The breadth of invited attendees at the event organized last week by Gov. JB Pritzker really stood out for me. The event along the Chicago River was designed to publicly warn President Donald Trump not to send National Guard or regular military troops into the city. The usual collection of Democratic politicians, union leaders and […]
Chicago
Posted inArts & Culture
Director’s pace, cast’s strength save Allegiant
Having salvaged the Divergent series with his fine work on Insurgent, director Robert Schwentke pulls off a similar stunt with Allegiant, the first part of the third entry in Veronica Roth’s dystopia trilogy. Though no one will ever argue that there’s anything remotely original about the story of the author’s heroine Tris and her continued […]
Posted inOpinion
Record spending in campaign against McCann
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS “He was a god in that district,” a high-level Rauner guy told me about state Sen. Sam McCann’s poll numbers from before this year’s Republican primary campaign began. Benchmark polling taken months ago showed McCann (R-Plainview) had a voter approval rating of about 70 percent. Sen. McCann “really was everywhere” in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Year-end laughs
See some of the Midwest’s top comedians this Saturday during the Best of the Midwest Comedy Showcase. The show features up-and-coming comedians from central Illinois, Chicago and St. Louis. Located just 45 minutes from Springfield, Mason City Limits Comedy Club offers a full bar and routinely hosts top comedians from Comedy Central, “The Tonight Show,” […]
Posted inMusic
Christmas music
James Armstrong plays his blues at the Alamo on Monday, Dec.28. Here we are full of holiday spirit, and hopefully spirits too, ready to finish off the holiday season with Christmas and next week’s New Year’s Eve. This year our weekend is a bit off as the big day occurs on a Friday, but there […]
Posted inMusic
Music matters most
Mary and the Immaculate Rejections play a CD release show at Black Sheep Cafe on Sat., Nov. 14. Ah, November comes and I feel the sadness and sorrow in my bones, even with these wonderful, extra sunny days. That normal slowing down of fall combined with the time change just knocked me for a loop. […]
Posted inOpinion
Republicans ‘winning,’ according to Rauner
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS Gov. Bruce Rauner took it on the chin for several days in a row this month. The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute’s recent poll of southern Illinoisans showed Rauner’s approval rating absolutely tanking in a region he swept last year. Just 37 percent of voters in 18 southern counties approved of […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Drinking shrubs
Chef Michael Higgins of Maldaner’s restaurant with many shrub options. PHOTO BY DAVID HINE Would you like to drink a shrub? I’m not talking about drinking bushes you might have in your yard, but a class of sweet/sour beverages that is centuries old. But shrubs are enjoying a renaissance these days in restaurants and other […]
Posted inNews
Planes, trains and trucks
Illustration by David Hine. It all began with a napkin. The international food-processing company Archer Daniels Midland was paying $250 per shipping container to transfer its goods between two railroads in Decatur, and they were looking for a way to cut that cost. Scott Fredericksen, ADM’s president of transportation, and Mark Schweitzer, then the company’s […]
Posted inMusic
September music sizzles
Cannonball, a hard-driving, roots music, Americana band from Chicago featuring Springfield native, Andon Davis, Jr., plays the Curve Inn on Friday with Cats on Holiday. Our happening little scene in Springfield continues to burn up the music atmosphere at an incredible rate. Here we go on a trip through marvelous music-making mayhem. Congratulations to the […]
Posted inOpinion
A monument fit for a robber baron
Jim Hightower PHOTO BY LARRY D. MOORE Occasionally I see something that is so bizarre, so out of place, so wrong that I have to assume I’m hallucinating. For example, I could have sworn I was delusional when I heard about the National Park Service’s Pullman National Monument in Chicago. George Pullman? My mind boggled. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Contemporary collaboration
“Here and Not Here” is a Springfield Art Association-hosted exhibition that appropriately spans two of the SAA’s exhibition spaces – the M.G. Nelson Gallery and The DEMO Project. This contemporary art exhibit features large-scale, mixed-media installations by Kentucky-based artist Cody Arnall, sculptural work by Iowa’s Edward Kelley, plus digital and 3-D collages by Chicagoan Meagan […]
