COVER STORY
Juneteenth
Springfield is honoring the legacy of Juneteenth with a vibrant, monthlong lineup of events designed to educate, inspire and bring people together, ranging from live musical performances to educational workshops and family-friendly picnics. Whether you are looking to support local Black-owned…
LATEST NEWS
Muni president addresses controversy
It may not have been the full-throated apology critics wanted, but a top official from Springfield Municipal Opera says mistakes…
Show me the job losses
Across the nation, economists have expressed concerns about the reliability of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not because of political…
Restorative justice in Sangamon County
The seventh floor of the Sangamon County Complex is busy on Wednesday afternoons. Mental Health Court participants wait in the…
Denial for Springfield solar project
The Sangamon County Board voted 15-8 to reject a proposed 20-acre solar farm adjacent to a residential subdivision on the…
Area data center updates
Plans for CyrusOne’s $500 million data center in Sangamon County are moving forward, with construction expected to begin this summer,…
Springfield Memorial Hospital CEO to resign
The president and chief executive officer of Springfield’s largest hospital is resigning after fewer than two years at the helm.…
Trending
NEWSLETTER
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…
opinion
Pritzker offers some lobbying advice to Chicago Bears
Gov. JB Pritzker last week squarely placed the responsibility for passing a Chicago Bears stadium bill on the team itself and had some unsolicited…
Letters to the editor 6/11
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. VOTERS DIDN’T WANT IT…
Tree trimming
At night, what sounds like the leaves of Springfield’s street trees rustled by the breeze is really those trees whispering to each other. And…
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…
> More Opinion
> More Rich Miller
Food and drink
A Juneteenth convergence of cultures
Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, when enslaved Texans finally learned of their freedom – two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.…
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…
> More Food and Drink
Music
Music is jumpin’ in June
Tree frogs croakin’, fireflies flittin’ and June bugs jivin’ are all sure signs that the natural world…
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…
> More Music
ARTS AND CULTURE
Call me Ishmael
“And God heard the voice of the boy …” Genesis 21:17a Call me Ishmael. With these three words, Herman Melville begins his 19th century novel…
What we meant when we wrote the Calls to Action
Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti once wrote that if you want to dispossess a people, the simplest way is to tell their story and start with…
Michael Thomas interview
Michael Thomas was incarcerated five different times but sobriety and faith have changed his life. His story is one of brokenness, consequences, grace and the…
> 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.
