Use it or get paid

Park district pays for vacation time

Closing the school that closes the gap

What’s the cost of keeping or closing CCPA?

A popular Springfield middle school slated for closure may get a second chance at an upcoming school board meeting, based on public outcry and disputed cost-savings estimates.At the Feb. 18 meeting of

Breaking down what goes into your food

Compost symposium promotes growing produce

As the buy local/eat local movement continues to grow, Illinois families are beginning to transform their food experience. On Feb. 20, Lincoln Land Community College welcomed almost 100 participants t

Illinois starts giving prison inmates release credits

IDOC adopts reformed program to lower prison population

Certain Illinois inmates have started to receive early release credits under administrative rules adopted this month by the Illinois Department of Corrections. The move follows a state law passed last

You drink, you drive, you cruise

Drunks keep licenses, cops cut enforcement

If you drive drunk in Sangamon County, you’re less likely to get caught than you were a few years ago. And you’re less likely to lose your license.Since the early 1980s, lawmakers in the L

Housing with Hope

Hope Springs Apartments helps build independence for tenants with mental disabilities

“I love this palace,” beams Joann, sitting on a flower-patterned couch as mid-morning sunlight floods her one-bedroom apartment. A Spongebob Squarepants episode plays muted in the backgrou

Homeless population wants to be part of the community

After several years of being unsatisfied with conditions of the homeless, several Springfield groups want Mayor Mike Houston to get more involved. On Feb. 13, Homeless United for Change, an advocacy g

Health insurance reform closer to reality in Illinois

State-run insurance exchange could see Senate vote next week

The Illinois Senate could vote next week on implementing a crucial piece of the federal health insurance reforms passed in 2010, but two competing bills could lead the state in opposite directions.The

National ‘Amazon tax’ could mean big bucks for Illinois

Businesses would collect sales tax on Internet purchases

As Illinois residents file their income tax returns, they’re faced with a choice: admit to buying something online and pay sales tax to the state, or skip the tax and risk paying a penalty later

Dogs and fleas and taking baths

Todd Green testifies in THR bankruptcy

Hundreds of customers, vendors and employees didn’t get paid by THR and Associates. Car dealer Todd Green wasn’t one of them.During recent testimony in the bankruptcy case of the failed Sp