AltWeeklies Wire
Inside Springfield’s First Medical Pot Shopnew

We toured one of the state's first medical marijuana dispensaries, slated to open soon. Can this industry survive in the face of strict regulations?
Illinois Times |
Brittany Hilderbrand and Patrick Yeagle |
02-03-2016 |
Drugs
Is Ted Cruz eligible to run in Illinois?new

Objections filed with Illinois election board raise questions.
Illinois Times |
Patrick Yeagle |
01-28-2016 |
Elections
AG rules against Rauner, in favor of Illinois Timesnew

Why did Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner leave a Holocaust remembrance ceremony early? We tried to find out, but Rauner has refused to turn over an unredacted copy of his appointment calendar. Illinois Times has sued the governor, with the Illinois Attorney General backing the paper.
Illinois Times |
Bruce Rushton |
09-30-2015 |
Politics
In Illinois Prisons, Getting Sick Can be a Death Sentencenew

Health care in Illinois prisons is so poor that it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, a court-appointed panel of experts has found.
Illinois Times |
Bruce Rushton |
06-25-2015 |
Health
Battling Rape On Campusnew

Compassionate response to victims gives them confidence to report.
Illinois Times |
Patrick Yeagle |
05-08-2015 |
Crime & Justice
Cops On Drugs? No Problemnew

A cop under fire for illegal steroid use keeps his job after ratting out the rest of the department, including the police chief. Other officers kept their jobs after drunk driving, spousal abuse, prostitution, falsifying federal gun records and more.
Illinois Times |
Bruce Rushton |
05-08-2015 |
Crime & Justice
Illinois Innocence Project Frees Wrongly Convicted Mannew

The gruesome rape and murder of 15-year-old Kristina Hickey in 1984 put Christopher Abernathy behind bars for nearly 30 years. Just one problem: he didn't do it.
Illinois Times |
Patrick Yeagle |
02-20-2015 |
Crime & Justice
The Future of Powernew

Electricity may soon get cleaner … and a lot more expensive.
Illinois Times |
Patrick Yeagle |
06-13-2014 |
Energy
It Wouldn’t be Illinois Politics Without Money and Dramanew

How do you go from complete political unknown to leader of the pack in just a few months? You simply buy your way to the top.
Illinois Times |
Lauren Duncan |
02-27-2014 |
Elections
Top cop wore tasteless teenew

Springfield deputy police chief Clifford Buscher was wearing a t-shirt with a racially charged message when he was arrested in Missouri in 2008 after drunkenly firing a gun while on a fishing trip with three other officers. Buscher is considered next in line to be chief.
Illinois Times |
Bruce Rushton |
07-12-2013 |
Crime & Justice
Keeping It Real: Mbanna Kantako is still on the airnew

Mbanna Kantako has run a pirate radio station in Springfield for nearly 30 years. He hasn't let The Man shut him down, and although his influence has faded, he hasn't lost an ounce of the biting criticism that once made him a fixture in the politics of this city.
Illinois Times |
Bruce Rushton |
05-02-2013 |
Culture
Soil Test This Fallnew

Testing the soil in a vegetable garden is quickly done, and the benefits are long-term. University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator Richard Hentschel said that if the soil is right, gardeners should be able to produce fresh vegetables all season long.
Illinois Times |
Staff |
09-25-2012 |
Environment
Art, Bikes and Rock ’n’ Rollnew

Rock musician. Fine artist. Cycling champion. If lifelong Springfield resident Jeff Williams does not qualify as a genuine renaissance man, he’ll have to do until one comes along. In addition, these disparate areas of interest have built on each other throughout a 30-year career, in often unexpected ways.
Illinois Times |
Scott Faingold |
08-23-2012 |
Culture
The War on Weednew

Illinois and many other states aggressively prosecute low-level pot users and dealers in the national war on drugs. But what's the cost, in both money and lives? And is it working?
Illinois Times |
Bruce Rushton |
02-09-2012 |
Drugs
Keeping Tabs on Sex Offendersnew

More than 260 registered sex offenders tracked by Casey Carpenter have been naughty in the past. It’s her job to make sure that they remain nice, or, at least, where they’re supposed to be when they’re supposed to be there. And so Carpenter, an administrative clerk at the Springfield Police Department, keeps lists and checks them twice.
Illinois Times |
Bruce Rushton |
08-25-2011 |
Crime & Justice