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Why trust matters
To me, it was a thunderclap. Years ago, when I was in Congress, we were in the midst of a tense, contentious debate. Members had gotten irritated, levying charges back and forth, and tempers were rising. It was starting to look like we might just go off the rails.

Free William Dean
That Dean, 59, isn’t dead is something of a miracle, according to testimony in a recent trial that ended with him winning $11 million from Wexford Health Sources, the company that holds a $1.36 billion contract to provide health care in state prisons, and company employees.

LETTERS
My nephew recently brought up the subject of the president at a family event with the seemingly destructive goal of instigating. His loud and bold statements could either be argued for or against, depending on which facts you chose to ignore. I’m going to tell you which facts matter to me in Springfield, Illinois.

Putting puzzles together
What, she thought after realizing that her own future is secure, should I do with money I don’t need? Springfield discovered her generosity last month, when Ford and the Sommer Family Fund, a charity created by a family best known for starting a...

Medical pot growers just got bigger
Less than two weeks before adult-use recreational marijuana became legal in Illinois, the state Department of Agriculture announced that all 21 cultivation centers that have been licensed to grow medical marijuana are now licensed also to grow for adult use.

MOVIES 2019
The dawning of the Age of Netflix.

Movies are about moments
Movies are about moments – big moments that erase our cynicism about cinema and remind us of its capacity to dazzle. This happens in a way only possible with a medium that seamlessly combines so many other art forms. These are instances that prompt us to consider things in a different light, to empathize with others in a way we could never expect.

SAA film series offers hope and vision
Each year for almost three decades, the Springfield Art Association has provided a public service to the area’s cultural and cinematic landscape in the form of the Molly Schlich Independent and International Film Series.

Salad days
I’ve been accused of being a bit of a Scrooge whenever I climb onto my soapbox and pontificate about the evils of sugary holiday treats.

Little Women still timely
In Greata Gerwig’s hands, there’s a vitality to the film that holds it in good stead and while she obviously loves these characters, she doesn’t set out to give the viewer idealized versions of them. Rather we see them as passionate, yet mercurial and fallible as well, women with good hearts who sometimes fall victim to their own self-interests.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Joe Stamm Band
Originally from somewhere in Central Illinois with black dirt baked and caked into his soles and soul, Joe Stamm takes country music into the deep places where real feelings and real playing go to hang out together.

LIVE MUSIC
Jackpot Karaoke with Debbie Cakes.

2020 happens
Hello everyone, and welcome to another new year. Perhaps we should nickname this one the “Year of Hindsight” or maybe “Seen with Perfect Vision” or whatever other interesting thought we can do with the “2020” thing to make it a winner. But for now let’s get prepared for another year of amazing music in our pliable, yet reliable local scene.

FILM | Molly Schlich Independent-International Film Series
This year marks the 29th annual Molly Schlich Independent International Film Series. It is sponsored by the Springfield Art Association (SAA) and proceeds benefit the Michael Victor Art Library.

THE CALENDAR
“Eleanor Spiess-Ferris: Daphne’s Sister”.