LifeStar Ambulance Service officials say they will continue to press their case in court after failing to convince a judge May 22 that the company shouldn’t be kicked out of Springfield and Sangamon County’s 911 emergency response system. “We will continue to contest it until hell freezes over,” LifeStar owner Roger Campbell told Illinois Times […]
Dean Olsen
Dean Olsen is a senior staff writer for Illinois Times. He can be reached at:
dolsen@illinoistimes.com, 217-679-7810 or @DeanOlsenIT.
Posted inTurning Points
Theresa Grimaldi Olsen
Theresa Grimaldi Olsen, 65, of Springfield, Illinois, died unexpectedly on May 13, 2026, at Springfield Memorial Hospital. She was born in Chicago on Aug. 1, 1960, to Geraldine (Rudnick) and I. William Grimaldi, and grew up in Hillside and Elmhurst, Ill. She married Dean Olsen in 1985 after they met as journalism students at the […]
Posted inNews
“A lot of things are getting confused”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect debate and action at the May 12 Springfield City Council meeting. The only revenue Springfield city government might forfeit to help pay for the proposed BOS Center expansion and new hotel next door would be the city’s share of hotel taxes on room rates at the […]
Posted inNews
Developer pledges $65 million annually to Logan County
Regardless of whether estimated new property taxes are accurate, Hut 8 Corp. would guarantee Logan County schools and local governments $65 million a year in annual payments if the company’s proposed data center becomes a reality. Gregory Irwin, senior vice president of energy origination and asset management for the Florida-based company, made that pledge April […]
Posted inNews
Chief addresses use-of-force policy
The Springfield Police Department’s chief sees calls for changes in the department’s use-of-force policy as opportunities to educate the public on how officers make split-second decisions that may result in viral posts on social media and accusations of police brutality. “Let’s sit down and talk about what law enforcement use of force is – what […]
Posted inNews
Logan County to consider data center regulations
Logan County officials could take action in May to change local zoning requirements to both accommodate developers of large-scale data centers and protect the public. The Logan County Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled to meet at 7:30 p.m. May 8 at Oasis Senior Center at 2810 Woodlawn Road in Lincoln to consider nonbinding recommendations […]
Posted inNews
New leadership for Sangamon County Democrats
A Chatham resident and union activist will head the Sangamon County Democratic Party for the next two years, succeeding longtime Democratic stalwart Bill Houlihan. Diana Carlile, 64, a former Illinois Bell operator and AT&T engineering department employee who retired in 2011, was unanimously elected April 15 in a weighted vote of the local Democratic Party’s […]
Posted inNews
A heated city council meeting
What former Springfield police chief Michael Walton said after speaking to the City Council on April 7 remains in dispute, but Walton won’t be banned from future council meetings, Mayor Misty Buscher says. Walton’s statement during the public comment section of the meeting, in which Walton defended the actions of a white Springfield police officer […]
Posted inNews
Springfield slated to lose ambulance provider
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect comments from Springfield Fire Chief Nicholas Zummo. LifeStar Ambulance Service Inc., one of three ambulance providers responding to 911 calls in Springfield and transporting patients to local hospitals, is slated to be barred from operating in Sangamon County after May 25 because of health care deficiencies […]
Posted inNews
Phoenix Center facing closure
Two years after Sara Bowen-Lasisi began working for the Phoenix Center, she realized the Springfield nonprofit appeared to be overbilling the state for grant-supported HIV testing. But Bowen-Lasisi said the questionable practice was openly admitted and encouraged by the former executive director, Jonna Cooley. According to Bowen-Lasisi, Cooley said, “‘We were doing the work, so […]
Posted inNews
Marc Ayers to resign from County Board
Springfield resident Marc Ayers isn’t ruling out running for Ward 7 alderperson or mayor in April 2027, or maybe another elected office someday. But the 40-year-old Springfield native has decided to leave the Sangamon County Board seat he has held since 2022. “No one was forcing me out,” Ayers, the board’s District 12 representative, told […]
Posted inNews
Logan County takes its time on data center proposal
A recently approved 60-day moratorium on accepting applications for data centers will help Logan County Board members become better informed and thoroughly review any proposals in the future, a board member told Illinois Times. “We could use some more time. This is new,” said board member Michael DeRoss, a Lincoln resident. “There are people on […]
