The state’s child welfare agency has found a Springfield man negligent in the March 16 drowning death of a 7-year-old foster child in the man’s care. An investigation completed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services on June 28 concluded that neglect by David Yankee led to the death of Barrett Koches, DCFS […]
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 inNews
Not present at crime, still charged with murder
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser says Katherine Smith wasn’t present when 19-year-old Dohndre Hughes received a fatal stab wound to the chest in February 2018. Prosecutors also said they don’t believe Smith, a Chatham resident and 18 at the time, anticipated the home invasion, armed robbery and theft that she allegedly helped arrange would […]
Posted inNews
Doctor receives zoning approval to build apartments near medical district
Zoning for a $4 million project to construct an apartment complex on Springfield’s north side was unanimously approved June 18 by the Springfield City Council, despite continued opposition from neighbors who believe it will increase traffic hazards and otherwise detract from the feel of the residential neighborhood. Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Purchase, who represents the […]
Posted inNews
City compromises on liquor licenses
The six Springfield bars allowed to be open until 3 a.m. on weekends will see their closing times moved to 2 a.m. on Jan. 1 and beyond instead of the 1 a.m. closing that originally was proposed. Bars that were previously required to close at 1 a.m. will now have the option to stay open […]
Posted inNews
City may delay vote on 3 a.m. liquor licenses
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, […]
Posted inNews
Doctor wants to build apartments near medical district
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 […]
Posted inNews
Teresa Haley carries on her work
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 […]
Posted inNews
Legislation passes to help BOS Center expansion
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 […]
Posted inNews
Lakeisha Purchase violated IDOT policy, report says
Lakeisha Purchase took part in phone calls unrelated to her job at the Illinois Department of Transportation for almost half of the time she was supposed to be working during an 18-month period in 2021 and 2022, a state report says. Purchase, 35, a former Capital Township trustee and the Springfield Ward 5 alderperson since […]
Posted inNews
Frito-Lay distribution center slated to be built in Springfield
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 […]
Posted inNews
Developing more housing downtown
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 […]
Posted inNews
High expectations
The small-scale, $8 million marijuana cultivation center expected to open in June on Springfield’s northeast side would be the largest site of its kind in the state, and perhaps the nation, to produce beverages infused with cannabis and hemp oil. So says Christopher Stone, a Springfield-based cannabis entrepreneur and managing partner of CoPack Industries, 3451 […]
