Cap City

The Illinois State Museum is chock full of interesting stuff to see, ponder and sometimes hear. Next week likely will prove a delight for all the senses as Bryan Bowers is scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10 as part of the Music At The Museum concert series, which brings oft-overlooked acts to […]

No one was happier than us when Mayor Jim “Jelly” Langfelder pulled the trigger on buying the iconic Sonrise Donut sign for the low, low price of $22,000 during a recent auction that made us, frankly, wonder who else was bidding on a broken neon sign that will cost a mint to move and perhaps […]

Sam Cahnman, who’s looking to move from erstwhile Ward 5 alderman to newly elected Ward 5 alderman in upcoming city elections, is vowing to reject a pay raise approved last month by the city council and Mayor Jim Langfelder, who broke a 5-5 tie (surprise) to up aldermanic salaries by the same rate as inflation, […]

Newly minted U.S. attorney John Milhiser is making moves in an office rocked by revelations that prosecutors and other employees have exchanged improper emails with U.S. District Court Judge Colin Bruce, a former federal prosecutor himself, that last summer prompted the judge’s removal from all criminal proceedings, including the corruption case against former U.S. Rep. […]

The city is allowing free downtown parking for shoppers during the holidays. Until Dec. 22, shoppers who obtain permits labeled “Shopper” from one of 10 downtown retail businesses – and what a pity it is that there are not three times that amount – can park for free between Fourth and Seventh streets east-west and […]

“Wishes really do come true,” says Jim Leach, in a press release, “and the 2019 Springfield Muni Opera season proves it.” Leach is president of the Muni board of managers. “But it’s not just the wishes of the characters in our four shows. It might be the wish to let your talent shine on stage, […]

We’re doomed. Well, maybe not doomed, but nonetheless in a heap of trouble, thanks to a heap of coal ash from the city’s power plant that’s built up next to Lake Springfield. That’s the takeaway from a report released this week by the Sierra Club, Prairie Rivers Network and other usual environmentalist suspects who have […]

You gotta love Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, a man who knows his seasons. Take winter, for instance. In August, when sunshine was cheap and the city council, alarmed that an out-of-town outfit had underbid local contractors by more than $80,000, delayed a vote on a $364,000 crack-sealing contract for Chatham Road. At the time, […]

Final signatures aren’t yet on paper, but a contract between State Journal-Register newsroom employees and GateHouse Media, corporate owner of the Springfield daily, has been ratified by workers and is all but a done deal. According to a union publication, workers get a 1 percent raise this year and a 1.75 percent raise next year. […]

Illinois became the 16th state to legalize same-sex marriage five years ago, when marriage equality legislation was signed into law on Nov. 20, 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court did not issue its historic ruling requiring all states to issue same-sex marriage licenses until June 26, 2015. Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, a sponsor of the legislation, […]

Those on the front lines of caring for the hungry and homeless have been talking about working together ever since Ossie Langfelder was mayor in the 1980s. The efforts to coordinate and cooperate usually get bogged down for one reason or another, but the good people keep trying again, as they announced they will do […]

Springfield is competing against 40 other communities across the nation to win a $25,000 matching grant to host 10 free concerts in downtown next summer. There are two key aspects of the Levitt AMP [Your City] Music Series grant. One is to activate an underutilized space – so if Springfield should win, Downtown Springfield, Inc., […]