Our annual Winter Guide has an overview of holiday happenings around town, a preview of upcoming theater and dance performances, a look back at Christmas celebrations 50 years ago and suggestions on ways that adults and kids alike can give back to the community this season, plus an expanded calendar of holiday activities.
Cover Story
Posted inNews
A family’s quest for justice
While controversial, the verdict Oct. 29 in the trial of Sean Grayson after Sonya Massey’s death marked one of the few times in recent history that an American police officer became a convicted murderer in connection with an on-duty fatal shooting. “Juries are very reluctant to second-guess the split-second, often life-or-death decisions of on-duty police […]
Posted inNews
Seniors struggle at Sangamon Towers
Early on a Friday morning in late August, a group of Springfield seniors sat around a table outside Sangamon Towers, the apartment building they call home. It was a cool morning, out of the norm for the month’s heavy heat, and some wore light jackets. “Everybody in this building should be able to come out […]
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High school essay winners write from the heart
This year is the 20th annual This I Believe essay contest for high school seniors, sponsored by NPR Illinois. Modeled after the program started by radio journalist Edward R. Murrow in 1951, students are invited to write an essay sharing their personal beliefs. This fall, 210 students from throughout the NPR Illinois listening area submitted […]
Posted inBest of Springfield - Intro
Best Of Springfield 2025
See the results 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. While anything food-related typically dominates […]
Posted inNews
Blind mother seeks right to care for her son
On a sunny evening, Dalesha Richardson stands on a courtyard sidewalk near her Springfield apartment. Holding her white cane horizontal to the ground, she is playing the part of a train crossing gate. “Tickets, please!” she calls out as her 3-year-old son, Elijah, barrels toward her on his white balance bike. Elijah is a big […]
Posted inNews
The 1842 Condell House
Sitting back from Fourth Street in Springfield, tucked next to the Mansion View Inn, sits a house with a long history. The home of John S. Condell for 55 years, it had several owners since his death, then sat empty for over 30 years, came close to demolition, was listed as one of Illinois’ most […]
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Immigrants helped save this Illinois meatpacking town
In Beardstown, the Cuban couple had spent the past year building a life they were proud of. Their arrival in the U.S. had followed a long and uncertain path: a northbound journey through Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, followed by seven months in Monterrey, Mexico, as they waited for their appointment with Customs and Border Protection. […]
Posted inNews
Losing health care coverage
Dr. Janet Albers is sad that thousands of Springfield-area patients could lose Medicaid coverage and delay care because of Republican President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” Albers, a family physician, told Illinois Times that she saw many previously uninsured patients get screened for cancer and chronic health conditions, then obtain lifesaving treatment, after the […]
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50th Anniversary special
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
