Are there any sights, sounds and smells more evocative of a Midwest summer than those of fresh corn on the cob waiting to be shucked? The leaves are still crisp and green; the aroma’s corny and delicious; the husks squeak when they’re ripped away to reveal the tender kernels. For anyone who’s ever grown and […]
University of Illinois
Posted inArts & Culture
Giving and gifting
Local artist Stan Squires offers limited edition prints of three Springfield landmarks through March 31 as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army. Half of the proceeds go to the nonprofit. The illustrations include Lincoln Park’s stone bridge (pictured), Illinois Watch Company and Pillsbury Mills Flour Plant. Only 100 of the 11-inch by 14-inch prints on […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Unique perceptive
Springfield Art Association opens a new exhibit featuring the interesting and intricate work of Jean Poklop. An opening reception is Saturday, May 25. Poklop was a Chicago housewife in the 1950s and 60s who had studied at the Chicago Art Institute and University of Illinois, but never catapulted into the work-world until after her husband […]
Posted inNews
Citizens’ Efficiency group questions state fire tax
If you bought fire insurance from an out-of-state company, you indirectly helped pay for health club dues, parking fees and shoes for the Springfield Fire Department. That’s because an obscure state tax routes millions of dollars directly to fire departments around the state each year. The Citizens’ Efficiency Commission for Sangamon County issued recommendations last […]
Posted inNews
Does UIS stiff laborers?
A group of union workers at the University of Illinois Springfield claims many of their non-union counterparts got raises above the university’s own limits. The workers also claim UIS pays support staff nearly a third less than the same jobs at the university’s flagship campus in Urbana-Champaign. The claims come amid a round of wage […]
Posted inNews
Olympian and world record holder visits Springfield
Though she wore long sleeves, Jean Driscoll’s muscular arms were evident as she confidently gripped the handrims of her wheelchair. She hasn’t competed professionally in years, but Driscoll clearly maintains her athletic physique, as well as her drive for success. The seven-time winner of the Boston Marathon in the women’s wheelchair division visited the Illinois […]
Posted inNews
Email-gate
While a brouhaha over anonymous emails has resulted in the resignation of a top aide to University of Illinois president Michael Hogan, there have been no apparent consequences for a University of Illinois Springfield faculty leader who leaked information to the aide, then denied doing it. Lisa Troyer, Hogan’s former chief of staff, resigned earlier […]
Posted inNews
UI tuition hike follows raises for selected faculty
Certain University of Illinois employees together received $9.7 million in raises this fiscal year, according to an Illinois Times analysis of UI salary data. Meanwhile, the state’s largest public university system instituted a 6.9 percent tuition hike for the next academic year due to $477 million in late state funds. Constituting about one percent of […]
Posted inNews
Auditor uncovers millions in misspent state funds
A series of audits released last week reveal a rash of problems among state agencies and programs. Performed by the office of Illinois Auditor General William Holland, the audits expose millions of dollars of undocumented spending, lax enforcement of inventory and spending controls and poor staff training that resulted in inaccurate financial records. An audit […]
Posted inOpinion
Reuniting learning and labor
Facing nearly half a billion dollars of unpaid bills from the State of Illinois, the University of Illinois says it will probably have to raise tuition nearly 20 percent over the next four years. Taking a page from the General Assembly accounting textbook, the university will pay its immediate bills by borrowing against tuition and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Light dance with organ
Timothy Spelbring, University of Illinois doctoral candidate in organ performance and Yale School of Music graduate, leads this Halloween and All Saints concert with pieces such as Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach, Phantom of the Opera (Overture) by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Fugue in C (Gigue Fugue) by Dieterich Buxtehude and Rhosymedre by Ralph Vaughan […]
