COVER STORY
Remembering 2025
Our annual REMEMBERING edition, the last issue of the year, reminds us small-town folks that people we thought we knew we didn’t know as well as we wish we had, and those we didn’t know, we wish we had known. It…
LATEST NEWS
Logan County data center plans delayed
A public outcry and inaccurate information on social media about a proposed data center in rural Logan County have prompted…
New laws: Illinois’ grocery tax to end, aquifer protections begin
Illinois’ statewide 1% grocery tax will go away on Jan. 1, though many people will continue to pay it at…
Meet Springfield’s lasagna lady
Beth Rees is trying to make Springfield a better place, one lasagna at a time. She rents a modest house…
Capital Airport could be cutting edge
Mark Hanna knew the first question at the Citizens Club of Springfield’s Dec. 19 public policy forum regarding the Abraham…
Rail consolidation a long time coming
Construction for Springfield’s Rail Improvement Project began in 2014 with construction of an underpass at Carpenter and 10th streets and…
Marketplace health insurance deadline nears
Health expenses are booming and insured consumers could feel the full force of those rising costs in 2026 as premium…
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NEWSLETTER
News
Data center seeks zoning approval in Logan County
A publicly traded company wants to build a large-scale data center in rural Logan County near Latham, about 30 miles…
Illinois Accountability Commission hears testimony about excessive force by ICE agents
A newly formed commission heard sobering testimony about federal agents’ excessive use of force, just days after Border Patrol chief Gregory…
Saving big money (eventually) at Menards
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a settlement this week with Menards to resolve a suit Raoul and nine other…
The cost of free speech
Larry Criscione has it pretty good by most people’s standards. He’s a nuclear engineer who paid off his house many…
opinion
Letters to the editor
NOT THAT EASY I’m a Springfield native who moved back a couple of years ago, but was a resident of Normal for many years.…
Editor’s note
It’s Christmas and the country is falling apart. A week ago South Carolina seceded from the union; a month ago he was elected president.…
Don’t slide backward on disability services
For years, Illinois was known as a state that chronically underfunded services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Direct Support Professionals (DSPs)…
Power shortages predicted
A recent study published by three state agencies warns electricity shortages are coming to Illinois. The shortages will start in PJM’s regional transmission system…
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Food and drink
Yule Log cake
The Bûche de Noël, or Yule Log cake, is a stunning culinary showpiece that traces its roots far back to…
A culinary pilgrimage
As I emerged from my late adolescence into early adulthood, I harbored dreams of traveling the world. But like the…
Panna cotta
Panna cotta is a chilled dessert that manages to be simultaneously rich yet delicate and perfectly elegant while still economical…
> More Food and Drink
Music
Music for the new year
Howdy, folks! Come on in and say hey to your new friend, 2026, while waving goodbye to…
Betwixt the holidays
Welcome to our in between edition, as we slip on through to the other side of Christmas,…
Wrapping up holiday music
As we slide on through our last weekend before the big holiday, the happenings keep coming, including…
> More Music
ARTS AND CULTURE
How does Jesus save?
Have you heard the one about Jesus and Satan, a computing contest and a power outage? I’ll spare you, but the joke came to mind…
A year of faith and resilience: Faith Coalition’s commitment to justice
As we come to the close of 2025, the Faith Coalition for the Common Good is deeply thankful for the opportunity to share in the…
Song Sung Blue an inspiring tale, Marty Supreme grows taxing
Blue a Song of Inspiration Craig Brewer managed to change my mind about two things with his surprising Song Sung Blue. I was wrong about…
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Best of Springfield®
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Best Of Springfield 2025
See the results Every year, we ask our opinionated readers to tell us about their favorite people, places and things in the Springfield area. Over the decades we’ve been doing this, we’ve continued to tweak both the process and the results issue to try to keep things fresh and interesting. While anything food-related typically dominates…
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