The Boys and Girls Club of Central Illinois is back and moving forward, says Douglas King, the organization’s new full-time executive director and the first since Jill Schurtz left the organization in February 2010. King became executive director of the organization, known for its youth development programs, in January. He retired in 2009 from a […]
Rachel Wells
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Leading UIS into the future
Asked what is her most important accomplishment at the University of Illinois Springfield, and Susan Koch, about 100 days into her position as chancellor, names Kimberly Pate. “The hiring of our athletic director was absolutely critical, and even though I wasn’t on board yet I was very, very involved with the hire through the months […]
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State repays bulk of seized charity funds
Gov. Pat Quinn has repaid – early and with interest – $1.176 million borrowed during the last fiscal year from 11 state-controlled charity funds. But about $434,300 seized from seven such funds the year before appears. to be gone for good. During the last fiscal year, Quinn, with authorization from the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, borrowed […]
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Schools panel emphasizes efficiency, not just consolidation
In Sangamon County there are 18 different school districts, including two community college districts, and five different regional offices of education located within the county’s borders. That might be too many, says Jerry Harrison, a field representative for the Illinois Education Association and one of 18 members of the state’s Classrooms First Commission, formed earlier […]
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A journey in genders
Tall and thin with long blonde hair, trim eyebrows and manicured fingernails, Shayla Thomas feels feminine. Given a passing glance, the Springfield resident, engineer, parent, two-time divorcee and friend, might look it too. But give her a closer look, and her face and body give away the fact that Shayla, according to genetics, is a […]
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State regresses in poverty goals
For the lowest income group in Illinois, the Great Recession might as well have been another Great Depression. Though 7.3 percent of higher income Illinois workers were unemployed earlier this year, the unemployment rate of lower income workers exceeded 25 percent, according to Illinois’ Commission on the Elimination of Poverty. Those are disturbing statistics, says […]
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False start to campaign for open primary
Expect a bit more tweaking, Bill Clutter says, after twice changing a proposal for amending the Illinois Constitution through voter initiative. A Democratic candidate for the 48th Senate District, Clutter on Sept. 7 announced a petition drive to institute open primaries – preliminary elections in which voters would not be required to divulge their party […]
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IDNR says mine stop order ‘premature’
A few weeks ago, after concerned citizens told the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that Hillsboro Energy, LLC, had started building an 80-foot tall coal slurry impoundment without an approved permit, the state agency in charge of regulating mines ordered the company to stop construction or face enforcement action. A week later, when asked about […]
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Zoo master plan moving along
Results are in, and the survey says Henson Robinson Zoo is both a gem and a challenge yet to be met. As part of an effort to revitalize Springfield’s 41-year-old zoo, volunteers representing the park district, the general public and the zoo itself have gathered regularly for the past several months to work on what […]
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Pinchin’ pensions
Rita Tarr Scheibe spent most of her career helping others as executive director of social service agencies, including Contact Ministries and Catholic Charities. The jobs were fulfilling, but not ones that would pay the bills after she got divorced and became a single parent. She and her employers both paid into Social Security, but Scheibe, […]
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Arsenic, lots of it, found around CWLP%u2008ash ponds
Groundwater surrounding City Water, Light and Power’s coal ash ponds, located across the street from Lake Springfield, contains as much as nine times the amount of arsenic considered safe in drinking water, according to environmental testing performed in spring of 2010. Arsenic is a semi-metal that’s been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs and […]
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Budget cuts tie Helping Hands
Without access to a car, 49-year-old Lloyd McCullough walks more than four miles, six days a week, to get from Helping Hands shelter on the corner of 11th and Adams streets to his stocking job at Menard’s, on the northeast edge of town. Homeless since a breakup in May, McCullough hopes each night that his […]
