This year, Illinois Times covered everything that mattered in Springfield,
Illinois, the United States, Earth, and the Milky Way. OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration — we
missed some stories on the far side of the galaxy — but, at the very
least, we had something interesting to say. Here, we revisit the year 2005 through the words of
people who made news in our pages. All of our stories are available on our archives, at
www.illinoistimes.com.
RIGHT-WING MEDIA, PART 1
“The left has had a near-monopoly on news
broadcasting for decades. I am the opposing point of view. I am the
counterpoint.” — Mark Hyman,
Sinclair Broadcasting vice president, spokesman, and commentator, on
“The Point,” addressing critics of his conservative editorials
aired on the broadcaster’s newscasts, including Springfield’s
Channel 20 [Todd Spivak, “Taking aim,” Jan. 6].
EQUAL RIGHTS
“It’s a day I thought I’d never
see.” — Rick Garcia, political
director, Equality Now, on the passage of landmark state legislation
barring discrimination against gays [Todd Spivak, “Making
history,” Jan. 13].
CAPITAL OFFENSES
“For a second, I was kind of feeling like
‘Where’s the hidden camera?’ I couldn’t believe it.
I didn’t understand it. It wasn’t funny. I sat in jail for two
weeks before I believed it.” —
Brandon Overton, acquitted of a capital-murder charge thanks to efforts by
the controversial Capital Crimes Litigation Trust Fund [Dusty Rhodes,
“Dead reckoning,” Jan. 13].
UNION STATION RESTORATION
“No eccentric ever thinks he’s eccentric.
We all have our quirks.” —
Michael Scully, whose family was responsible for saving Union Station and
who proposed turning the restored clock tower at the old train station into
a tribute to the quest for the Holy Grail [Todd Spivak, “Back to the
future,” Jan. 20].
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED?
“It’s worse than Vietnam. It’s time
to wrap it up over there. This war is getting old.” — William Yokem Jr., a Vietnam veteran speaking on
the Iraq war [Fletcher Farrar, “When will Obama find his voice on
Iraq?” Jan. 27].
LINKS IN THE CHAIN
“There’s been a gradual erosion of
independently owned newspapers that has been going on for many decades. The
same is true for a lot of businesses, from banks to retailers. Newspapers
are no different than any other industry.” — David Bennett, executive director of the Illinois Press
Association, commenting on the acquisition of Pulitzer Inc., publisher of
the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Bloomington Pantagraph, by Lee Enterprises of Davenport, Iowa [Todd Spivak,
“Paper chase,” Feb. 3].
BUSH FIGHTER, PART 1
“If you want to know where Dick Durbin is
coming from, you have to understand his connections to Paul Douglas and
Paul Simon, which, I think, taught him that you don’t need to put
your finger in the wind every time an issue comes up.” — Dawn Clark Netsch, a former Illinois legislator and
gubernatorial candidate, on U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who emerged as the
leading voice of the Democratic Party in the U.S. Senate [John Nichols,
“Bush fighter,” Feb. 3].
GAY ABE, PART 1
“If Tripp’s evidence is flimsy to
nonexistent, his historical arguments are often dazzling in their
vacuity.” — Charles B. Strozier,
professor of history at John Jay College, in his review of the late C.A.
Tripp’s controversial book The Intimate
World of Abraham Lincoln. Tripp asserted
in the book that the Great Emancipator was homosexual [Charles B. Strozier,
“Gay Abe?” Feb. 10].
CITY BEAUTIFUL
“You don’t even see cigarette butts in
downtown Chicago; people don’t flick ’em there. That’s a
mentality that has to change for Springfield.” — Mayor Tim Davlin, talking about the city’s
efforts to prepare for the opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Museum [Todd Spivak, “Heebie-jeebies,” Feb. 17].
EVERYWHERE A SIGN
“The moratorium was a bad decision. We were
overwhelmed by what happened.” —
Former Mayor Karen Hasara, explaining how her call in 1999 for a halt to
billboard construction led to more signs [Todd Spivak, “Signs of the
times,” Feb. 17].
ADOPTING, PART 1
“It seemed to me that these children were
considered blue-light specials, and I just couldn’t stand
that.” — Adela Jones, executive
director of Dallas-based Buckner Adoption and Maternity Services, talking
about the fact that adoption-placement agencies charge on a sliding scale
based on the child’s ethnicity [Dusty Rhodes, “Baby
trade,” Feb. 17].
DRILLING ALASKA
“Both political parties are owned by the
petroleum-military complex and will do nothing to address the issues that
face this nation. The only hope is an awakened, engaged American
electorate.” — Rod Helle, a local schoolteacher, in his commentary on
efforts by the Bush administration to open the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge to oil exploration [Rod Helle, “The price of our
addiction,” Feb. 24].
MACARTHUR’S COMEBACK?
“If this project moves forward, it would be the
quality project that sets the example for redevelopment to grow south on
MacArthur.” — Developer Todd Smith, outlining his plans for an upscale
shopping center at the site of the old Esquire Theatre. The project was
dropped in December after property owner Kerasotes declined to extend a
deadline [Todd Spivak, “Man with a plan,” Feb. 24].
TAINTED VACCINES
“The debacle with Vioxx and other drugs should
be a warning. The system can fail. Sometimes it can fail
spectacularly.” — Dr. David
Ayoub, a Springfield radiologist involved in efforts to ban vaccines
containing mercury vaccines from the marketplace [Michleen Collins,
“Mercury falling,” Feb. 24].
THE OTHER VICTIM
“I was raped by those guys, I was raped by the
police department, I was raped again by the state’s attorney’s
office. And then I was raped by [Renatta Frazier and her supporters] using
my case to win a huge settlement.” — “Jane Doe,” victim of an October 2001 rape that
triggered the events leading to the resignation of rookie cop Renatta
Frazier. Doe spoke for the first time about what happened in an exclusive Illinois Times story [Dusty
Rhodes, “The survivor,” March 3].
RIGHT-WING MEDIA, PART 2
“For the most part, stories were dictated. . .
. I felt like I was part of a propaganda team.” — Jon Lieberman, former chief of Sinclair
Broadcasting’s Washington bureau. He was fired by the company [Paul
Schmelzer, “Puppet masters,” March 10].
RISING STAR
“Right now I’m renting a room at a
friend’s house, saving up money to buy a home. I’d sure like to
have my own place someday.” —
Rosie Flores, talking about the travails of a rockabilly phenom [Tom Irwin,
“Rosie, by any other name,” March 10].
GAY ABE, PART 2
“People are very sensitive about Lincoln. And
people who are serious about Lincoln are serious about not playing with his
image.” — Susan Mogerman,
chief operating officer of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and
Museum Foundation, on why the museum wasn’t enthusiastic about artist
Matt Schultz’s plan to populate Springfield with a bunch of
fiberglass Abraham Lincolns [Dusty Rhodes, “This is no
cowtown,” March 17].
I OBJECT
“It had been my goal, coming of age, to serve
God, serve country. Growing up, I was surrounded by veterans, and it was an
anguished process to realize I could not follow them.” — The Rev. Martin Woulfe, minister of
Springfield’s Abraham Lincoln Universalist Unitarian Congregation, on
why he is encouraging young men and women to become conscientious objectors
[Ginny Lee, “Considering the alternative,” March 17].
ADOPTING, PART 2
“Once I got a call from school that my son was
pulling the ears of another boy. I had to explain that it is a birthday
tradition in his native culture — like our spanking at
birthdays.” — Jeff Elston, talking about the difficulties — and
joys — of adopting a child from the former Soviet Union [Mila
Dvoretskaya-Lemme, “Coming home,” March 17].
LINCOLN LINKS
“We hope to give people more opportunity to
connect with Lincoln and how his decisions affect us today.” — Dick Lusardi, the retiring superintendent of
the Lincoln Home Historic Site, discussing the National Park
Service’s plans to restore additional historical sites in the Lincoln
Home neighborhood [Todd Spivak, “The neighbors next door,”
March 24].
DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS
“I think it’s disgusting and hypocritical
when people place their political ambitions over the most basic needs of a
member of their immediate family. And I think it is appropriate to out an
elected official if, because of their closetedness, they inflict harm on
other people to maintain their dirty little personal secret or family
secret.” — Rep. Larry McKeon,
an openly gay member of the Illinois General Assembly, talking about the
ethics of pushing for civil-rights legislation [Todd Spivak, “Out,
but not down,” March 24].
YOU DON’T KNOW JOE
“When you see somebody with a Silver Star, you
automatically think he’s brave, he’s an American hero,
he’s ethical, he’s trustworthy — a whole string of
things.” — B.G. “Jug”
Burkett, Vietnam vet and expert on military records, on the case of
Springfield powerbroker Joe Wilkins, who claimed that he had earned a
Silver Star and two Purple Hearts — claims that the military, and the
state of Illinois, refuted [Dusty Rhodes, “Precious medals,”
March 31].
DISHONORED
“Anyone who tries to benefit from the heroic
acts of others does a disservice to all who serve and who were honored for
their heroic deeds.” — Secretary of State Jesse White, explaining his decision
to revoke Silver Star and Purple Heart license plates issued to Joe Wilkins
of Springfield. White acted after an Illinois
Times investigation [Dusty Rhodes,
“Duty calls,” April 7].
FOR THE BIRDS, PART 1
“There is an incredible lure about waterfowl
that captures our interest, whether we are birdwatchers, conservationists,
outdoor enthusiasts, or hunters.” —
Dr. Steven Havera, waterfowl expert with the Illinois Natural History
Survey, talking about efforts to restore Spunky Bottoms in Brown County
[Jeanne Townsend Handy, “Bird’s-eye view,” April 7].
LINCOLN ROCKS
“I know that the sixth-grader in my house
— a child so permanently tethered to his Nintendo appliance that it
might as well be a pacemaker — came home from his tour saying that
the museum totally rocks.” —
Columnist Dusty Rhodes on the Chicago Tribune architecture critic’s negative review of the
new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum [Dusty Rhodes, “Whack
job,” April 14].
UNDER A CLOUD
“I assumed too much, and I assumed wrong. I
assumed they would, at a minimum, go through a disciplinary procedure. And
because the offenses, including perjury, would be crimes, I mean, I assumed
that would result in termination.” — Bruce Locher, an attorney who signed an affidavit
accusing several Springfield police detectives of misconduct. Locher filed
his complaint with SPD after Illinois Times reported that a local investigator accused detectives
Paul Carpenter and Jim Graham of misconduct in the November 2004 trial of
Anthony Grimm [Dusty Rhodes, “Fast track,” April 21].
MURKY WATERS
“I’m afraid for my neighbors. People
don’t realize it, but the water’s just not safe out
here.” — Brett Dixon, a homeowner
in the Curran-Gardner Public Water District, where, some residents say, the
water-district board has been unresponsive to complaints by local residents
[Todd Spivak, “Got water?” April 28].
HUNTER LAKE
“They got all the ground; they moved everybody
off; they may as well go ahead and build Hunter Lake.” — Don Durbin, one of
the landowners displaced by the Hunter Lake project, which apparently has
been revived by the administration of Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin [Todd
Spivak, “The return of Hunter Lake,” May 5].
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
“It’s just not fair how scared you have
to feel, the emotions that you feel — confusion, anger, fear, and
especially sadness. It is so overwhelming. It is so hard. It hurts.” — Jennifer Buffington, a member of the Illinois
National Guard’s Paris-based 1544th Transportation Company, which has
suffered numerous casualties in the Iraq war [Dusty Rhodes, “Sister
soldiers,” May 12].
ANALYZE THIS
“This guy’s got no consistency. The
people I thought would’ve been squashed, he passed. I’m just a
novice reading this, but if a guy had a beer, he was out.” — Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards, a former fire chief,
talking about Dr. Michael Campion, a psychologist hired to assess fire- and
police-department candidates but dropped by the city after Illinois Times reported
that he was on the board of a conservative anti-abortion, anti-gay group
[Dusty Rhodes, “Last straw,” May 19].
IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE
“When it comes to the weather, we expect the
unexpected. It’s not as predictable as it used to be. It used to be
that the ground was frozen all winter. Now in the winter it freezes and
thaws, freezes and thaws. Some of the models show this part of the country
getting very dry, and that would be a big problem. If the weather got any
drier, I wouldn’t be able to farm as I do.” — Henry Brockman, a Congerville farmer, talking about
the climate changes some scientists attribute to global warming [Jason
Mark, “Harvesting chaos,” May 19].
DIGITIZE THIS
“Computers, communications off the Internet,
and the declining costs of digital production have transformed consumers
into producers [and] listeners into speakers. We are putting the
‘mass’ in the mass media for the first time in our history
— that is a revolution that is just beginning.” — Dr. Mark Cooper of the Consumer Federation of
America, discussing the explosion of alternative media, in conjunction with
the National Conference on Media Reform, held in May in St. Louis [Joan
Villa, “Consider the alternative,” May 19].
RISING STAR, PART 2
“This is a funny town, and it’s easy to
make enemies. And calling the president of a major record label was not the
way to make friends in Nashville.” —
Lyman Ellerman, a native of Riverton, explaining the unusual way in which
he managed to catch a break in Music City, U.S.A. [Tom Irwin, “The
road to Nashville,” May 26].
GET TO KNOW ME
“My job is to get to know people. If
you’re going to get to succeed over there, that’s something you
have to know.” — Officer
Matthew Fricke of the Springfield Police Department, talking about what it
takes to be a successful neighborhood patrol officer [Dusty Rhodes,
“The natural,” June 9].
ART OF SUCCESS “I have students say to me, ‘Mr. Crisp,
I’m going to major in art,’ and I tell them, ‘No,
you’re not. Don’t major in art. Minor in art. If art is going
to be your goal, take business or marketing so you can afford your
art.’” — Springfield
artist and teacher John Crisp [Job Conger, “The here and now,”
June 9].
THE MORNING AFTER “You don’t have a right to pick and
choose who you’re going to provide prescriptions for and which
medication you’re going to fill. If you’re in the business,
you’ve made that choice.” —
Abby Ottendorf, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who signed an
emergency order in April requiring Illinois pharmacists to fill
prescriptions for Plan B, the so-called morning-after pill [Joan Villa,
“Right of refusal,” June 16].
THE ADAMS FAMILY “Our members do not give us donations to
restore old houses.” —
Marilyn Campbell, director of the Illinois Audubon Society, in the first
report on the society’s plans to tear down the antebellum residence
at the Adams Wildlife Sanctuary. An outcry by preservationists later caused
the society to rescind its decision [Linda Hughes, “Tearing down the
house,” June 23].
WHAT SAFETY NET? “Eighteen thousand people die every year in
this country from lack of coverage. It’s like six World Trade Centers
going down.” — David Gill, an
emergency physician at Dr. John Warner Hospital in Clinton and a
congressional candidate who advocates a single-payer health-care plan for
the United States [Mary Rickard, “Code red,” June 23].
NORTHENDERS
“It was a real Ozzie
and Harriet neighborhood. Everybody walked to
school, walked home for lunch, and then raced back to the schoolyard to
play.” — Barry McAnarney, a
native of the North End, whose residents got together for a reunion this
summer [Bob Cavanagh, “Northern exposure,” June 23].
BUSH FIGHTER, PART 2 “What really got Durbin in trouble was telling
the truth — that America’s behavior doesn’t match its
ideal.” — Columnist Fletcher
Farrar, reflecting on controversial comments by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. The
senior senator from Illinois ignited a firestorm by criticizing the use of
torture by the United States [Fletcher Farrar, “Durbin was not
misunderstood,” June 30].
SOUR NOTES
“My heart feels broken, my spirit feels broken,
and I feel as if there are people delighting in it and dancing on my grave.
It’s venom that is beyond my ken.” — Marion van der Loo, reflecting on her dismissal weeks
earlier as conductor of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra Chorus [Dusty
Rhodes, “Discord in the Symphony,” June 30].
SELLING OUT “I used to worry about selling out in one way
or another all the time, but I think I’m growing past that. People
worry about selling out on the one hand and turning into a mercenary on the
other; then they end up doing nothing.” —
Ted Keylon, a local activist, reflecting on landing steady work as an actor
at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum [Mikel Weisser, “Will
success change Ted Keylon?” July 7].
FOR THE BIRDS, PART 2
“We have an enthusiasm for sharing things with
other people. If we had unlimited resources, we could conquer the
world.” — Jacques Nuzzo, program
director of the Illinois Raptor Center, which cares for injured and
fledging birds of prey [Celeste Huttes, “For the birds,” July
14].
THE FEW, THE DISQUALIFIED “It is disheartening to be in a city where you
grew up and find out you can’t even serve your community.” — Michael Newman, who scored in the top tier of
recruits for the Springfield Fire Department but inexplicably flunked a
background check. Newman was the only African-American in the top band of
the eligibility list; the fire department has just three African-Americans
on a roster of 211 firefighters [Dusty Rhodes, “Smoke and
mirrors,” July 28].
GRRRRRRRR “A friend of mine was hunting on my property
and shot a huge buck. It was so big that he had problems moving it, so he
called me. It had started to rain, so I told him, ‘Let’s get it
in the morning.’ Well, the next morning we go to right where he knew
it was, and it is gone! We searched everywhere and eventually found it some
500 feet away. All that was left was the skin, the end of the legs, and
most of the head. It wasn’t ripped apart like coyotes would do. This
was different.” — Homer
Briney, who believes that a cougar lives in the Illinois River bottoms near
his Beardstown-area farm. He is one of many central-Illinois residents who
claim to have seen cougars; one provided a grainy videotape, which is
available at www.illinoistimes.com [Scott Maruna, “The beast of the
bluffs,” July 28].
DRILL BITS “I’m hoping we wasted every dime in that
emergency-operations center; I hope we wasted this week of training. I pray
we did. But you know what? If we didn’t, we’re a lot more
prepared to fight these disasters and protect the city.” — Ralph Caldwell, director of homeland security
for Springfield, talking about a recently completed citywide emergency
drill. [R.L. Nave, “Target Springfield,” July 28].
LABOR SPLITS
“I know that here in Illinois, leaders of the
UFCW are not angry at the AFL-CIO; neither are the Teamsters and neither is
the SEIU.” — Margaret Blackshere,
president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, talking about the decision of several
major unions to quit the national labor federation and form their own [R.L.
Nave, “State of the disunion,” Aug. 4].
WHISTLING DIXIE
“We’re in Springfield, Ill., but parts of
it look like Birmingham, Ala. Actually, Birmingham probably looks better
than Springfield.” Jamie Adaire,
president of the Bunn Park Neighborhood Association, complaining that the
city leaves streets unpaved and hasn’t provided sidewalks [R.L. Nave,
“Where the sidewalks end,” Aug. 11].
CHOKE
“In the end, it was almost like death by
strangulation.” — Baker
Siddiquee on the dissolution of the Mayor’s Task Force on Race
Relations [Dusty Rhodes, “Fade-out,” Aug. 11].
WHAT IT TAKES
“Shyness is not to your advantage in a camp
like this. You have to be insane to be good.” — Sally Iocca, one of the experienced performers at
the Springfield Theatre Centre’s popular Performing Arts and Visual
Enrichment program [Mikel Weisser, “Two weeks to stardom,” Aug.
11].
WE AGREE
“I’m not your garden-variety criminal, no
I’m not. I’m an idiot.” —
Lori Burger, a library employee fired for taking about 2,000 books —
and selling many on an eBay subsidiary [Dusty Rhodes, “One for the
books,” Aug. 18].
CYA AT ISP, PART 1
“There was no doubt in our minds that
Brueggemann was also guilty. We just didn’t have the proof.
He’s obviously a diplomat who knows how to cover his ass.” — A juror in the case brought by former
Illinois State Police office Michale Callahan against three supervisors,
including deputy director Charles Brueggemann [Dusty Rhodes, “Badge
of honor,” Aug. 25]. The comment was later cited by U.S. District Judge
Harold A. Baker, who, in a ruling on Nov. 2, wrote: “Rarely does the public learn the specifics of jury
deliberation. This is one of those rare cases.”
GUARDING THE GUARD
“State politicians have a duty to their
constituents. The fact that there may not be something they can do directly
doesn’t mean there aren’t things they can do to advocate for
the return of their National Guard.” —
Charley Richardson, an anti-war activist, talking about the responsibility
of governors to speak out on the extended deployment of guardsmen and women
in Iraq. [R.L. Nave, “Keeping Guard,” Sept. 1].
GONE SOUTH
“This neighborhood is run-down — it needs
a lot of work. I remember, at age 15, walking through here at 1 a.m. and
being perfectly safe. Now it’s crazy walking around here at any
hour.” — Wayne Treat, talking
about Springfield’s South Town neighborhood [Michael Brown, “At
the crossroads,” Sept. 8].
CRONY HERE, CRONY THERE
“It’s gotten so bad that if somebody just
wants a job picking up paper, they’re being asked, ‘How’d
you vote?’ ” — Roy Williams,
executive director of the Illinois Association of Minorities in Government,
complaining about patronage hiring by the Blagojevich administration [R.L.
Nave, “At diversity’s expense,” Sept. 22].
POWER PLANT
“We are not talking about apples and apples;
we’re not talking about apples and oranges; I’m not even sure
we’re talking about fruit.” —
Jay Bartlett, City Water, Light & Power chief engineer, attempting to
explain why a financial analysis of the cost of plant construction, used by
Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards, was flawed [Dusty Rhodes, “Aldermania,
revisited,” Sept. 22].
THE WAR IS OVER
“I’m exhausted politically — I have
no confidence in the Republicans or the Democrats. Like Warren Buffett
said, the war is over. The rich won.” —
Kathleen Christ, a member of Military Families Speak Out and featured
speaker at a large anti-war rally in Springfield [Bruce Rushton, “Had
enough?” Sept. 22].
THE NEW ECONOMY, PART 1
“They offered such a bad package that they knew
there was no way in the world we would take it. Now they’re pissed
because we got unemployment that they told us we weren’t going to
get. They’re upset, and their pride has gotten in the way.” — Kelly Street, president of Local 484 of the
Boilermakers union. The union’s members have been locked out of the
Celanese plant in Meredosia since summer [R.L. Nave, “Locked
out,” Oct. 6].
HAVING THEIR SAY
“I think we were very cooperative — at
first. But, you know, when you answer and re-answer and re-answer, you get
to a point where you know they don’t care what you’ve got to
say.” — Jeanette Slover, who with
her husband and son was convicted in the murder of her former
daughter-in-law, Karyn Slover. The three, who say that they are innocent,
were interviewed by Illinois Times [Dusty Rhodes, “Karyn’s killers?”
Oct. 6].
CASE PENDING
“I can’t believe how unprotected I was in
the state mental hospital, and now I feel like I’m in the clutches of
the state again.” — Lisa
Weisser, who was raped at McFarland Mental Health Center in 1994 and was
pursuing a financial claim against the state. Her attacker, who had a
record of violence against women dating back to 1992, was free last year
and arrested for harassing a Springfield woman. Weisser, 45, committed
suicide Dec. 3, her decade-old case still unresolved [Bruce Rushton,
“Victim of the state,” Oct. 13].
TIME FOR A LITTLE BUDDHA
“Suffering is a common problem facing all human
beings. No one likes suffering. If you don’t like suffering, then you
need to practice vipassana.” — Gunasiri, a
monk who moved to Springfield this year to share the teachings of Burmese
Buddhist master Chanmyay Sayadaw and to preside over a meditation center
[Karen Fitzgerald, “Meet the monk,” Oct. 13].
NO SALVATION
“This is not a ‘not in my back
yard’ thing. They’re making us seem like we’re backward
yokels, but we’ve found no one who wants this, except the Salvation
Army and the State Journal-Register.” — Phil
Douglas, president of the Oak Ridge Neighborhood Association, explaining
why his group was fighting efforts by the Salvation Army to open a homeless
shelter on J. David Jones Parkway. The City Council delayed action to
approve the Army’s zoning request until early next year [R.L. Nave,
“A reluctant fight,” Oct. 20].
TIMELY ADVICE
“I would say to folks who say we coddle kids
that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We needed to prevent
the disease, not just treat the symptoms.” — Charles Hoots, Springfield High’s principal,
describing the school’s efforts to help students who show up late or
skip class [R.L. Nave, “Tardy control,” Oct. 20].
CYA AT ISP, PART 2
“Since the case is still pending before federal
court, further statements from any source could taint the jury pool.” – M/Sgt. Rick Hector, spokesman for Illinois
State Police. Hector declined to explain why the state paid outside lawyers
more than $685,000 to defend three high-ranking officers accused of
violating another’s civil rights [Dusty Rhodes, “The good, the
bad and the expensive,” Oct. 27].
THE NEW ECONOMY, PART 2
“The positive progress made in the second half
of the ’90s, where the numbers of poor were reduced and we had
movement in the right direction, that has stalled.” — Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, reflecting on the growth of
poverty in Illinois and across the country in recent years [Joan Villa,
“Slim pickings,” Oct. 27].
IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING “Sometimes, the legal system gets so busy
trying to do the right thing that it gets discombobulated and ends up
making something worse instead of better.” — Angel Diaz, a murderer upset to learn that
he’s also been labeled a sex offender because of a change in state
law. He says that the new label made him “emotionally and mentally
distraught” [Bruce Rushton, “Truth in labeling,” Nov. 3].
WORD ON THE STREET
“This is the thing that really blows my mind:
We have our regular people, but we have a different crowd every time we
have a show.” — Kimberly Moore,
one of the three organizers of Expressions in the Dark, a spoken-word event
that continues to grow in Springfield [Marissa Monson, “Bringing the
word,” Nov. 3].
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
“There’s one part in there that says you
have to have a loin-skirt of truth. Those Lycra bicycle shorts that fit so
tight, they definitely reveal the truth.” — Mary Grant of how the Bible offers guidance to
cyclists. A cycling enthusiast and Christian, Grant recently launched Wheel
Power in Springfield [Bruce Rushton, “Pedaling Jesus,” Nov. 3].
JUDY DYER
“She had the knack of making everybody in her
life feel like the center of the universe. Each of us felt like Judy was
there for us completely.” —
Cassandra Claman, speaking about her friend Judy Dyer. Dyer, a lawyer and
aspiring writer, died of cancer in early November [Dusty Rhodes, “Her
huge heart,” Nov. 10].
ROOM FOR DINING
“Some of the customers come here just for crab
legs. It’s not too many customers like this. We try to forget about
it, even when feel pain.” —
Linda Snyder, manager of International Buffet, discussing how buffets such
as hers manage to thrive in buffet-happy Springfield. [Bruce Rushton,
“The last stuffer,” Nov. 10].
READING RAILROAD
“You get into trouble when the editor and the
owners and publishers exert so much influence that it’s only their
view that shows up in a newspaper. It’s not the way to run a
railroad.” — Barry Locher, editor
of the State Journal-Register, explaining that he doesn’t agree with much of
cartoonist Chris Britt’s work but still appreciates Britt’s
ability to bring readers to the newspaper’s editorial page [Dusty
Rhodes, “True Britt,” Nov. 17].
NEVER-ENDING STORY
“I believe in honesty. I believe in
what’s right and what’s good and what’s fair. And I have
attempted to live my life with the philosophy — that God has been so
good to me that it doesn’t leave me room to be bad to anyone else. We
all know, though, there are times in your life when you have to defend
yourself, and this is one of those times.” — Ex-cop Renatta Frazier, responding to a defamation
lawsuit brought by Carl Madison, former head of the Springfield branch of
the NAACP. Madison claims that he was defamed in Frazier’s book, The Enemy in Blue [Dusty
Rhodes, “Sticking to her guns,” Nov. 17].
THE NEW ECONOMY, PART 3
“People are so dug in holes that there’s
no way out. We want to mainstream everybody, but not everybody can be a
respiratory therapist.” —
Sharon Hall, who works with the Salvation Army in Centralia. The
southern-Illinois town has been hit by successive plant closings, and
replacement jobs are hard to find [Mary Rickard, “Future
shocked,” Nov. 17].
$300,000 MAN
“If the state’s paying for somebody to be
a full-time employee, how can you turn around and be paid as a full-time
employee by somebody else?” —
Maynard Crossland, former director of the Illinois Historic Preservation
Agency, on how president museum director Richard Norton Smith manages to
hold down two full-time jobs [Bruce Rushton, “Big name, big
money,” Nov. 24].
SO WHAT’S NEW?
“There is a relatively small number of people
in our community who are exercising an extraordinary amount of influence on
the aldermen of the city of Springfield.” — Ward 10 Ald. Bruce Strom, sponsor of an ordinance to ban
smoking inside most public places in the city of Springfield. A
watered-down version of the ordinance was tabled by the City Council on
Dec. 6 [R.L. Nave, “Up in smoke,” Dec. 1].
FACING THE MUSIC
“I’m glad to see him off the streets. . .
. You kind of take what you can get. I think when he gets back out,
he’ll reoffend. I feel sorry for anyone who comes in contact with
him.” — The father of one of
Michael Redpath’s victims. Redpath, the subject of a Dec. 8 cover
story, agreed to serve three years in prison for the sexual abuse of
minors. He is eligible for parole in 18 months. [Bruce Rushton,
“Better than nothing,” Dec. 22]
This article appears in Dec 29, 2005 – Jan 4, 2006.
