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GREAT MAIL CARRIER
I remember being a teenager and always curious about what (mail carrier) OJ Crowder did back then (“OJ Crowder interview,” April 20). Then i went to work for the post office. OJ is right, you have to be in the right headspace to do that job. Congrats, OJ, on your tenure. You are an awesome carrier.
William Skaggs
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
Editor’s note: OJ was recently featured in a weekly podcast that is a partnership between The Mosaic Project and Illinois Times. Watch his podcast and other episodes at illinoistimes.com/the-mosaic-project/.
SEE JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
For those who believe, and those who want to believe, Jesus Christ Superstar portrays the man who became God or the God who became a man. It’s an interpretation of modern reality as a rock opera.
Belief is the cornerstone of the Christian message to the world, yet in JCS, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), love becomes romance, fear becomes betrayal and doubt becomes death as human emotions rewrite biblical gospel as we know it, live on stage at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.
Beat by beat you’re led across the stage for a narrative song through the defying eyes of Judas Iscariot (Kinsey Poetter). Poetter laments her defiance against a would-be king with the song “Heaven on Their Minds” and sets the tone for betrayal of the master deemed lost in and of himself. It reveals the cowardice of a misunderstood gospel in the making.
Jesus Christ (Joe Hardy) stumbles his way through a maze of bewilderment and spiritual bombardments, portraying a broken Christ before he even reaches the cross. Hardy highlights his confusion in “I Only Want to Say” against the stargaze backdrops that draws you into a space scenic world that left Earth behind.
King Herod (Jarde Lamkey) is an earthly king who washes his hands from the innocence of betrayal. Lamkey’s ballad, “Try It and See,” edges the storyline as a test to prove the man is a god.
With a cast of apostles, priests, soul girls and ensemble, the good news is delivered and pranced across the stage of choreography mixed and mingled with the ancient of old and a modern rock ballet. The message is clear, and it’s on beat.
Douglas Yul Holt
Springfield
Editor’s note: Jesus Christ Superstar continues at the Hoogland Center for the Arts May 15-17. Read the full review on p. 27.
FUND HIGHER EDUCATION
As a graduate of University of Illinois Springfield, I believe strongly in the role public universities play in expanding opportunity for students across our state. That’s why I’m very concerned about legislation – HB 1581 and SB 13 – now under consideration by the Illinois General Assembly that would significantly change how Illinois funds higher education.
Illinois should absolutely work to strengthen and achieve equitable funding for our state’s public universities. But any proposal should be carefully evaluated to ensure it does not create unintended consequences for University of Illinois students at its three campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Springfield and Chicago.
Collectively, U of I educates 53% of all undergraduate students at Illinois public universities. Nearly 80% of undergraduate students enrolled at a University of Illinois campus are in-state residents. In FY 2025 alone, the University of Illinois provided $318 million of financial aid to help keep college costs affordable. The three University of Illinois campuses drive groundbreaking research, innovation and economic development, generating a multi-billion impact for communities across the state.
Yet, as currently written, this legislation would reduce the U of I’s share of future state funding, while forcing it to absorb the lion’s share of any future funding cuts, if required. That outcome seems neither equitable nor adequate.
There is no question that Illinois would benefit from a thoughtful, data-driven approach to public higher education funding – one that is informed by careful analysis and not rushed through in the final weeks of an already- packed legislative session.
I am respectfully asking the members of the Illinois General Assembly to fully consider how the proposed funding changes would affect U of I students, affordability and the state’s economy. Please step back from this legislation as currently drafted and commit to achieving equitable and adequate funding that strengthens opportunity for students across Illinois and lifts up all public universities and colleges in our state – equally.
Joyce A. Nardulli
Springfield
CORREX
A photo caption in “Prison or treatment” (May 7) incorrectly stated that Sangamon County does not have a mental health court. The Sangamon County Mental Health Recovery Court began in 2015 and is overseen by Judge John ‘Mo’ Madonia. Fourteen people have graduated in the past three years and about 25 are currently enrolled.
This article appears in May 14-20, 2026.
