Feature

On Saturday, April 27, central Illinois families are invited to enjoy several hours of sensory-friendly activities during Autism Support of Central Illinois’ Family Fun Day and Walk. The annual fundraising event raises money and awareness for Autism Support of Central Illinois, an organization that provides outreach to local autism families via sensory-friendly events, grants, educational […]

The Springfield High School (SHS) Hall of Fame honors graduates who have achieved national eminence. Pamela Cohen Hirsch, class of 1964, is the most recent honoree, inducted March 29 at a ceremony in the Springfield High School auditorium. After a highly successful business career, Hirsch founded the nonprofit Baby Quest Foundation in 2012. The organization […]

At one point in time, the newspaper business was seen as a “cash cow,” says Jon Whitney, Illinois Press Foundation board member and publisher of Carroll County Review. But there’s been a sharp decline in print advertising revenue since 2006, when it peaked at $49.3 billion, according to a 2018 report from Pew Research. By […]

Stormy Daniels walked from her car to the Lincoln statue on the grounds of the Illinois State Capitol, gave her brief prepared remarks and left without taking questions. She was protesting the “pole tax” (Live Adult Entertainment Facility Surcharge Act), which strip clubs pay to help fund rape crisis centers. She said, “Rape crisis centers […]

Frank Edwards acknowledges many things. He isn’t polished. He isn’t warm and fuzzy. He’s an underdog. And the man who would be Springfield mayor also is prone to thinking out loud, saying things that he hasn’t thought through or researched. What he said recently about red-light cameras is one example. During a March 12 press […]

About the article: Governing magazine, based in Washington, D. C., covers state and local government across the country – the laws and leadership that shape the way states and cities serve their citizens. The magazine decided to devote attention to the ongoing issue of residential segregation in America, and how government policies continue to reinforce […]

Imagine taking your family on vacation or traveling to visit out-of-town relatives, but not knowing where you would be able to stop to eat, use the restroom or spend the night. For decades, that was the reality for African-American travelers throughout the United States. Many of them traveled Rt. 66 through Springfield, Illinois. Jim Crow […]

If you think campaign yard signs are litter on a stick, ask Ben Griffin. Eight years ago, Griffin zoomed from political unknown to a player in contests for seats on the Nashville Metro Council in Tennessee after two signs bearing his name were placed in a yard near an elementary school. Five incumbents were running. […]

Lisa Badger, a first-time candidate for office who is running for the Springfield Park District Board, says she decided to run because she “feels strongly there should be diversity in government.” Badger and Park District Board president Leslie Sgro are the only two women in the race. If they win, the board will remain representative […]

On Jan. 16, 1919, the United States had ratified the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, making it illegal to make, transport or sell alcoholic beverages in America as of 1920. The following Sunday, celebrations were held in churches throughout Springfield. Reverend E. F. Collier spoke in support of the Anti-Saloon League at the First United […]

It didn’t take Silas Johnson long after he moved to Springfield to identify the border that separates the black section of the city from the white one. Growing up in Mississippi as the civil rights movement swept through the South, Johnson knew about dividing lines. In the town of Macon, blacks knew to stay on […]