In a sign that some truly awful publicity for her father may be hurting her possible gubernatorial bid, Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s poll numbers have plunged in the past several months. And Bill Daley has considerably improved his standing since he announced his candidacy. Back in January, a We Ask America poll had Ms. Madigan […]
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Posted inMusic
Chicago Farmer
After an upbringing among offerings of punk and grunge sounds in his hometown of Delavan, Ill. in southern Tazewell County, Chicago Farmer, aka Cody Diekhoff, saw the light upon hearing the songs of Hank Williams. Soon he discovered Woody Guthrie and John Prine, finding in the simple melodies and complex themes a sense of kinship […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Awesome folk
Folk duo Tina and Her Pony play what promises to be a remarkable, intimate concert Sunday evening at Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation. The couple’s original songs echo the sound of Appalachia, while creating new waves with radical, queer lyrics, uncommon instrumentation and tight vocals. Tina and Her Pony formed in Asheville, N.C., in 2009 […]
Posted inNews
Pinchin’ pensions
Rita Tarr Scheibe spent most of her career helping others as executive director of social service agencies, including Contact Ministries and Catholic Charities. The jobs were fulfilling, but not ones that would pay the bills after she got divorced and became a single parent. She and her employers both paid into Social Security, but Scheibe, […]
Posted inNews
The flushing factor
Poor water quality plagues two Springfield streams, and part of the problem is the Springfield Metro Sanitary District, according to a recent study measuring fecal coliform bacteria, present in both human and animal waste, in Spring and Sugar creeks. The district occasionally sends untreated wastewater into the two streams at eight different points. As a […]
Posted inNews
State education funding woefully inadequate
Properly educating a schoolchild in Illinois takes upwards of $2,200 more per pupil than the state currently ensures, according to the latest report from Illinois’ Education Funding Advisory Board. EFAB, which earlier this month issued its first findings since 2005, is charged with recommending to state lawmakers an appropriate “foundation level” – the minimum amount […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Dane’s Discount … another casualty among the independents
While I have to admit I’ve only visited a few times, it is a sad thing to see that Dane’s Discount (the local incarnation of a ‘Big Lots’ on steroids store on Stevenson Drive) is closing its doors. Several years (and thousands of concrete benches and lions) into it’s tenure in Springfield’s retail scene, Dane’s […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Interurban celebration
Celebrate the future of biking in Springfield at the re-opening of the Interurban bike trail this Sunday, October 25, 1:00 PM at MacArthur Tunnel. For those of us involved with the MacArthur Boulevard Business Association there is little better news we could hope for than a completion of this project – and the successful reopening […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Taste the local flavors …next Tuesday
My friend Karen Conn is hosting the Local Flavors luncheon at the Inn at 835 (835 South Second Street) next Tuesday the 20th … If you don’t know about this culinary event – it was organized by the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, a non profit group that bring lower growers together with restaurant and catering firms […]
