Feature

Movies are about moments – big moments that erase our cynicism about cinema and remind us of its capacity to dazzle as well as touch us. This happens in a way only possible with a medium that seamlessly combines so many other art forms. There are instances that prompt us to consider things in a […]

Each winter for the past 25 years, the Springfield Art Association has offered an antidote to the common blockbuster with the Molly Schlich Independent and International Film Series. Over the course of several weeks (Sunday matinees and Tuesday evenings) at AMC’s Parkway 8, 3025 Lindbergh Blvd., the series offers local movie buffs the opportunity to […]

A vivid, effective Monster While no one would ever mistake J.A. Bayona’s A Monster Calls as Christmas fare, love is at the core of the film. This is an at times difficult-to-watch movie that deals with a young boy trying to come to terms with his mother’s terminal cancer. Adapted from the novel by Patrick […]

The visual arts in Springfield blossomed throughout 2016, with established institutions and grassroots groups alike reporting a great range of positive motion in spite of potentially mitigating factors such as the ongoing state budget impasse. In an especially exciting development, the City of Springfield has stepped in with funding and support for an innovative residency […]

Just two months ago, Jennifer Watkins and her daughter Sidney were living a new life in Massachusetts that now seems light years away. Watkins moved from Florida to Massachusetts last summer. Wanted in Illinois for refusing to allow visits between her nine-year-old daughter and the girl’s paternal grandparents, Watkins had seemed safe in the Sunshine […]

The trouble with winter is that staying warm in the cold weather calls for lots of gear, and all of our manufacturing, selling and consuming takes a toll on the planet we call home. Here are a few thoughts on how to be smarter and what to watch for as you look to dress yourself […]

About the article In 2015 Illinois Times and dozens of alternative weeklies and other newsmedia outlets participated in Letters to the Future, a project published ahead of the Paris climate talks that compiled letters from nationally acclaimed writers, scientists, intellectuals and other concerned citizens. As part of the project, the letters were dispatched to hundreds […]

1.    Impose a price on carbon This could occur in several ways. The revenue-neutral carbon fee has a great backbone of advocacy support. It would charge fossil fuel producers at the first point of sale, and the revenue would be distributed among the public. Prices of goods and services dependent on fossil fuels would go […]

Kelly Wickham Hurst spent about 20 years with Springfield School District 186. As guidance dean, she frequently took to her blog and social media to share stories of black students being treated unfairly, and her efforts to advocate on their behalf. Under her social media handle – MochaMomma (an homage to both her love of […]

In television ads and on the internet, Ostling and Associates boasts that it is Illinois’ largest bankruptcy law firm. “When you need help, call Ostling and Associates,” the announcer on a television commercial urges viewers. “With 20 Illinois offices to serve you. Call Ostling and Associates now and stop the collection calls.” The ads apparently […]

When I was offered the opportunity to participate in an education study tour of the Finland school system, sponsored by the National Education Association Foundation, I welcomed the opportunity to see what is known as the No. 1 education system in the world. I had never put Finland on my bucket list, but now, I […]

Seventy-seven years ago on a cold winter night in February, seven African-American women met in a home on Williams Street to form a study group that would continue to this day. Known as the oldest black book club in Springfield, the James Weldon Johnson Study Guild meets bimonthly for programs of “discussions, Negro accomplishments, book […]