Dean Olsen

The Springfield City Council member whose ward includes much of downtown hopes to delay a scheduled vote June 18 on whether 3 a.m. liquor licenses should be eliminated in favor of a 1 a.m. closing time. Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Purchase – whose ward includes The Alamo, Clique, Celtic Mist Pub and The Gin Mill, […]

People who live near a proposed three-story, 18-unit apartment complex on Springfield’s north side say the $4 million project would increase traffic hazards and otherwise detract from the feel of the residential neighborhood. “It’s just going to be more congested,” John Austin, 74, one of the neighbors, told Illinois Times. “The traffic’s going to be […]

Teresa Haley’s enthusiasm and energy were evident when she called on the federal government June 10 to include an archeological site near HSHS St. John’s Hospital in the National Park System in commemoration of the Springfield Race Riot of 1908. “The time is now to take a stand,” the Springfield native told the racially and […]

A bill recently passed by the Illinois General Assembly increases the likelihood a proposed $93 million expansion of Springfield’s convention center will become reality, a state lawmaker says. “I do think this project is something that will really benefit and save the downtown,” state Rep. Mike Coffey, R-Springfield, told Illinois Times on June 3. House […]

A distribution center employing 150 to 200 full-time workers at a warehouse the size of almost four football fields would be built along Interstate 55 near the Chatham exit, based on a proposal Springfield zoning officials will consider June 20. Local economic development officials told Illinois Times they don’t yet know who would operate the […]

Construction of a 136-unit, market-rate apartment complex in downtown Springfield will commence in the fall, the New York company spearheading the almost $29 million project told Mid-Illinois Medical District commissioners on May 23. “We’re really excited about it,” Victor Salerno, chief executive officer of Adirondack Community Development, told commissioners in a Zoom call updating the […]

Structural problems have festered for years at Springfield’s tallest apartment building, but court action to fix at least one of the issues at Lincoln Tower Apartments could be coming in the next few months. The situation – including an inadequate number of working elevators and the city-mandated closure of the deteriorating underground parking garage – […]

Residents of the Val-E-Vue subdivision near Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport say they are relieved the airport altered a plan to change about 92 acres from residential to industrial zoning. The proposed rezoning for the land, which acts as a buffer between the subdivision to the south and the developed part of the airport, “could potentially […]

Springfield officials are crafting an ordinance to crack down on sites of suspected prostitution promoted as Asian massage parlors or spas. Springfield Police Chief Kenneth Scarlette told Illinois Times that the ordinance would require establishments offering broadly defined massage services to register with the city. And only state-certified massage therapists or other state-licensed professionals would […]

The number of journalism jobs at Illinois newspapers has dropped 86% since 2005, but press advocates see signs of hope in proposed college scholarships, state tax credits, scholarships and other subsidies to benefit local news outlets. “I’m cautiously optimistic we will see something,” Sam Fisher, former president of the Illinois Press Association, said as the […]