Dean Olsen

Sean Grayson’s murder conviction for the 2024 shooting death of Sonya Massey will remain on the books after his death after all. The Illinois Appellate Court’s Springfield-based 4th District on Oct. 13 dismissed Grayson’s appeal of his October 2025 second-degree murder conviction, citing the fact that Grayson’s Aug. 23 death made the appeal moot. An […]

Plans to demolish the headquarters of Springfield’s public radio station and move the station elsewhere on the University of Illinois Springfield campus will create additional expenses for the financially challenged station but also opportunities. NPR Illinois General Manager Randy Eccles told Illinois Times the move will be a “pretty good result” after UIS officials said […]

Arriel Williams plans to open 7’s Groceries on Nov. 1 at the location formerly occupied by Save-A-Lot on Clear Lake Avenue, and he says a $100,000 business grant from the city of Springfield will be “extremely important” to his future success. “It’s helping me out a lot,” Williams, 50, a Springfield resident and native, said […]

Springfield’s Animal Protective League hopes to erect temporary buildings at the site of its headquarters near the Illinois State Fairgrounds or move into a temporary location in the next three to six months after a June 10 tornado caused an estimated $1.2 million in damages. “We just want everyone to know how grateful we are […]

Memories of his childhood in foster care homes on Springfield’s east side and his more recent behind-the-scenes struggles on the Springfield City Council to improve the substandard living conditions faced by many constituents brought Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory to tears. “For me, this is a special time, man,” Gregory, his voice choked with emotion, […]

The Taylorville City Council is pushing forward with a planned $5 million renovation project downtown despite organized opposition and fears that disruptions caused by the work could decimate many businesses on the square. The project is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2027. It is to be funded with a $3 million state […]

The desire of a Peoria businessman and his wife to live out their Christian faith by helping a central Illinois community in need led to their recent purchase of the shuttered Lincoln College campus for a job-creating lease program. “We want life back on that campus,” John Wieland told Illinois Times in describing the $1 […]

In a legal twist that the family of Sonya Massey didn’t expect, the murder conviction of her killer, former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy, Sean Grayson, likely will be erased because of his death during an ongoing court appeal. Grayson’s lawyers cited the well-established legal doctrine of “abatement ab initio” – striking down something as if […]

A Springfield Fire Department ambulance that specializes in helping Sangamon County residents during substance-abuse and mental health crises went into service Sept. 8. The Rescue 1 ambulance, part of the city’s BEACON Project – which stands for Bridging Emergency And Community Outreach Network – represents an increased communitywide focus on mental health in the wake […]

Hotel taxes will rise 3% one month from now to pay for a $60 million expansion of Springfield’s publicly owned convention center after a 20-5 vote by the Sangamon County Board on Sept. 1. The bipartisan vote on the Republican-controlled County Board came after arguments from advocates who said the 47-year-old BOS Center, last renovated […]