COVER STORY
National parks crisis hits home
National parks are facing a triple whammy – underfunding, reduced staffing, and what some call unprecedented federal oversight. Central Illinois is home to three National Park Service (NPS) sites, including the Lincoln Home, and they’ve been affected, too. While effects vary…
LATEST NEWS
Lawmakers at the end of session try to appease both sides in drug pricing controversy
Illinois lawmakers gave hospitals and community health centers much of what they wanted this session by passing a bill that…
Illinois seeks two Crest Hill prisons, leaving Lincoln out of Logan Correctional Center rebuild plan
The Illinois Department of Corrections is officially planning to rebuild both Logan and Stateville correctional centers in Crest Hill, dashing…
Illinois bill limits how social media companies can target feeds to children
Lawmakers on the final day of the General Assembly passed a bill to regulate how minors interact with social media…
Gov. JB Pritzker suspends tax breaks for data centers, urges more discussion
CHICAGO — In a surprise move, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Friday that he is putting a pause on all new…
ISP foundation acquires former bank building
A new public space in downtown Springfield for people to learn about history will be located in a former bank…
#MeToo at the Muni
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect a statement issued the morning of June 5 by the Springfield…
Trending
NEWSLETTER
News
A deflated event
The hot air balloon portion of Balloons Over 66 Weekend in Lincoln, a festival that has been one of the…
New Mental Health Board convenes
Retired Judge Steve Nardulli was elected chair of the Sangamon County Mental Health Board at its first meeting May 27…
Downtown Springfield bill fails to come to fruition
In the waning hours of legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly got close, but failed to pass a bill that…
POWER Act data center regulation won’t move forward this spring
Conversations about the POWER Act, a multifaceted data center regulation bill, are not over yet, even though the bill wasn’t ready…
opinion
Inside the Bears stadium saga
Six days before the last day of the spring state legislative session, Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) gave me two big reasons why it was…
Letters to the Editor 06-04-26
GOOD WORK I always knew that The Outlet under Michael Phelon’s leadership would be a success, and this shows that “the proof is in…
Pappas’ megaprojects “study” not her best work
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas released a “study” last week about the state megaprojects proposal including a new Bears stadium complex that was mostly…
Through the looking glass
What follows is a fun story about a city, a court and a cause. I am moved to write about it because it’s important…
> More Opinion
> More Rich Miller
Food and drink
Canned goods for the summer
The height of the summer produce season may seem like an odd time to lean on canned and jarred ingredients,…
Getting sauced: The magic of romesco
I just picked up my first bunch of local asparagus at the farmers’ market. In anticipation of grilling outside, I…
Five simple salad dressings
We finally enjoyed our first homegrown salad this week. Normally we’d have been feasting on greens much sooner, but an…
> More Food and Drink
Music
In tune with June
Let’s take a walk (don’t run) through our upcoming entertainment adventures for this week in the capital…
Movin’ on from May music
As the merry month of May comes to a close this weekend, we can look back on…
Memorable Memorial Day weekend music
Mayday, mayday! Look out, folks, it’s already Memorial Day weekend with summer time fun just around the…
> More Music
ARTS AND CULTURE
Masters of the Universe is fun, Backrooms leads nowhere
Fun is front and center in this Universe Realizing their mistake in passing up the opportunity to license toys for a little movie named Star…
We Are Warped Festival
LIVE MUSIC | Hear seven bands and help the APL, too OK, music fans, here’s your chance to see seven bands in one place this…
Romance Poem
I grew up during WW2 when gas and tires were rationed. A couple times when an in-town boyfriend wanted me to come over, his folks…
> More Arts and Culture
Best of Springfield®
Related
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…
Keep readingLOCAL JOURNALISM MATTERS: SUPPORT THE ILLINOIS TIMES
Invest in Local Journalism: Help Illinois Times Sustain Community-Focused Reporting
We are dedicated to giving our readers a source of news and opinions on local politics, communities, culture and the arts. We have the Springfield area’s most comprehensive calendar of events – coverage of movies, dining, music, visual arts and the printed word. We offer stories you won’t find anywhere else on topics ranging from city and state government to marijuana to prison reform to education.
