Every year, we ask our opinionated readers to tell us about their favorite people, places and things in the Springfield area. Over the decades we’ve been doing this, we’ve continued to tweak both the process and the results issue to try to keep things fresh and interesting. This year, more people voted for their favorite […]
Cover Story
Posted inNews
Local election coverage
From congressional races to contested Sangamon County Board seats and the sheriff’s race, here’s a look at who’s on the Nov. 3 ballot locally. We also have an overview of the landlord registry referendum that Springfield voters will be asked to consider. Sign up for our daily digital newsletter to get timely information about local […]
Posted inNews
Vigilante justice
Jeff Bast, who goes by Millstone the Klown on social media, says he is protecting children. His online following has brought scrutiny to people on the sex offender registry – and fear and lost work to people around them. Lucy Reid took down the signs in broad daylight. They had been posted around Winchester for […]
Posted inNews
Changing demographics in Beardstown
Young people bearing the flags of countries in Latin America and Africa, along with girls dressed in traditional folkloric skirts, walked under the banner of a Latino civic organization in the recent Beardstown Fall Fun Festival parade, although it may be the last time the longstanding group participates. Claudia Zabala, an ESL middle school teacher, […]
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“Housing is a human right”
Teshia Spencer’s 14-year-old daughter was experiencing shortness of breath. Spencer assumed allergies were the cause until a doctor diagnosed her daughter with asthma. The trigger, according to Spencer, was months of mold exposure in a house they rented in Springfield from January to July of this year. Spencer is one of several tenants who told […]
Posted inFall Home & Garden
Fall Home and Garden 2026
Fall is a great time to tackle yard projects, such as planting bulbs for a spring payoff or potting herbs and other plants you can move indoors for the winter. It’s also helpful to being making plans now for your spring home improvements, so whether you’re dreaming of an outdoor kitchen or updating part of […]
Posted inNews
Collaborating with ICE
This story was reported and produced by Injustice Watch, a nonprofit newsroom in Chicago that investigates issues of equity and justice in the court system, in collaboration with The Intercept. Minutes after Riverton police officer Brad Herzog ran 31-year-old Daniel Torrez Perez’s name through a law enforcement database one night in April 2025, his phone […]
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A man on a mission in Athens
Who is Sameer Somal, and what has he been doing in Athens? The 43-year-old Pennsylvania resident, entrepreneur and Abraham Lincoln historian has been a frequent presence in the Menard County community in recent months. Somal is on the board of the town’s Abraham Lincoln Long Nine Museum, and he envisions transforming vacant and available property […]
Posted inFall Guide
2026 Fall Guide
The annual Fall Guide issue has info on family friendly activities, fall festivals, upcoming theater shows and an expanded three-month calendar of events.
Posted inNews
Fighting for the innocent
The Illinois Innocence Project at University of Illinois Springfield has freed 34 innocent people who were convicted and imprisoned in Illinois for crimes they did not commit. Collectively, they lost 797 years of freedom. There are innocence organizations in 10 other countries and more than 60 in the U.S., but IIP is the only one […]
Posted inReGen
The secret to staying young
A banana every morning, along with a glass of milk, and some pickleball in the afternoon. For Donald Taft, at least, this is his recommended elixir to older people who want to keep drinking from the fountain of youth. At 93, the longtime Springfield restaurateur is believed to be the oldest active pickleball player in […]
Posted inNews
‘The wrong side of justice’
This story was produced by Injustice Watch, a nonprofit newsroom in Chicago that investigates issues of equity and justice in the Cook County court system. Curtis Lovelace was walking out of his law office in downtown Quincy, Illinois, when he spotted the stranger waiting by his car. “I recognized him to be a police officer,” […]
