Free Republic

SPRINGFIELD, Ore.-- A protest turned into chaos in Thurston Wednesday evening. The protest started at Jessie Memorial Park in the Thurston neighborhood with about 200 people peacefully marching and chanting through the neighborhood.

A Massachusetts restaurant is repealing its “racist” dress code, with the owner apologizing to protesters for not realizing the impact of his policy, according to reports. About 100 demonstrators gathered outside Nathan Bill’s Bar and Restaurant in Springfield to protest a policy that prohibited baggy blue jeans, long white T-shirts, do-rags and baseball caps worn backwards. A picture of the dress code spread across social media, with many criticizing the policy as directed at African Americans. Restaurant owner Robert Grossman met with the Pioneer Valley Project, the city’s NAACP chapter and City Councilor Tim Allen and agreed to end the policy, Masslive reported.

Tamara Clark was shot dead in Springfield on the evening of June 26, while she was sitting in a car on Oakland Street. She died the next day. The perpetrator of this heinous crime has yet to be caught and Tamara’s mother, Tangela Clark, took to the street with other mothers to demand action from the police and city officials. Clark and her sister who organized the march, Juanita Batchelor, led families that had been affected by gun crime or supporters of their cause from the Springfield Police Department to City Hall to demand elected officials to take action to...

Florissa Fuentes went through an admittedly rocky adolescence growing up in the city’s North End, finding herself in loads of trouble before a high school-based city police officer persuaded her to move to North Carolina for a new perspective. Hailing from a heavily military family, Fuentes returned to the city in 2007, a teen hoping for a fresh start. She aimed to join the U.S. Navy, but her brother, Daniel Newsome, was killed in combat in Baghdad, discounting her from enlisting just as she prepared for basic training. Fuentes eventually set her eyes on a corrections career, graduating from the...

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on Thursday called for a portrait of the late Illinois U.S. Sen. Stephen Douglas in the Capitol’s House chamber to be removed and replaced with one of former President Barack Obama, whom he called “a more fitting representation of the modern-day Democratic Party.” Madigan also called for the removal of statues on the Illinois State Capitol grounds of both Douglas, a defender of slavery, and Pierre Menard, the first lieutenant governor and a slaveholder. The speaker’s call to take down the portrait and statues is part of a movement to remove memorials of historical figures...

For those of you unfamiliar with cancel culture, it’s speech that speaks out against other speech that may be speaking speakings that other speakers find offensive. The organizers of the recent Harper’s Magazine letter against cancel culture didn’t ask me to participate in their project, despite the fact that my Uncle, T. Gore Pollack III, was that magazine’s founding editor. They neglected to include me because they’re afraid of my ideas. Also, I’ve either divorced, broken up with, or participated in a conscious friendship uncoupling with at least a dozen of the signatories. Such is the price of profligacy and...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo From limiting the number of customers inside a store, to empty shelves, and long waits, shopping for just the essentials is the new norm around Springfield. "Grocery stores, building supply stores, personal care items, cleaning items all of those are essential items.," said Springfield Planning and Development director, Mary Smith. Springfield's Planning and Development Director, Mary Smith said they're asking stores to limit the sales of non-essential items. "The city is relying on those stores to self identify using the stay at home order what is essential and non-essential items," said Smith. For example, Walmart is not allowing...

In dealing with the needs of people hurt by the coronavirus crisis, the state of Indiana has a notable advantage: a rainy day fund that holds more than $2 billion. Too bad Illinois was not so farsighted. Its Budget Stabilization Fund has only $58,655. That’s enough to cover the state government’s normal expenses for about 30 seconds. Indiana’s is enough to cover more than a month. This is not a new problem for Illinois. For years, it had nothing in reserve. One of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s deputy governors, Dan Hynes, spent years as comptroller trying to convince lawmakers to set...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Amid the empty shelves and store closures, a Springfield, Missouri, Walmart had its own commotion going Wednesday afternoon. A baby was born in the toilet paper aisle. “We were like, oh my gosh, is this actually going to happen,” said store manager Jessica Hinkle. Hinkle said the woman warned store associates that her last child came in just 30 minutes. When the woman’s water broke in the toilet paper aisle, she was prepared to go into labor right then and there. “We were like, what do we do now?” she said. “Another lady comes around the corner...

Amid the empty shelves and store closures, a Springfield Walmart had its own commotion going Wednesday afternoon. A baby was born in the toilet paper aisle of the Walmart at Sunshine and West Bypass. One Walmart customer didn't have a chance to get any of those groceries she came for, but she left with something much more special. "We were like oh my gosh, is this actually going to happen," said store manager Jessica Hinkle. Hinkle said the woman warned store associates that her last child came in just 30 minutes. When the woman's water broke in the toilet paper...

When the most popular medical marijuana dispensary in Chicago begins selling recreational pot on New Year’s Day, it will operate like a busy restaurant. Dispensary 33 plans to take names from those in line and page customers by phone when they can get in. The North Side cannabis shop will take that unusual step due to the huge crowds expected when weed sales become legal under state law at 6 a.m. Jan. 1, 2020. The celebration will be similar to the unofficial pot holiday of April 20, or 4/20, when a Dispensary 33 street fest and special deals this year...

Dive Brief: Illinois State Sen. Martin Sandoval has resigned from his position as chair of the State Senate's Transportation Committee amid a federal fraud and corruption investigation related to state construction work, the Associated Press reported. The Democratic senator is still listed as a member of the committee, however, as of Oct. 15. The move came after the details of a federal search warrant revealed that the FBI last month combed Sandoval's offices and home for information related to architect Cesar Santoy; Santoy's architecture firm, Studio ARQ; red-light camera program company SafeSpeed; lobbyists; construction companies; and employees of the Illinois...

Missouri police say a man was arrested Thursday after he allegedly showed up to a local Walmart with a loaded rifle and a bulletproof vest. Police in Springfield, Mo., said nobody was harmed and no shots were fired. The suspect, a white man in his 20s, was detained by an off-duty firefighter until officers arrived on the scene, authorities said. The man allegedly showed up with a “tactical rifle” and bulletproof vest, the Springfield News-Leader reported. Springfield Police Lt. Mike Lucas told the outlet that the man, wearing body armor and military-style clothing, was taking videos on his phone...

A Springfield, PA elementary school principal will stop saying “God Bless America” after leading students in the Pledge of Allegiance. Sabold Elementary School principal Peter Briggs would say the phrase each morning after students said the pledge. At least one parent complained to the Freedom for Religion Foundation, claiming the language violated the U.S. Constitution WLSAM reports: The district says it will end the practice, but says students are not prohibited from saying the words if they so choose. The foundation says elementary students shouldn’t be “coerced into affirming God’s name every morning.”

A Stop & Shop employee in western Massachusetts says he was subjected to homophobic slurs, threats and harassment from union members when he crossed the picket line, according to a federal complaint. The employee filed federal unfair labor practice charges last week against United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1459 in Springfield. Among other charges, the employee claims that he was led to believe he would be fired from the Northampton store if he resigned from the union and went to work during the strike. He also alleged that he was harassed when he did cross the picket line, according...

An average of 26,300 vehicles per day drive across the small bridge on Main Street in East Peoria that crosses over Farm Creek. Those six lanes of traffic cross one of 166 bridges in the Tri-County Area that are “structurally deficient,” according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. A bridge is considered structurally deficient if one of its main components is in poor condition and repairs are needed. Components include the deck, the part of the bridge people drive on; the superstructure, which supports the deck; or the substructure, the foundation of the bridge. Even if a bridge is classified...

We need your help to encourage our state lawmakers to reject two extreme abortion bills. No American should be forced by its government to violate their deeply held convictions. That is why pro-life organizations from across the state are calling for a Rally & Lobby Day on March 20th at our state Capitol in Springfield.

Wanted one for as long as I can remember, now I am ready to buy.Only two criteriaFirst, looking for one in original military configuration. (Prefer the 1903 to the 03A3, but that's not a must). The few I have found in gun shops or shows around my semi rural area have all been modded with new stocks, scopes, etc.Second, must be a safe shooter. I've seen dozens for sale at on line gun dealers which all say "sold as collectors item only" and I'm not thrilled about buying that sight unseen.Any suggestions? I'd be willing to drive anywhere in the...

**SNIP** And according to a panel of transportation experts, the problem will only get worse in the future unless the state begins to better fund investments in its transportation system. "We're behind, to be perfectly frank," said IDOT Secretary Randy Blankenhorn, one of the panelists. "We are not funding transportation as well as some of our neighbors and as our competitors. ... I spend $250 a month on my phone. I spend $50 a month for water. This is the infrastructure of my life. It's what I need to make things happen. And we're spending 50 cents a day on...

Open borders tour guides in Mexico illegally shepherding 1,500 Central Americans to the United States border declared victory this week. Mexican officials reportedly are offering humanitarian visas to avert a showdown. But the parade of immigration lawlessness marches on -- with reckless aiding and abetting by churches across the U.S. Pueblo Sin Fronteras, the group in charge of the annual "migrant caravan," launched its effort during Holy Week by invoking the Stations of the Cross with biblical costumery and prop crosses. When they're not serving as human traffickers masquerading as human rights activists, these travel agents for amnesty busy themselves...