Illinois is taking too long to approve regulations for a controversial oil and gas drilling method, according to a coalition of businesses. They simply asked lawmakers to speed things up with legislation to circumvent the rulemaking process. The bill infuriated many environmental groups and ignited a flurry of calls to legislators that killed the bill […]
Illinois
Posted inNews
Medical marijuana rules spark concerns
Speaking from his wheelchair, Dennis Garland of Chatham addresses regulators in a May 21 public hearing on medical marijuana, urging the state to roll the program out immediately. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Illinoisans want their medical marijuana sooner, cheaper and with fewer restrictions. At a May 21 public hearing in Springfield, several speakers asked the […]
Posted inNews
Illinois almost out of time to get $500 million
If state lawmakers don’t act soon, Illinois could miss out on hundreds of jobs and $500 million in federal dollars to establish a state health insurance marketplace. As end of the spring legislative session approaches on May 31, the Illinois General Assembly is running out of time to implement a pillar of the federal insurance […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Horseradish Festival
The International Horseradish Festival is June 6-8 in Collinsville. Some folks say Small Town America is dying. And in some cases, that’s true. But other small towns, such Homer, Illinois, have found ways to celebrate their uniqueness. For Homer, it’s their SodaFest featuring Homer Soda Company’s incredible variety of vintage and artisanal sodas. Chatham has […]
Posted inNews
Downsizing government by ‘smart streamlining’
Illinois has more local units of government than any other state in the U.S., but consolidating some of those units could make the government more efficient. That was the message at a May 20 forum in Springfield, bringing together the Chicago-based Better Government Association and the Citizens Efficiency Commission for Sangamon County. The two reform […]
Posted inOpinion
Stuck in Illinois . . .
I’m packin’ up darlin’, down the road I go…a black top road running to a gravel road then a sand top road and I’ll be gone–“You Don’t have To Go” as performed by Jerry Lee Lewis The pollsters of the Gallup organization asked people around the country whether they would move away from their home […]
Posted inNews
A life-or-death decision for Dallman power plants
PHOTO BY RACHEL WELLS CWLP power plant Springfield City Water, Light and Power must decide whether to upgrade or decomission its three oldest boilers in light of changing pollution regulations, and the utility’s decision could affect the cost of power in Springfield for decades. An environmental compliance study commissioned by CWLP in December 2013 explored […]
Posted inNews
Livestock industry opposes feedlot registration
Livestock producers in Illinois oppose a regulation that would require feedlots to register with the state, but a legislative panel appears poised to approve the regulation. The proposal is part of a series of changes to how Illinois regulates confined animal feeding operations, known as CAFOs, after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered changes in […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Homer Soda Company
Homer Soda Company storefront in downtown Homer. PHOTO COURTESY HOMER SODA COMPANY Regular readers of this space know that I’ve railed against the American habit of constant soda consumption more than once. But truthfully I like soda. I like it a lot. If it weren’t for the problems – medical and dental – excessive soda […]
Posted inOpinion
Latitude for error
The proprietors of The Upshot drove in a couple of runs for their new web-based news site when they posted a fun interactive map of baseball fandom. Aggregating Facebook “likes,” Tom Giratikanon, Josh Katz, David Leonhardt and Kevin Quealy charted the geography of fan allegiance to the various major league baseball teams, ZIP code area […]
Posted inMusic
More music in May
Diana Chittester rolls in from Ohio to play the Walnut Street Winery on Friday, May 9, 8 to 11 p.m. Maybe it’s just me, but May seems to be chock-full of more music than you can shake a stick at. Hopefully with the nice weather and all, you’ve picked up all the sticks in your […]
Posted inNews
Maintaining the momentum
As Lanphier High School faces the end of a major federal grant, the school’s leadership is working to prolong the improvement there even after the money dries up. Long stereotyped as Springfield’s worst high school, Lanphier has worked to transform itself over the past three years, enabled by a federal School Improvement Grant that expires […]
