Though the governor promised to make Illinois “the best state” to raise young children, child care continues to disappear. And, as one couple learned, there’s almost no help for those building a child care facility from the ground up. Heather and Stephen Casner sat across from the loan officer in the fall of 2022, a […]
Cover Story
Posted inNews
Virtual patients, real problems
Randy Rhodes, a 54-year-old truck driver with a southern Illinois twang, appears impatient and cantankerous after his wife forced him to visit a doctor to get a rash on his arm checked out. He tells the doctor that he wants to “get this over with quickly.” But after some prodding, he admits feeling tired more […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Healthy, Wealthy and Wise 2025
It’s easy to make New Year’s resolutions to eat better, exercise more, drink more water and the like, but much harder to sustain by the time February rolls around. Our annual health and wellness issue has tips on breaking the habit of a sedentary lifestyle, beating the winter blues and using strength training to age […]
Posted inNews
A critical loss for District 186
Hundreds of families in Springfield that count on after-school and summer learning programs are about to have the rug pulled out from under them as federal funding has evaporated for key agencies that supply those services. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Illinois informed Springfield School District 186 in early December that a grant […]
Posted inNews
Adams Street at a crossroads
In recent years the section of downtown known as the Adams Family has been a vibrant focal point of revitalization efforts. But following a devastating fire over the summer, there are now concerns about demolition plans, failed efforts to showcase spaces in need of renovations and a stalled project that could serve as a catalyst […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Best films of 2024
Not much changed from 2023 to 2024 where the world of consumer cinema was concerned. We got more of the same where studio output was concerned, movies continued to be far too long and just how to release a movie in the post-COVID streamer-domination era to ensure its success remains a mystery. There were big-budget […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Remembering 2024
Our annual REMEMBERING edition, the last issue of the year, reminds us small-town folks that people we thought we knew we didn’t know as well as we wish we had, and those we didn’t know, we wish we had known. It reminds us that many more have died this year than we could possibly write […]
Posted inNews
Springfield Clinic disrupts area health care industry
Two recently opened rooms overlooking Springfield Clinic’s main campus hold the promise of shorter waits for patients who need the blood vessels feeding their hearts examined or treated for potentially life-threatening blockages. Two miles away, a new Urgent Care Plus, scheduled to open in January near Springfield’s two acute-care hospitals, is designed to serve many […]
Posted inNews
Project Censored 2024
With any Top 10 list, there’s a natural tendency to look first at No. 1, and neither I nor Project Censored would discourage you from doing that, when it comes to the annual list of the top censored stories of the year. This year, the top story is about workplace deaths and injuries – with […]
Posted inNews
Asking the public for help
Several local small businesses, faced with plummeting sales entering this holiday season due to unforeseen circumstances, have turned to a new method of keeping the doors open – pleas for help from the public. A growing number of small business owners have recently posted heartfelt pleas on social media about not being able to pay […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Winter Guide 2024
Our annual Winter Guide has tips on the best board games for all ages and stages, what to do when you’re feeling more ho-hum than festive and a look at a questionable Christmas commutation from a former Illinois governor, plus details on all the downtown festivities, an expanded calendar of holiday activities and more. Related […]
Posted inNews
Springfield grapples with increased crime
Antwaun Readus Sr. started to choke up at the podium as he described how he has been called upon to use his barbering skills to prepare as many as 10 Black adolescents and young men for casket viewings after they became victims of violence. “Do you know how hard it is to sit here and […]
