Roy Williams Jr. has seen it happen many times. Someone is arrested and can’t afford bail to get out of jail until a criminal case is resolved, whether the cost is a few hundred dollars or a few thousand. Immediate family members who themselves are strapped for cash then try to gather money from various […]
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.
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St. Patrick’s wants tax credits to continue
Three of Jasmine Bland’s five children have been able to attend St. Patrick’s Catholic School, and she hopes state lawmakers continue to help low-income families like hers afford high-quality educational options. “The culture there is more like family, which I prefer,” said Bland, a single parent who lives with her children on Springfield’s east side, […]
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One interview
The woman who likely will become the next director of Springfield’s public library is a longtime employee of the Illinois State Library and worked at Lincoln Library for 16 years at the beginning of her career. Gwendolyn Harrison of Springfield was Mayor Misty Buscher’s top choice among candidates to replace Summer Beck-Griffith, an appointee of […]
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Tough choices at Memorial Health
Illinois Times has learned Memorial Health’s recently announced layoffs totaled about 300 – with 120 involving people in leadership positions – and that the cuts will save the Springfield-based health care system an estimated $40 million a year. The new information, expanding on an earlier statement from the nonprofit system that said there were “several […]
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Delay in Scheels Sports Park groundbreaking
Groundbreaking for the $67 million Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe, originally expected in July, now could take place in September after action Aug. 29 by impatient Springfield City Council members. “I’m tired of excuses and the changes and the ‘this-and-that,’” Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams said before the council decided to place three ordinances […]
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Lessons learned
Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher has pledged to hire an emergency operations coordinator for the city and create a “long–term recovery group” to respond to any future disasters following the June 29 storms that hit Sangamon County. And Doug Brown, chief utility engineer for City Water, Light & Power, is planning more cross-training for his employees […]
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Diversity among doctors
Springfield’s medical school does better than about 90% of its peer institutions across the United States and Canada when it comes to the share of graduates who are Black and members of other underrepresented groups. But the dean and provost of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine said medical schools in the United States and […]
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Growing the east side of Springfield
Yves Doumen says he traveled 6,500 miles west, across the Atlantic Ocean from his home country of Cameroon, to settle in Springfield six years ago to promote sustainable agriculture. “We have space here, but at the same time, where we have space is where people are struggling to find fresh, healthy food,” Doumen told Illinois […]
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CO2 pipeline stalled in Sangamon County
A recent vote by the Sangamon County Board has given more hope to opponents of the Navigator Heartland Greenway carbon-dioxide pipeline that the proposed project can be defeated in Illinois. The Republican-controlled board voted unanimously on Aug. 8 to enact a moratorium through Dec. 31 on issuing any permits for future underground storage of CO2 […]
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Housing first
Adrian Palmer takes pride in his modest, immaculate apartment. “I live a clean, peaceful life,” the 59-year-old Chicago native said. After years of living on the streets of Chicago and Freeport, depending on girlfriends’ homes in northern Illinois for shelter and completing several stints in prison, Palmer credits a Springfield social service agency for helping […]
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Youth swim coach under investigation
The head coach of two youth swimming clubs has been banned from Springfield Park District property, quit his job at Southeast High School and is being investigated by a national watchdog group dedicated to ending abuse in athletics. The actions took place after a Sangamon County man on July 19 requested and received a civil […]
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Memorial Health announces layoffs
Memorial Health’s recently announced decision to lay off several hundred employees appears to be related to economic stresses that the COVID-19 pandemic made worse. The five-hospital health system, with 500-bed Springfield Memorial Hospital as its flagship, is reducing its workforce because of “national trends, such as the rising cost of supplies and equipment, high cost […]
