For about two months this summer, the Springfield Park District’s main receptionist position was held by the girlfriend, now fiancée, of Mike Stratton, the executive director of the $11 million local government. Michelle Merz Greer, Stratton’s fiancée as of earlier this month, submitted to the district an application for a receptionist position dated April 13. […]
Rachel Wells
Posted inNews
The flushing factor
Poor water quality plagues two Springfield streams, and part of the problem is the Springfield Metro Sanitary District, according to a recent study measuring fecal coliform bacteria, present in both human and animal waste, in Spring and Sugar creeks. The district occasionally sends untreated wastewater into the two streams at eight different points. As a […]
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Gambling on the fairgrounds
Step right up! Welcome to the Illinois State Fairgrounds, where kids can milk cows, and cows can win ribbons and anyone 21 years and older can contribute to an electronic, press-a-button, hear-a-beep, wait-to-(probably)-lose-while-it-looks-like-you’re-winning casino king’s cash cow – the slot machine. Gambling opponents say that’s what Springfield should expect to see if Gov. Pat Quinn […]
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A living legacy
Everything but the basic framework may be new, but the 60-year-old auditorium at 101 E. Lawrence Avenue will reopen next month with due honor to the past, says Scott Richardson, director with local community theater group Roxy Theatricals and the new private owner of the former Springfield Theatre Centre building. For $58,000, Richardson purchased the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Hark! A behemoth is here.
The first thing I did this morning upon actually opening my eyes was read today’s State Journal-Register. As I turned to page 11 – the front page of the “City & State” section – I can’t say that I was surprised to see yet another story about Springfield’s newest Big Box. My fellow staff writer […]
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IDOT overtime excessive
The Illinois Department of Transportation last fiscal year spent more than $33 million in overtime costs. But in several cases Illinois’ auditor general couldn’t tell why overtime was necessary or find records of actual hours worked. In an audit of IDOT released last Thursday, June 9, Illinois’ Auditor General William Holland found that employees who […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Heirs to FutureGen land oppose project
All six heirs to nearly 40 percent of the land promised to FutureGen 2.0 want the “clean” coal project to go away, says Jeffery and Betty Niemann, Jacksonville residents related to the late Bill Beilschmidt. Beilschmidt, upon his death in 1999, placed more than 600 acres of land located near Ashland in two separate trusts […]
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State taps charity funds to pay its bills
Over the last two years, the state of Illinois in order to pay its basic bills has seized more than $1.6 million from at least 15 different “charity” funds, to which Illinoisans voluntarily donate for causes like feeding the hungry and helping the homeless. Each year, the Illinois Department of Revenue invites taxpayers to donate […]
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Public School Choice not quite revisited
Two newspaper articles, 12 days and at least one school board member’s questions later, the CEO of Springfield Public Schools says he’s not yet able to discuss a Public School Choice waiver application that would decrease the number of students’ families notified about potential options for moving from their failing school from more than 4,000 […]
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The nuke next door
On Friday, March 11, 2011, an afternoon earthquake with a 9.0 magnitude struck off the coast of Japan, unleashing a 14-meter tsunami that about an hour later would devastate the country’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant site. Designed only to withstand a tsunami of less than 6 meters, three nuclear reactors lost power as the […]
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District 186 wants to limit ‘Public School Choice’
With four themed magnet schools and one charter school drawing students from across the city regardless of attendance boundaries, School District 186 prides itself on offering “choice” to Springfield families who want to put their children in unique educational settings. [See “Choice schools,” April 7, 2011]. But besides the popular magnet schools Superintendent Dr. Walter […]
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School’s out, but there’s plenty for children to do
For at least a few students, the countdown to summer vacation began last August. Others maybe waited until January, by which time the bitter cold and recent memories of semester finals started giving way to daydreams of summer sunshine and three months of test-free bliss. But Illinois summers also come with high humidity, and, come […]
