Beginning on page 13 is our anniversary section, with articles by three who were in the “room where IT happened” 50 years ago: Bill Friedman, founding publisher; Alan Anderson, founding editor; and Jim Krohe, contributing editor. These are followed by our “Gallery of Covers,” seven pages of Illinois Times covers, one for each of the […]
Cover Story
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Addressing children’s mental health
Anxiety, depression and other mood disorders in children have become more prevalent due to influence from a rapidly increasing number of technology and social media offerings in the past two decades. “I feel like we have an anxious generation,” social worker Melissa Warwick told Illinois Times in her Auburn Community School District office. Students try […]
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Bringing back working-class Democrats
Larry Acton was once a Democrat but today, like many rural, working-class voters, the Springfield man supports Republicans. “The party changed – not me. The Democratic Party has become elitist and focused on issues that have nothing to do with how I live my life,” the 61-year-old livestock feed salesman said. Acton reflects a national […]
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Can alternative papers revive journalism?
Publishers from across the U.S. convened in Madison, Wisconsin, July 9-11 to commiserate, inspire and share survival tips at the annual conference for alternative media organizations. The conference brought media vendors together with over 40 member and associated papers of AAN, formerly known as the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. Standing in front of journalists, editors […]
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Fall Guide
The annual Fall Guide issue has info on family friendly activities, fall gardening, upcoming theater and art shows and an expanded three-month calendar of events.
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Combating homelessness
There are signs of progress, as well as frustration, in the efforts to reduce homelessness in Springfield. Advocates say more work is needed to expand housing options and street-level outreach to help people who cycle in and out of homelessness amid a 40% increase in rental costs in Illinois since 2020 and a lack of […]
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Adventure awaits at the Illinois State Fair
“Adventure Awaits” is the theme of the 2025 Illinois State Fair, and that adventure this year includes a few new wrinkles such as a pickleball tournament, craft beer contest and the return of the Budweiser Clydesdales. But it all starts on Thursday, Aug. 7, with the Twilight Parade, and this year’s grand marshal is the […]
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Repeat offender
Michael Gansbauer, 49, has spent fewer than four years out of prison since the age of 18. Convicted for first-degree murder 32 years ago in Springfield, he has spent only an eighth of his adult life out of jail or prison. Victims’ family members, prison reform advocates and childhood friends have agreed that his current […]
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NPR Illinois celebrates 50 years
Its two-word mission is simple: Explain Illinois. It’s something that Springfield-based National Public Radio Illinois has been doing for 50 years, and accomplishing that mission is a multifaceted, innovative and fiscally capricious effort fueled by public and private support. NPR Illinois delivers a combination of locally produced programs and syndicated National Public Radio shows such […]
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Getting right with Native Americans
Amid the annual bustle at the Illinois Capitol during the legislative session’s midpoint, a sea of color and singing filled the rotunda on a sunny March day. Attendees of the 2025 Native American Summit, organized by the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative, were draped in regalia and leading a drum ceremony for the first time […]
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City’s Black Caucus addresses disparities
When the Springfield City Council voted July 1 to expand the way revenue can be spent from two tax-increment financing districts to improve homes and businesses on the economically challenged east side, a council member from the west side asked the proposal’s sponsors: “What are we trying to fix that’s broken?” The main sponsor, Ward […]
