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A mid-pandemic night’s dream
“How?” “Well, a few years before you were born, this part of town was deserted – just a few bars and restaurants and lots of empty stores. Now look at it. You can buy just about anything you’d ever want. Moving the university downtown was the best thing this city did since putting out the welcome mat for Abraham Lincoln.

Friendly advice for the mayor
I saw an article where police forcibly pulled a man off a bus for not wearing a mask and thought thank goodness this isn’t happening here. Then Sir Langfelder the Ludicrous overshadows Sir Pritzker the Pious by calling for $500 fines for “excessive social gathering.

Illinois Policy Institute at odds with stay-at-home orders
The libertarian-leaning Illinois Policy Institute has tried reaching out more to Democratic legislators since Gov. Bruce Rauner lost his reelection bid. Rauner at one point was so close to the group that he fired several of his longtime staffers and replaced some of them with IPI staff, which did not work out well, to say the least.

LETTERS
Last week, the coronavirus spirit serendipitously brought me in contact with the Drew family while driving through the Iles Park neighborhood in Springfield. Their lawn was covered with pastel Easter eggs and a sign that read “Happy Spring.” I smiled and stopped my car for a quick picture.

Suspended for three days
Archer, whose 2019 salary was $109,802, did not protest his punishment, according to city files. Other CWLP employees also are facing discipline, according to city officials, including Mayor Jim Langfelder, who has said that termination is a possibility.

Public schools into the unknown
There have been a lot of firsts for Springfield Public Schools in recent weeks. Such as the first time the school board met via Zoom, the videoconferencing platform. Watchable on YouTube, the video showed all the members appearing from home, the same place we’ve all been told to stay.

Homeless hunker down
In other cities, the homeless have proven vulnerable to the coronavirus. As of April 12, authorities in New York reported that 371 shelter residents had tested positive for the virus and 23 had died. According to a recent story in the New York Times,.

Keeping the faith
Willa Barger has attended Union Baptist Church on the northeast side of Springfield for 69 years. “I’m a lifetime member,” she explained. This Easter, she celebrated at home where she lives with her son. They watched service from a livestream on Facebook.

Pandemic rocks the capital city
One hundred two years ago, the United States was swept into a global influenza epidemic that was called “one of the worst natural disasters in history.” As many as 50 million people died around the world, while 675,000 Americans were also lost, many from related complications like pneumonia.

Frederick Douglass in Springfield
On April 3 and 4, 1866 – 144 years ago this month -- Springfield was visited by one of the greatest orators of the 19 th century and the best-known, and most photographed, civil rights activist in the world. Born a slave in Maryland in 1818, Frederick Douglass learned to read and write, and emancipated himself at the age of 20.

Date night at home
When my husband and I first met I was living in Chicago in a minuscule apartment that was a mass of code violations. I loved the place in spite of its peeling linoleum and lack of ventilation, mainly because of the tiny patio in front.

What’s everybody reading?
During the weeks of staying home, hunkering down and keeping safe, people have binged on shows like “Tiger King,” created colorful paisley designs in adult coloring books, tried new recipes, exercised more and opened up a good book – or two or three. Reading is always the go-to activity no matter what is happening around us.

On Prine and more
Here we go for week number five (I’m losing count) of downtime due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, as we stay in private and out of public places as much as possible. Since this column is based mainly on talking about live music performances, we’ve had to adjust to other subjects, including live streaming shows.

ENVIRONMENT | Catch up with the issues facing Illinois
For over 45 years the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) has led issue advocacy campaigns by allowing environmental organizations to pool their resources and create a higher profile for environmental issues.

THE CALENDAR
Images of Lincoln Memorial Garden photography contest.