Last summer, a group of people attempted to disrupt a popular Levitt AMP concert on the Y Block in downtown Springfield. They were angry about the recent murder of Sonya Massey, and the scene grew tense, with Springfield police moving in. Someone called Sunshine Clemons, co-president of Black Lives Matter SPI, who was leaving a […]
Newsletter – Main
Posted inNews
Illinois joins motion to block dismantling of U.S. Education Department
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 20 other state attorneys general are asking a federal judge to immediately halt President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. In a motion filed March 24 in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, the coalition of Democratic attorneys general are seeking a preliminary injunction to block […]
Posted inNews
Former music and theater director sentenced in child porn case
Adam Power avoided criminal charges for five years after Springfield police investigated him for alleged inappropriate online comments and text messages with minors he met in Springfield Theatre Centre programs and productions. But since 2018, Power, a Petersburg resident and former Springfield-area substitute teacher, choir director and community theater director, used lies and more than […]
Posted inNews
Four police officers disciplined following crash involving former sergeant
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from the March 18 meeting of the Springfield City Council. Four Springfield police officers were disciplined – and one of them will serve a six-day unpaid suspension – in connection with their work at the site of a Sept. 5 car-motorcycle collision in which a recently […]
Posted inNews
Charges increased for teen driver who hit woman and dog
Lilly was a bright-eyed Labrador retriever who brought joy to her family and smiles to her neighbors. On a sunny afternoon Feb. 27, her owner, Kimberly Sharpe, took her for a walk from which she never returned. While in a crosswalk, a car grazed Sharpe and ran over Lilly. In the weeks that followed, tears […]
Posted inOpinion
Reading while Black
Feb. 23 was the first really mild Sunday afternoon in weeks. As is my routine, after completing a workout at the YMCA in downtown Springfield on such a glorious day, I made my way on foot to the nearby Amtrak station with a good book in hand to read before heading home. While at the […]
Posted inNews
A quiet, but important, election day
Sangamon County voters are heading to the polls April 1 to decide on a range of local issues, including school board races, township government positions and a referendum on consolidating the county recorder’s office and clerk’s office. While not every municipal position is contested, some, like the races for the school board, offer voters the […]
Posted inOpinion
Questions arise about overtime at CTA
Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, recently told me he was “astonished” by some Chicago Transit Authority employee paychecks. Moylan, the chair of the House Transportation: Rail Systems, Roads & Bridges Committee, is heading into the transit funding discussions armed with an inch-and-a-half-thick binder filled with CTA salary data. The agency’s gross payroll for all employees […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Immigrant stereotypes dehumanize us all
Words matter. Immigrants have been an essential part of American culture since our beginning. And throughout our history, references to immigrants have been intentionally framed to stigmatize and dehumanize them. This is particularly the case with immigrants who are Black and brown, from Asia and the Global South. Inflammatory rhetoric has recently included terms like […]
Posted inWatch Public Meetings
School safety measures and student achievements discussed
The Springfield District 186 Board of Education meeting tackled pressing issues and celebrated achievements: – Superintendent discusses the rise in school violence and outlines safety measures like metal detectors and crisis teams. – Board President calls for stronger leadership at Lanphier, highlighting frustrations with current disciplinary policies. – Celebrations of student achievements, from basketball victories […]
Posted inNews
Inside the harrowing 100-mile police chase in Sangamon County
When Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Pearce saw a white pickup spotted outside a motorcycle shop that had been burglarized earlier that night, he punched the gas and chased the fleeing truck, reaching race car speeds and screeching his tires through hairpin turns. Sgt. James Hayes, his supervisor, asked whether he had enough gas. “I […]
Posted inNews
SPD adds Community Service Officers
The Springfield Police Department has a new tool in its fight against crime – cops without guns. They were once known as traffic wardens but have been redubbed “community service officers” and given an expanded job description. The idea is to free up armed, sworn officers to handle more serious offenses by assigning less dangerous […]
