Cover Story
The essentials
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry In April, we began to ask readers to share stories about the workers they love who are on the front lines, fighting this pandemic. When we get to the other side of this…
Convention center might become Capitol
The Illinois General Assembly is set to gather at the Bank of Springfield Center to allow social distancing amid pandemic. Brian Oaks, general manager of the downtown convention center, said that he’s been talking with House Speaker Michael Madigan’s office. “We don’t have anything final,” Oaks said this morning. Within hours confirmation came via a…
Club Station House hit by fire
Club Station House, the city’s oldest and best-known gay bar, was damaged by fire this morning. The alarm came in about 6 a.m., according to Springfield Fire Chief Allen Reyne. When fire crews arrived, people were exiting the downtown building, which has apartments above the bar, and a second-story hallway was filled with smoke. “One…
City council approves ShotSpotter
The Springfield City Council on Tuesday approved a $643,000 deal with a California firm that promises to detect gunshots in part of the city for three years. ShotSpotter, which has contracts with about 100 cities across the nation to detect gunfire, lowered the three-year cost by nearly $200,000 after aldermen last week raised concerns about…
Will trade minestrone for a place to park
A few years ago I was at my campsite at Summer Camp Music Festival when a young man approached me carrying an empty grocery bag and asked if I had any charcoal I could spare. I had plenty so I put some in his bag. He thanked me and then asked if he could possibly…
Turow’s new court novel puts him back on top
The Last Trial, by Scott Turow. Grand Central Publishing, May 2020. Every reader has a guilty pleasure. For me it has always been courtroom fiction. Granted, this led me to frustration because I would read many courtroom novels only to become irritated over the author’s inaccuracies compared to the real-life courtrooms where I worked. This…
Duke’s Arkansas only half a movie
There’s a good movie trapped inside Clark Duke’s Arkansas, the writer/director’s frustrating debut film that contains two distinct narratives, one compelling, the other…not so much. A peak into the Southern states’ version of organized crime, the movie sports a first-rate cast, some fresh ideas and a very good performance from an unexpected source. However, as…
Play May music
As we wander into the first full week of May 2020, the world we live in is still quite topsy-turvy from only one year ago, or any time in the past, for that matter. We’re keeping close in our hearts those who’ve lost loved ones and those on the front lines, plus making a special…
Get out and enjoy Illinois’ natural resources
When you are ready to head out of doors as the spring weather slowly warms into summer, some state parks in central Illinois will be waiting for you, including Sangchris Lake State Park. Operated under the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the park is about 15 miles southeast of Springfield. Native forests of oak,…
217 virtual music performances
Check out the area’s local musicians still doing what they love to do. var f2f = { width: ‘100%’, height: ‘801’, clickTag: ”, cacheBuster: ” }; (function() { var i = document.createElement(‘iframe’), w = document.getElementById(‘f2f_widget_3420424361’); i.src = ‘https://illinoistimes.friends2follow.com/f2f/widget/async/socialstack/166/0/12/140/1/1/1/9/9/1’ + ‘?click=’ + (f2f.clickTag.length > 0 ? encodeURIComponent(f2f.clickTag) : ”) + ‘&cache=’ + (f2f.cacheBuster.length > 0 ?…
I’m tired of this game
I thought this would be easier. Six months ago, when the stay at home order took effect, I took a 21-pound turkey out of the freezer, which had been purchased on sale after Thanksgiving and reserved for a special occasion. Pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime event. This was back when Christmas music was playing on St.…
Editor’s note 5/7/20
The new virus isn’t starting fires so much as it’s pouring gasoline on fires already burning. “We’re not happy with our nursing homes,” proclaimed President Trump the other day, as new statistics highlighted senior care facilities as hotspots for COVID-related sickness and death. The problem is apparent in Sangamon and Macon counties, where nearly all…
What can a closed library do? Lots.
As many of you know, the doors to Lincoln Library have been closed since March 16. We hope that you also know that while our doors are closed, we’re still here for you. Staff made a quick transition to working from home, firing up laptops and transferring phones, adjusting policies to insure access and creating…
COVID-19 poll doesn’t bode well for Republicans
A recent poll shows Illinoisans strongly approve of Gov. JB Pritzker’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in Illinois and an even higher number supports his stay-at-home order. The We Ask America/Capitol Fax poll of 800 registered voters taken April 23-24 found that 71% approve of Pritzker’s handling of the state’s response to the outbreak, while…
another archival find: my earliest book
in third grade a spare notebook inspired me to write a book – I filled the pages with short tales one about a winter posy blooming in snow holds this line: “She dared not touch it lest it be poison for flowers in February are very scarce.” obviously I took my syntax from fairy tales…
Letters to the editor 5/7/20
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. SPRINGFIELD CONNECTION I was in the midst of reading several books on the Kent State shootings when I came across Cinda Klickna’s book review of Michael Metz’s Radicals in the Heartland (“U of I protests…
WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS
A man with a lengthy criminal record has sued the Village of Riverton and two cops who resigned after video surfaced in February that captured former officer Grant Peterson head-butting a DUI suspect at the police station while former officer Tricia Summerson, who was in the same room, did nothing. Prosecutors in February charged Peterson…
TESTING, TESTING
At least 11 residents of a Sherman nursing home have died after an outbreak of the new coronavirus there infected dozens of residents and staff. On April 28, Sangamon County announced its highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in a day, 41. Two locations in Springfield offer tests at no cost and without a necessary…
Saving historic trees on Route 97
Though Illinois Route 97 existed as a road for more than 175 years, it was officially designated a state highway in 1937. The 104.43-mile asphalt ribbon extends from exit 98 off of U.S. Interstate I-55 in Springfield to Highway 150 near Galesburg, but the stretch best known to central Illinoisans is that from the junction…
