Some people start the New Year with gusto, resolutions firmly planted, determined to make big changes. Often the goals relate to health and fitness. Some prevail. Many do not. If that is you, go for it. But, if New Year’s resolutions aren’t your thing and you aren’t totally committed to what seems like a lot […]
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Far from home
Ted likes to say he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was 17, doing well at a college prep boarding school in Indiana, when a classmate went on a violent rampage while high on a combination of potent drugs. When cops searched that classmate’s phone, they found that Ted had fulfilled […]
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Down on the farm
The seeds of a trade war, severe weather, plummeting prices and corporate farming competition mean that many farmers are harvesting a bumper crop of problems, especially those people loosely defined as “family farmers.” “They call them ‘the farmers in the middle,’ and their numbers are declining pretty rapidly,” said National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson. […]
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Movies 2019 – The dawning of the Age of Netflix
When film historians look back at 2019, they will note that this was the year when Netflix changed the cinematic landscape for good…or ill, depending on your point of view. Up until this year, the streaming service had only been a minor disruption on the movie landscape by producing its own fare, acquiring others’ work […]
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STATEHOUSE YEAR IN REVIEW
A tumultuous year in Illinois politics draws to its close as the historic legislative accomplishments of May and June give way to a flurry of ongoing federal investigative activity, resignations and indictments. Central to the story of 2019 is Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Chicago Democrat and billionaire who spent more than $170 million of his […]
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Teaching LGBT history
Illinois’ public school students may soon learn about Jane Addams in a new light. “Illinoisan Jane Addams, the mother of social work, founder of the Hull House, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, was in a committed 40-year relationship with her partner, Mary Rozet Smith,” read a statement from Equality Illinois during the debate over House […]
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Green New World
Just taking a photograph at Nature’s Grace and Wellness in Vermont, about 75 miles northwest of Springfield, can be tricky. Fire away, you’re told in the grow area, where glare from high-pressure sodium bulbs makes ordinary cameras go nuts, drawing excessive amounts of blues and purples from rows of lights above hundreds of pot plants […]
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How AND why to DIVERSIFY
Chances are good that if you serve on a nonprofit organization’s board, your fellow board members look and act a lot like you. That might be a problem, according to a Springfield-based initiative that is seeking to make those boards more reflective of the communities that they serve. The Building Board Diversity (BBD) initiative was […]
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Double vision
Springfield School District 186 faces challenges familiar to many urban school districts. Academic achievement at district high schools lags behind state averages. Parents are voting with their feet as they choose to live outside the district or enroll kids in private schools. Segregation remains and demographic trends are ominous. During the past 15 years, white […]
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The King and The Bard
All Shook Up at Theatre In The Park is a constantly entertaining Elvis Presley “jukebox musical” with surprising depth. From the rousing “Jailhouse Rock” opening to the “Burning Love” finale, it’s a fantastic way to spend a midsummer evening. All Shook Up is not an Elvis Presley biography but a magical fairy tale combining The […]
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Rebounds against racism
“I think we’re more polarized now than we have been for a while as a society, especially when it comes to race,” said Al Klunick, co-organizer of the upcoming Community Unity 2 On 2 Tournament, which aims to pit integrated basketball duos against each other in an attempt to bridge racial gaps. Klunick coached high […]
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A stronger voice for the environment
Protecting Illinois schoolchildren from exposure to lead in drinking water, reducing health risks and environmental impacts of pesticides and funding open space acquisition are some of the accomplishments of the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC). Founded in 1975, IEC serves as the environmental community’s eyes, ears and voice in Springfield. For years IEC rented space in […]
