The World to Come – A worthy companion piece to Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Moan Fastvold’s The World to Come is an intimate look at loneliness and longing, a picture of two women trapped by their emotions and society, each desperate to find a way to express their deepest thoughts and…
strong advice poem #1
these lines come from a young mom daughter of a former student – we’ve kept up over the years here she hits a bullseye with me I bet many of us: “When my elderly aunt died the task of cleaning up her affairs fell to me her closest relative. She was a painter writer hoarder…
Letters to the editor 2/18/21
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. —- SANGAMON AUDITORIUM TURNS 40 On Feb. 21, 1981, Sangamon Auditorium was sold out for its inaugural public offering starring Hal Holbrook in “Mark Twain, Tonight!” After years of political maneuvering to seek funding, as…
A scammer with an eye for art
It wasn’t Al Capone’s secret vault, which proved an overhyped dud that held a few empty bottles and not much else. This was more colorful – and valuable. Chris Schaller, a former mortgage broker who awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to wire fraud last year in federal court, had a taste for artwork by the…
AND THE WINNER IS…
Know a good teacher? Someone who stays – or Zooms – late to help struggling students learn the finer points of quadratic equations or the deeper meaning of Huckleberry Finn? And what about the principal who’s your pal and shows it by remembering everyone’s name, especially the kid who just transferred from another school, and…
BETTER NOW?
Contentious is a word that could describe Springfield Public Schools board meetings in recent months, as members continually debate policy and decisions related to COVID-19. Two weeks ago – on Feb. 2 – at his last meeting, former board president Scott McFarland told the board it needed “a lot of work on board governance.” That…
Healing from colorism
Colorism is a term coined in the 1980s by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker. In her book, In Search of our Mothers’ Gardens, Walker wrote that colorism is “prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people based solely on their color.” It’s something that sociologists have noted across the globe, across various races. It’s a driving…
DCFS treatment of LGBTQ youth criticized
The Illinois Auditor General recommended a sweeping list of changes for the state’s Department of Children and Family Services in regards to LGBTQ youth. The audit released earlier this month found the agency failed to comply with best practices – such as identifying youth in care who are LGBTQ and ensuring they are placed in…
A sampling of program offerings
In the months of March and April, no one will be able to say, “There’s nothing to do in Springfield.” The following programs and offerings are just a small sample of Big Read offerings to whet your appetite. Go to https://bit.ly/BigReadSangamonCounty for more details and registration information. Search events by date or by theme –…
New senator aims to transform education
State Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas is on a mission to change the status quo of education in Illinois. “My objective was to be a disrupter,” Pacione-Zayas said of her time working for the Illinois State Board of Education. “I knew that people may not agree with me, but if I anchored my disruption in research and…
Versatile polenta, mush with sophistication
When I was a little kid we called it mush. My great-grandma would often make the hot cornmeal porridge for breakfast, served up with a rapidly melting pat of yellow farm butter in the center. Most delicious of all was fried mush: Leftovers would be poured into a loaf pan and refrigerated, then sliced, floured…
Reverence for the office, respect for its power, awareness of the responsibility
A Promised Land is the first volume of Barack Obama’s presidential memoir. Although it’s 700 pages long, it is highly engaging and easy to read. The memoir is a fascinating reflection on significant events that dominated the news leading up to and during Obama’s first term. Obama takes readers on a deep dive into the…
Neither snow nor rain nor heat
The courtship was prolonged. White, male and lacking military experience, Greg Weickart wasn’t a priority for the postal service – it took nine years before he got an offer after applying in 1975. He said no. At the time, he was selling shoes in Wisconsin. He also recalls life as a purchasing agent and working…
A community that reads together grows together
After a year of struggling through the pandemic, it couldn’t be a better time for a community-wide, uplifting initiative. Get ready for the Big Read. Lab Girl, a compelling memoir by scientist Hope Jahren, is the book selected for the Big Read Sangamon County. Reading, nature, science, art and discovery will all come alive through…
Live and online
By the time you’re reading this we’ve hopefully made it through the worst of the bitter cold and snowfall section of our current weather scene and worked our way to mildly brisk and melting. Nothing warms the inner soul and outer appendages like listening to music, be it live or online, so let’s see what…
Three signature events
There are three online signature presentations, in addition to the many other offerings by community organizations. Registration is required. For more details and to register go to https://bit.ly/BigReadSangamonCounty —- March 2, 10-11 a.m. Kickoff Keynote by Kathryn Harris, “Reading Science, Reading Together” Hosted by the Academy of Lifelong Learning at Lincoln Land Community College. Kathryn…
Editor’s Note 2/18/21
This week marks the semi-retirement of Illinois Times business manager Brenda Matheis, who has held that position for the past 18 years. Brenda has done a little bit of everything around here to keep us organized and the bills paid, while managing our print circulation and human resources. We’re happy she’ll continue part time, handling…
How to get a free copy of Lab Girl
Over 1,000 copies of Lab Girl will be available for free and distributed through curbside events and local libraries. For up-to-date information, go to https://bit.ly/BigReadSangamonCounty Curbside pickup: • Feb. 27, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 2941 S. Koke Mill Rd., Springfield • March 1, 4 p.m.-6 p.m., Union Baptist Church, 1405 E Monroe…
Good foreign policy is good domestic policy, and vice-versa
There was an interesting moment in Washington at the end of January, on Antony Blinken’s first full day as secretary of state. Meeting with the press corps that covers the State Department, he called an independent press “a cornerstone of our democracy,” and told the assembled reporters, “You keep the American people and the world…
Architect of the stars
Tim Totten has always had an interest in architecture and in particular the world-renowned architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright. He even enrolled in college to become an architect. After college, the Florida entrepreneur eventually started several successful enterprises while he continued to study Wright’s life and work, visiting Wright sites and also conducting tours…
