Feature

Shayna Texter once dreamed of playing pro soccer, but she can’t escape the thrill of speed that is in her blood. In 2012, she made history in Tennessee by becoming the first woman to win a Grand National Championship race. Sanctioned by the American Motorcycle Association, such races are considered the sport’s top echelon. At […]

An administrator resigned amid sexual harassment accusations. Another college hired him. A professor was found to have stalked a coworker. She agreed to retire, then won a Fulbright grant. Campus leaders vow reforms, but many say it’s a long road. This article was produced in partnership with the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.ProPublica Illinois is an […]

For senior care advocates in Illinois, a state funding increase is a reason for optimism after a prolonged period of government disinvestment. The financial crisis was marked by a crippling two-year state budget impasse which continues to leave its mark on social service providers. But advocates for nursing homes and home-based senior care agree there […]

A quarter-century ago, Harper’s magazine published what is considered one of the finest essays penned by an American writer during the 20th century. Ticket To The Fair describes, in sometimes brutal detail, a transplant’s return to flyover country to attend the 1993 Illinois State Fair. The 15,000-word tome, reprinted in David Foster Wallace’s collection of […]

The Salsa Ambassador has reached the 10-year anniversary of his ongoing mission of inclusion through Latin dance, and the dancing diplomat shows no signs of slowing down. The Salsa Ambassador is 38-year-old Julio Barrenzuela, who for more than a decade has been teaching salsa dancing every place he can, including nursing homes, facilities for persons […]

The doors of the landing craft open, and the beach of Normandy looms ahead. Shells explode in the water and as the sound of machine gun fire beats a merciless tattoo through the hazy air. You round the corner, and suddenly World War II comes to life before your eyes through the words and objects […]

I found Kenny’s Bonnie living in an assisted living facility. It has been more than 70 years since she sat on the beach in Florida in her sunglasses and white shirt, Kenny’s hands on her shoulders behind her. She is 93 years old now; her dark curly hair has turned white; her eyesight is failing. […]

His picture is in a case along the back wall in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum’s new exhibition on World War II. He is handsome in his pilot’s helmet and cheerful, confident smile, and so very, very young – only 21 when the photo was taken. A picture of his P-51 Mustang fighter plane is […]

The yellow buses pull up to the southeast side elementary school and children pour out, laughing and running and twirling as they head into the building for another day of school. In the middle of July. The enrollment has tripled, the programs have been expanded, and a new partnership with Springfield School District 186 means […]

Shortly after the first race, a thunderstorm descends on Arlington International Racecourse, just north of Chicago. An hour before post time, families toting coolers had streamed into the track, paying $10 apiece for admission, less for kids and extra to reserve spots alongside the final stretch, a football field or so from the finish line […]

Women runners and walkers are encouraged to turn out in force on July 13 at Washington Park to celebrate the 40th annual Springfield Women’s Distance Festival (WDF). The first was July 26, 1980. Why is a two-mile race called a distance festival? Debbie Huffman, who codirected the first WDF with George Anne Daly, explains that […]

Whether you are an avid runner, a walker or have never thought about participating, this is a great year for women to sign up for the race. Everyone who registers gets a race shirt and swag bag with goodies and is entered to win door prizes. Previous race directors are invited to attend and be […]