Cover Story

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,” […]

Springfield resident David Butt has donated enough blood to completely fill 33 human beings. “After I retired, I made it my personal goal to be a maximum blood donor to the extent that my health would allow me to do that,” said the 71-year-old Butt, the former emergency management director for Springfield and Sangamon County.  […]

For the last 34 years, women’s baseball has been known primarily for one thing: A movie. The 1992 hit film, A League of Their Own, paid homage to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which played from 1943-54 and briefly had a team in Springfield, the Sallies. There was no baseball boom for women after […]

Through her sobs, the mother of Earl Moore Jr. told a Sangamon County judge how the death of her 35-year-old son at the hands of two ambulance company workers in 2022 has affected their immediate and extended family. “The ripple effect of this loss will be reflected for generations,” Rose Washington told Circuit Court Judge […]

Carrie Farley was released from prison March 4 with a history of addiction and hopes for a better life. But soon, Farley met discouragement. “I have quite a bit of a background, due to my addiction. When I got out of prison, I literally, I had a total of 107 applications I had put in,” […]

After months of negotiations in the spring legislative session resulted in no final action on Gov. JB Pritzker’s flagship housing proposal, housing advocates are celebrating a few legislative victories – and holding onto hopes for future negotiations. Bob Palmer, policy director for the statewide housing coalition Housing Action Illinois, said some of the major victories […]

“The U.S. is now spending more on data center construction than public transportation infrastructure,” Bloomberg reported earlier this month. The data center boom has upended the American political landscape, connecting people from all kinds of ballot leanings while shining a light on local politics like never before. As more companies and individuals bet on artificial […]

Abraham Lincoln may always be Springfield’s top tourist attraction, but the capital city is expected to draw thousands of visitors this weekend for the kickoff of an internationally popular road rally.  For the first time in its long history, the annual Hemmings Great Race will start in Springfield on June 20. A crowd will gather […]

National parks are facing a triple whammy – underfunding, reduced staffing, and what some call unprecedented federal oversight. Central Illinois is home to three National Park Service (NPS) sites, including the Lincoln Home, and they’ve been affected, too. While effects vary by park, across the nation they include altered history, fearful staff, reduced hours and […]