Carter Staley

You may not know his name but if you live in Springfield, you're probably familiar with his art. Peter Lazare is co-owner of Grab-A-Java coffee shop with his wife Meg. Over the years, the ever-changing punny banners at the 6th street location in Springfield have attracted customers, praise and criticism. 

LBJ and MLK come to life in the Hoogland Center for the Arts' production of 'All The Way' in Springfield, this weekend and next weekend.  The award-winning play gives audiences a view of the inner workings of the Whitehouse shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the struggle Lyndon B. Johnson faces in passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

We sat down with Rich McCoy who plays LBJ, Tony Young who plays Martin Luther King Jr., and Craig McFarland who plays Hubert Humphrey. 

Aasne Vigesaa and Gus Gordon visit the NPR Illinois studios to speak about their part in the Hoogland Center for the Arts' production of "A Little Night Music," a Stephen Sondheim musical comedy directed by Joe-Michael Jackson. 

Listen to their entire conversation below. 

Watch the eleventh Illinois Issues forum on the state budget and Illinois' financial future in Edwardsville.

Watch the tenth Illinois Issues forum on the state budget and Illinois' financial future in Carbondale, Illinois. The forum is hosted by NPR Illinois and WSIU Radio with support provided by AARP. 

The Future Fund is an endowment that has awarded $69,000 to programs that help youth through a competitive application process.  

Watch the ninth Illinois Issues forum on the state budget and Illinois' financial future in DeKalb, Illinois. The forum is hosted by NPR Illinois and Northern Public Radio with support provided by AARP. 

NPR Illinois and WVIK hosted the eighth Illinois Issues Forum on the state's financial health and the lasting impacts of the two-year-long state budget impasse on the Quad Cities community. 

NPR Illinois and Tri States Public Radio host the seventh Illinois Issues Forum on the state's financial health and the lasting impacts of the two-year-long state budget impasse.

NPR Illinois and WGLT host the sixth Illinois Issues Forum on the state's financial health and the lasting impacts of the two-year-long state budget impasse. 

NPR Illinois hosted its fifth Illinois Issues forum August 9 at the Union League Club of Chicago. The listening tour of the state focuses on the financial health of Illinois and the lasting impacts of the two-year-long state budget impasse. 

LISTEN TO AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST:

Jeff C. Williams

Title: The Water Towers Still Stand... Now How Does The Life Blood Come Back?

Medium: Acrylic/mixed media on canvas and wood panels

Thom Whalen, Chatham

Title: 4 Legs are Better-Keystone

Medium: Oil

Narrative: “4 Legs are Better-Keystone” reiterates the Animal Farm story by George Orwell. The trial of tears launched by Andrew Jackson relocated native Americans to the region of Oklahoma in 1839. Stereotypes of Indians are masqueraded in various memes throughout the work. Forced into a life not known to the native people they struggle in a white man’s world with casinos, salmon farms and their connection with nature left mutated by the Keystone pipeline.

NPR Illinois and WDCB hosted an Illinois Issues Forum on the state budget and how it has impacted DuPage County on May 23. 

We spoke with two artists to find out more about their works. The two are a couple who live in Springfield.

NPR Illinois hosted a forum on the state budget in Champaign on May 17. 

Community members attended to tell how they have been impacted by the state budget impasse.

Delinda Chapman, Springfield

Title: “Follow Me”

Medium: Acrylic/Mixed on Paper on Board

Narrative: This painting grew from working with the word immigration. The end result, stemming from my feelings about immigration, is this painting - the first in my series on immigration.

NPR Illinois hosted an Illinois Issues Forum on the state budget impasse. Illinois residents who have been directly impacted discussed the burden placed on their community. 

Friday, January 20, 2017, 8 PM
Bar None, 245 S 5th St, Springfield IL

Not everyone can pull off the one-man-band gambit without lapsing into schtick, but Amherst's Matt Lorenz has it all down to an art. The songs are what you remember.
-The Boston Globe