COVER STORY
Fighting for the innocent
The Illinois Innocence Project at University of Illinois Springfield has freed 34 innocent people who were convicted and imprisoned in Illinois for crimes they did not commit. Collectively, they lost 797 years of freedom. There are innocence organizations in 10 other…
LATEST NEWS
Springfield City Council to consider ShotSpotter renewal
The Springfield City Council is slated to vote Sept. 1 on extending the Springfield Police Department’s use of ShotSpotter, a…
Putting on the brakes: New Illinois law establishes rules for e-bikes, scooters
New rules governing who can use electric bikes and scooters, including where and how fast they go, will go into…
Illinois to receive up to $768M in Meta settlement over teen social media addiction
Illinois will receive up to $768 million from a multi-state $17.1 billion settlement with social media giant Meta, the parent…
Downtown water main break update
City officials said Friday afternoon a faulty pipe may have been the cause of the main water line break that…
Women’s Equality Day marked with Springfield locals joining national relay
On Women’s Equality Day, Springfield residents joined one woman’s relay to Washington, D.C. to draw attention to the progress still…
Water puts damper on downtown businesses
A downtown Springfield business has been forced to postpone its grand opening plans after a water main break flooded the…
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News
The Super Bowl of motorcycle racing
As it is to the fifth-generation farmer on the homestead, the dirt at the oval track of the Springfield Mile…
Founding of the Illinois Innocence Project
Dr. Larry Golden, the founding director of IIP, was the youngest faculty member when he came to Sangamon State University…
Recent graduates, new arrivals seek opportunities at semi-annual career fair
Job seekers navigated through rows of prospective employers stationed at tables with pamphlets, listings of job openings and candy at…
Doris Turner joins Mid-Illinois Medical District
The Mid-Illinois Medical District has a new, but familiar, member in state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield. She was nominated to…
opinion
Groups eye Meta settlement money
Hours after the social media giant Meta agreed last Wednesday to settle a case brought by 47 state attorneys general and implement reforms to…
Letters to the editor 8/27/26
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. LIVED TO SEE IT…
Another harassment allegation
Yet another sexual harassment allegation has been made against an Illinois House Democrat. But this time, the House speaker’s operation is fully supporting its…
Unamended consequences
With luck, the $350 million renovation of the Illinois State Capitol north wing will open by the time the snow flies and Springfield will get a glimpse…
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Food and drink
Budget dinners
August is undoubtedly our household’s most expensive month of the year, and the busiest. In addition to both of my…
No lettuce, no problem
If you are finding yourself casting a wary eye toward bagged lettuce after the latest cyclospora health alert, consider looking…
Cantaloupe creations
My household has been under a compulsory cantaloupe consumption mandate for the past week. I’d ordered four of them from…
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Music
August ending music rambles
As we roll on through the end of August, next weekend brings Labor Day and the unofficial…
Music at the fair and elsewhere
Here we go into the last weekend of the Illinois State Fair for 2026 with plenty left…
More than fair music
Entering into the 2026 Illinois State Fair, we can safely say that music rules on the fairgrounds.…
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ARTS AND CULTURE
Acme is imaginative and fun, great acting saves Tony
Satire and humor run riot in Acme Propelled by the kind of publicity money can’t buy as well as a cleverly subversive advertising campaign, Dave…
Balloons return to light up Lincoln sky
Nineteen balloons will return to Lincoln this weekend for the popular two-day Balloons Over 66 Weekend. The balloons will be a welcome sight, especially after…
Turtle Creek
Ron Dougan writes of a tripdown Turtle Creek; “Perhapsthe high point of my grandkids’visit was a canoe trip down TurtleCreek from the Shopiere Dam to Colley…
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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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