Editor’s Note

Read this week’s cover story and then tell us who to blame for Harvard Park Elementary being one of the state’s lowest performing schools. The children? The teachers? The parents? Educators, administrators and board members will tell you there are no easy answers, which too often masks having given up on finding answers. Is part […]

 Washington is all upset about a government shutdown of a few days, but Illinois kept its shutdown going for two years, and not everything is back up and running yet. That could change soon, with the new governor showing signs that he wants to solve problems, not cause them. Let’s hope 2019 is the year […]

 In her “Tips for holiday cheer” on p. 7, cartoonist Jen Sorensen addresses the dilemma we all face this week and next. What happens when we’re ready to stop for the holidays and the world keeps going? A government shutdown may be avoided, but the dissolution of Donald Trump’s presidency may come at an inconvenient […]

 A journalist friend is exploring new models for the news, looking for ways to rebuild trust with audiences, while working toward better writing and reporting, while seeking new and better ways to make the enterprise pay. At Illinois Times we’re eager to join the conversation, looking for better ways to do what we do. At […]

 A hundred years hence Illinoisans may look back to figure what was the theme of the bicentennial observance, what was the spirit. What was accomplished? The state came late to the planning, unenthused, but managed to name an official beer. Springfield was more successful, led by the indefatigable bicentennial chair Pam VanAlstine through so many […]

It’s that most wonderful time of the year, but not for everybody. Expectations of joy and merriment only make things worse for those grieving loved ones who have died in the past year. On last Sunday afternoon as the rain poured outside, the speaker quipped “at least the weather understands how we feel.” This was […]

 Once a year or so we like to thank the community that makes a community newspaper possible. That includes the readers who soak in what we offer, in print and online, and the advertisers, who are not only trying to attract those readers but who are supporting an unlikely business because they believe in it. […]

J.B. Pritzker may not even know that he isn’t well known in the capital city. What most of us know is that he’s a rich, heavyset Chicago guy who isn’t Bruce Rauner. It would be nice – when the time is right, but before the inauguration – if he’d come down and shake some hands […]

 Aside from the defeat of Gov. Bruce Rauner, the most exciting election result here was approval – by a wide margin – of a one-cent countywide sales tax increase for school buildings. The tax is expected to generate $10 million annually for Springfield’s District 186 public schools. That will allow implementation of the Springfield district’s […]

The only campaign excitement we’ve seen around here is generated by Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, who is smart, energetic, practical and new. In her uphill battle to unseat Republican Congressman Rodney Davis, she has stuck to the issues and stayed out of the mud. Davis, a go-along-to-get-along moderate, is burdened by his support for repeal of […]

Last week we said farewell to Scott Faingold, Illinois Times staff writer who has been with us full time for the past five years, covering arts, culture and business. He has accepted a full-time teaching position at University of Illinois Springfield. Scott had been a frequent freelance contributor here before he joined the staff, first […]

This needs to be a country that does not go crazy over editorial cartoons. That happens elsewhere, where free speech is not so well understood, or so deeply ingrained as a defining value. Chris Britt, whose work appears weekly in Illinois Times, has been the target of an over-the-top hate mail campaign after a cartoon […]