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Transparency?
White told me to go away in the spring of 2017 when I asked for the personnel file of Candace Wanzo, a bureaucrat in the auto licensing division who was put on administrative leave for reasons still mysterious. She never should have been hired.

What great legislators have in common
They were masters of the rules, or unassailably knowledgeable about a given issue, or supremely watchable orators, or consummate students of people. But they also shared key traits that I wish more elected officials possessed. For starters, the great politicians I’ve met enjoyed the game, and they worked on the skills needed to play it well.

Caught on tape
Ald. Burke has a rather, um, “earthy” way of talking when he’s among friends and close allies. Race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sexuality: you name it, if there’s a socially unacceptable word to describe it, his pals say, he’s probably used it.

LETTERS
If you are frustrated or inspired by the article, there are numerous opportunities at programs within and outside of Harvard Park Elementary where you can invest your time and/or money. Compass for Kids is one such opportunity. We support some of the most vulnerable.

IT’S A BIG CAKE
What has happened on Feb. 12? The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was formed. That was in 1909. President Bill Clinton was acquitted by the Senate after being impeached by the House. That was in 1999. Soul On Ice, Eldridge Cleaver’s seminal book on racism, politics and crime was published.

Frigid response to pet law
“The problem with the city of Springfield is, where do these dogs go?” asked Jill Egizii, a volunteer humane investigator for the Illinois Department of Agriculture and president of WILD Canine Rescue. “I was getting calls, and I knew I would,” Egizii said about the cold spell.

TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE
A Republican lawmaker has introduced a unique bill that he perceives to be a good way to reduce challenges to Illinoisans’ Second Amendment rights.

Future cannabis laws are hazy
What recreational marijuana in Illinois will look like is still unknown, but the talk of legalization has raised many questions from residents about local taxing, what agencies will handle the funding and who will benefit from the new revenue source, to name a few.

SEGREGATED IN THE HEARTLAND
Growing up in Mississippi as the civil rights movement swept through the South, Johnson knew about dividing lines. In the town of Macon, blacks knew to stay on their side of the railroad tracks. “It wasn’t something that was taught,” he says. “It was just something that was known.

Cooking teaches problem-solving
“I know a guy who has a bus and likes to cook.” This comment from an out-of-town friend initiated a chain of events that landed me in a high school cafeteria kitchen in charge of preparing an Argentine street food-themed brunch for a couple hundred people.

Pursuit a bloody misfire
Liam Neeson continues his efforts to eclipse Charles Bronson as cinema’s preeminent geriatric action hero as Nels Coxman, a devoted snowplow driver whose dedication keeps the mountain community of Kehoe, Colorado open to the rest of the world.

February finds
We can finally stop complaining about the freezing cold and just complain about the regular winter weather as we descend into the second week of February 2019. What’s in store in the live music world? Why, an extraordinary selection of various concoctions of fabulous finds, just for you, that’s all.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Isaiah Christian and the Rebel Saints
Early performances in theater gave this young whippersnapper a taste of the stage at age six, and soon after, he discovered a real affinity for classic country music. By 15, Isaiah found himself in Urbana opening up for the famed Frankie Ballard.

LIVE MUSIC
Chris Camp and Blues Ambassadors.

MUSIC | Japanese drumming
Ho Etsu Taiko Drummers is a collective of musicians with a fresh take on the art of Japanese drumming. With their music they attempt to blend the deep-rooted culture of Japanese-American taiko with influences that inspire and celebrate the diversity of their performing members.

THE CALENDAR
A Dream Within a Dream: The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe.

ART & ARCHITECTURE | UIS Black History Month event examines NAACP history
As part of Black History Month, the University of Illinois Springfield’s Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series, the UIS Diversity Center and the Springfield NAACP will co-host a film screening and panel discussion on “The History of Springfield – From 1908 to Now.