Cap City

If nothing else, Airbnb isn’t shy. In a missive sent this week, the company accused hotels of gouging during commencement exercises, squeezing proud families of graduates even more than they’ve already been squeezed by tuition, educational loans, Domino’s pizza tabs and the like. And the number of Airbnb guests in college towns including Evanston, Wheaton […]

Area students are getting a free education in how to manage their money, thanks to Taylorville Community Credit Union, which is bringing Banzai, a national online financial literacy program, to 12 schools in and around Taylorville, Edinburg, Hillsboro, Litchfield, Morrisonville, Nokomis, Pana and Raymond.  “Kids have their own bank accounts, and they work through assignments […]

The Village of Elkhart Veterans’ Park renovation project has been awarded a preservation grant for World War I monumentS in need of conservation, repair, stabilization or other restoration treatment. The park is home to a WWI Doughboy statue that was presented to the village by the returning veterans of World War I in honor of […]

Shortly after being named executive director of Oak Ridge Cemetery in 2011, Michael Lelys got a peek at something most folks rarely see: handwritten internment records memorializing Abraham Lincoln’s burial. It’s contained in one of two books from way back that list the dearly departed who are buried in the historic cemetery. The books, being […]

The ongoing “Illinois Top 200” project allows Illinois residents a chance to vote every two weeks on the state’s most inspiring leaders, greatest books and top businesses, among other superlative categories. By the state’s 200th birthday on Dec. 3, voters will have chosen 10 favorites in 20 different categories. The most recent category was Illinois’ […]

 Beginning June 1, employees of Springfield Public School District 186 and Sangamon County government, as well as their families, will be able to access a new supplemental health service. The school district and the county are partnering with Troxell and Memorial Health Partners to offer a new service called Memorial Choice Health Services which will […]

RIP, Grape and Wine Resources Council. So long, Offshore Wind Energy Economic Development Task Force. Hit the road, Manufactured Home Quality Assurance Board. These are just some of the government bodies created by the Illinois General Assembly that are heretofore no more, thanks to Gov. Bruce Rauner, who last week eliminated 19 state boards and […]

In a ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Springfield, the Comcast Foundation made $10,000 donations to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Illinois Capital Region and Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois, to help them carry out their missions to help young people reach their potential.  Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Illinois Capital Region […]

 When last we checked in with the Grand Army of the Republic museum, it was cluttered, closed and at a crossroads. A curator with professional archival experience had replaced a caretaker, and there was much work to do organizing and reorganizing one of the city’s smallest but scrappiest museums, a place that has survived since […]

It’s official. As of this afternoon (Thursday), the Buzz Bomb Brewing Co. will, officially, be open for business. While Springfield’s newest craft brewery has been pouring suds for a month, the ribbon cutting, with chamber of commerce types and folks from Downtown Springfield, Inc., expected, is set for this afternoon at 4 p.m. No word […]

A nationwide demonstration calling for gun legislation reform will be held at the Lincoln statue in front of the State Capitol this Saturday, March 24, at noon. Begun by student survivors of the Feb. 14 shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the local event is part of a nationwide demonstration called “March for […]