News | Thursday, May 2,2013

City sued again

Springfield faces lawsuit over police records

The destruction of more than 70 Springfield police internal affairs files has landed the city in court. Calvin Christian, a city resident who has twice sued the city in recent years seeking in

Profile | Thursday, April 25,2013

Keeping it real

Mbanna Kantako is still on the air

By Bruce Rushton

Mbanna Kantako is on a roll.From his rental house just off North Grand Avenue in Enos Park, the 54-year-old blind man talks about the advent of spring and the need to till the soil. He speaks of pollu

News | Tuesday, April 23,2013

Mayor plans fundraiser

Houston pledged one term

By Bruce Rushton

Springfield Mayor Mike Houston said he intended to be a one-term mayor when he ran for office two years ago.“My plan is to serve four years and actually deal with problems,” Houston told t

News | Thursday, April 18,2013

Not hog heaven

Former Cargill worker sues

By Bruce Rushton

A former worker at the Cargill pork processing plant in Beardstown has sued the company, alleging that she was fired after she complained that the company was packaging spoiled meat for sale.Tamatha H

News | Thursday, April 18,2013

The lion sleeps tonight, fitfully

Lawmakers target exotic meat

By Bruce Rushton

Forget arguments over pensions, guns, taxes and health care.Judging by a quick Google check, the biggest issue facing Illinois lawmakers this session is the scourge of lion meat purveyors, who are now

News | Thursday, April 11,2013

Criminal charges possible

Prosecutor probes tree cutting

By Bruce Rushton

Sangamon County state’s attorney John Milhiser is considering criminal charges against Springfield workers who cut down a tree on property owned by a relative of one of the city employees.&ldquo

News | Thursday, April 4,2013

Upping the ante

Jennifer Watkins faces jail

By Bruce Rushton

Jennifer Watkins, the erstwhile Ashland resident who won’t let her five-year-old daughter visit with the child’s paternal grandparents, may soon become a felon.Whether criminal charges wil

News | Thursday, April 4,2013

Feds want document back

State hangs on to a page of Lincoln history

By Bruce Rushton

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency has balked at a demand from the National Archives to return a page torn from a ship’s log so that the damaged document can be restored to its original c

News | Thursday, March 28,2013

Man featured in 2006 story wanted for Mattoon killing

O’Dell wanted for murder

By Bruce Rushton

Once a poster boy for drug treatment and reform, Thomas O’Dell is now wanted for the killing of a Mattoon bartender on March 18.Authorities in Coles County on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant fo

News | Thursday, March 28,2013

Park board campaigns short on substance

Candidates refrain from taking positions on issues

By Bruce Rushton

Candidates for public office are prone to saying lots of things.“The park district needs to be run like a business, not a political organization.”That’s what Leslie Sgro said way bac