Health care reform could be a big plus for the disabled, says one Springfield disability advocate, but only if the state fundamentally changes how it handles those with special needs. Tyler McHaley, president of Springfield Area Disability Activists (www.disabilityactivists.org), shared that message Nov. 16 with the Health Care Reform Implementation Council, a collection of state […]
Illinois
Posted inNews
Patriot Guard watches over military funerals
About 100 somber men and women in black leather vests line every pathway in front of the cream-colored funeral home in Chatham. On every vest is a collection of colorful patches proclaiming the wearer’s religion, military service and other affiliations and creeds. Most arrived earlier that day on rumbling motorcycles, and each now holds an […]
Posted inNews
Documentary targets toxic chemicals
Biologist Dr. Sandra Steingraber describes her 1997 book, Living Downstream, as a sort of love story between her and Pekin, the place she grew up and where she lived when she learned in her early 20s that she had bladder cancer. The book, throughout which Steingraber threads her personal story, examines evidence linking cancer to […]
Posted inNews
Debating the debates
Before the Oct. 17 gubernatorial debate between Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn and Republican Bill Brady at Elmhurst College near Chicago, Green Party candidate Rich Whitney and a group of supporters stood outside in protest, megaphone and signs in hand. It’s a scene that will be the new norm until debate hosts start inviting all established […]
Posted inNews
Feds censure state on farm waste
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Illinois fails to regulate manure from certain livestock farms, calling on the state to completely revamp its system of oversight or risk losing its enforcement authority. In a report released in late September, the U.S. EPA says the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has not fully implemented a federally mandated […]
Posted inOpinion
Still alternative after all these years
I don’t often look at calendars – so often they remind me that there is an editor somewhere, impatiently drumming his fingers on his desk because the article draft I’d promised him is late. But look at a calendar one must do occasionally, and last week it reminded me that it has been 35 years […]
Posted inNews
There goes the neighborhood
A new playground in Springfield’s Gehrmann Park will serve as an anchor in a neighborhood that is revitalizing itself one step at a time. On Sept. 25, about 200 volunteers converged on Gehrmann Park in the Enos Park neighborhood of Springfield to construct a donated playground in a single day. Featuring what Derek Harms, director […]
Posted inNews
Dog fight ends with hall pass
A legal battle over a boy and his dog has ended, allowing an autistic second-grader to bring his service dog to school for good. In a ruling released Aug. 24, the Fourth District Appellate Court of Illinois said the Villa Grove Community Unit School District #302, located south of Champaign-Urbana, could not keep seven-year-old Kaleb […]
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Prison reform advocates lament Randle’s departure
A group of prison reform advocates says the recent resignation of the state’s corrections director is unfortunate, but the reforms he quietly enacted should continue. The unnamed group, which includes state legislators, religious congregations and activists, sent a letter to Gov. Pat Quinn on Sept. 8, calling on Quinn to support the reforms implemented by […]
Posted inNews
Legalized video gambling stalled
A gambling expansion that is supposed to raise $300 million a year and help pay for statewide infrastructure improvements has yet to be implemented, more than a year after it became law. Gene O’Shea, spokesman for the Illinois Gaming Board, which regulates video gaming, says the board has no timeline for implementing the system. The […]
Posted inNews
The dirty business of CLEAN COAL
Take a drive this time of year down any state highway and you’ll likely see chipboard signs promoting this guy for sheriff and that guy for Senate. This much is true when traveling down Route 48. But along this road, which slices through the heart of Christian County, you’ll also see a slick metal sign, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A grand tradition at the Grandstand
It wasn’t too long ago that the popular rock band Hootie and the Blowfish sold out the Grandstand at the Illinois State Fair. In 1995, the year after late author David Foster Wallace wrote about the fair in Harper’s Magazine, more than 13,350 people from around the state packed the venue to see the band […]
