I met Donny Treadwell in August of 2024 while looking for people to interview about living on the streets in Springfield. We spoke several times, and on four of those occasions I was able to interview him at length. After trying to connect with him again, I learned he froze to death while living outside […]
Newsletter – Main
Posted inNews
Young offenders in Illinois still serving life sentences
Cleodious “J.R.” Schoffner Jr. sits in a visitor’s room at Lawrence Correctional Center, a small, cinderblock box with a guard posted outside the heavy metal door. His lanky, 6-foot frame is swallowed by baggy prison blues, and a faded lotus flower tattoo – inked by a fellow inmate – peeks from his shirt. Schoffner entered […]
Posted inNews
Kwame Raoul rules out bid for U.S. Senate
While many Illinois Democrats wait anxiously to hear whether U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin will run for reelection in 2026 or step down after five terms in the Senate, at least one incumbent officeholder appears to be ruling himself out as a potential successor. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Tuesday he is not interested in […]
Posted inNews
Despite Trump order, Illinois won’t require voter proof of citizenship
Illinois voters casting ballots in the April 1 consolidated elections will not be required to show proof of U.S. citizenship, despite an executive order issued last week by President Donald Trump. On March 25, Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to implement and enforce a nationwide requirement that voters show documentary proof of U.S. […]
Posted inOpinion
State considers taking services
The Civic Federation, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability recently released a report calling for the expansion of the sales tax to several services, claiming such a move could raise $2 billion for the state. The state imposes an additional sales tax […]
Posted inNews
Surplus to success
It’s said one person’s junk is another’s treasure. In that vein, a budget proposal before Illinois lawmakers would use $500 million to turn some of Illinois’ biggest state-owned eyesores into economic development opportunities. Abandoned, dilapidated facilities in Lincoln and Jacksonville are among five across Illinois that are targeted in the “Surplus to Success” program being […]
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Trump administration blocks more than $400M in funding for Illinois health programs
President Donald Trump’s administration is pulling back $477 million from Illinois that was to be used to prevent infectious disease and treat mental health and substance abuse issues. The Illinois Department of Public Health announced this week the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is taking back $125 million allocated to IDPH and 97 […]
Posted inNews
Heartland Housed seeks to improve services in county
People who are currently experiencing homelessness or have in the past were invited to share their thoughts about the services provided in Sangamon County at a March 22 focus group. It was organized by Jamie Riedle, system coordinator with the Heartland Continuum of Care, which oversees a Lived Experience Advisory Board. While Heartland Housed has […]
Posted inNews
Protecting low-income access to medications
Health care advocates in Springfield are working to pass legislation to secure low-income Illinoisans access to medications through a federal drug discount program. The aim is to protect against growing restrictions placed by drug companies. Cyrus Winnett, chief public affairs officer for the Illinois Primary Healthcare Association, a trade association representing the state’s community health […]
Posted inNews
After public pressure, state commits $8M to restoring New Salem
Nearly a century after the Civil Conservation Corps reconstructed the once-thriving village of New Salem where Abraham Lincoln spent his 20s working odd jobs, studying law and winning his first election, the historic site just northwest of Springfield has fallen into disrepair. Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site is a replica of the hamlet where […]
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Lincoln Presidential Foundation to auction some of its Lincoln artifacts
The Lincoln Presidential Foundation plans to auction a portion of the Taper Collection – including manuscripts, photographs, books, personal effects and sculptural items connected to Abraham Lincoln and Mary Lincoln – to retire the outstanding loan balance from the Foundation’s purchase of the collection. The Foundation’s board of directors has authorized selling 144 items from […]
Posted inNews
Parents, teachers protest proposed cuts to District 186 SCOPE program
Some Springfield School District 186 parents and teachers are in an uproar over the school board’s now-tabled proposal to cut the long-standing Project SCOPE program that provides before and after-school care, potentially affecting over 850 students across the district. On Friday, March 21, the District 186 school board added an item to the March 24 […]
