Photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS Brother Trump is the savior come to rescue America, in the opinion of a majority of self-identified Republicans. On the stump he works crowds into a fever with his perorations against immigrants (how he spells “Mexicans”) who are surging across our borders without papers or prospects, taking “our” jobs […]
Illinois
Posted inArts & Culture
Vigesaa’s Cabaret performance a triumph
Andrew Mayernich, center, as the Emcee of the Kit Kat Club. PHOTO BY Donna Lounsbury The dark, highly-sexualized Cabaret is an interesting choice for the Muni, that stalwart of wholesome outdoor musical theater where the audience is invited to sing the national anthem before every performance. They went out on a limb, and their ambition […]
Posted inNews
Ghost of a library
ILLUSTRATION by CHRIS BRITT While tourists bustled in and around the museum side of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum on a recent summer day, the library portion was quiet. Just two people perused newspapers in the Steve Neal Reading Room, named after the late Chicago Sun-Times columnist who crusaded against the ALPLM becoming […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Chicken, local
PHOTO BY BRANT SANDERLIN/TNS “Hi, Mom! Hey, how much do chicken wings cost at the store? Some guys are coming over tonight to play cards, and I want to make hot wings. I’m going to have to get them at the grocery store, ’cause the farmers market isn’t until Saturday.” It was my son, Robb, calling from Vermont. […]
Posted inNews
Living in Isolation
For 23 hours a day, a roughly five-by-ten-foot concrete box is what Aaron Fillmore calls home. He’s been living in a room like that for the past 15 years. That’s according to a lawsuit filed last week by the Uptown People’s Law Center (UPLC) against the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). It claims Illinois turns […]
Posted inOpinion
The razor blade in the apple
The interesting debate about property taxes in Illinois was the one they didn’t have last week at the Statehouse. Under consideration were various versions of a proposal, first made last year by candidate Bruce Rauner, to freeze local property taxes statewide. It was a loony idea, and thus enthusiastically embraced. “Property taxes are out of […]
Posted inOpinion
Voter reform
ILLUSTRATION BY Rick Nease/TNS As a nation we are split into two camps along familiar populist/progressive lines, with one believing that government doesn’t work because the people running our governments don’t understand the voters and the other believing that government doesn’t work because voters don’t understand government. Members of the General Assembly in the latter […]
Posted inNews
For-profit school under fire for business practices
A for-profit college with a branch in Springfield is taking criticism for alleged deceptive practices. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is calling for stronger oversight of ITT Technical Institute and other for-profit schools by the federal government, citing the collapse of a school system that left students with no diplomas and a mountain of debt. Durbin […]
Posted inNews
Battling rape on campus
Polly Poskin, executive director of the Springfield-based Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, hopes to see schools respond more compassionately toward rape victims. Photo BY PATRICK YEAGLE Julia Dixon only knew her attacker a few hours before her exciting new college experience became a nightmare. It was her second weekend at college, and Dixon, then age […]
Posted inOpinion
Through a glass beautifully
A paperweight from the Illinois State Museum’s Morton D. Barker collection was made in the Baccarat glassworks in France, circa 1845-1855. PHOTO BY DOUG CAR/ILLINOIS STATE MUSEUM In a climate in which open windows are as rare as an honest tax return, I don’t need paperweights on my desk. I have one anyway. It’s a […]
Posted inOpinion
Political economy
Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford PHOTO BY TIM WARD VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG “Because economic decisions are made by elected officials every day,” said Rockford state senator Dave Syverson to the Register Star recently, “we need to have officials who understand the economic impact of what they do.” Illinois lawmakers who do not understand such things, in the […]
Posted inOpinion
Back on the roads again
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER W. HOLMES – INSTAGRAM @CHIGUY79 It is unclear exactly where Illinois’ new CEO wants to take this state, but we have indications in his proposed budget how he would like us to get there. If approved, his budget would spend slightly more of the public’s money on motorcycle safety and on new […]
