A permanent amphitheater for free Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series concerts and other community events would be built on the downtown Y block, and the state would acquire the two-acre property as part of a $4 million, state-funded development plan for a public park that City Council members may consider for approval this month. Mayor […]
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
Data center moratorium declared invalid
Logan County officials are on track to consider and potentially vote on land-use applications for a $5 billion data center near Latham as soon as August after the local state’s attorney declared invalid a 12-month moratorium that the County Board approved in May. Opponents of Hut 8 Corp.’s proposed Logan Prairie Data Center, who supported […]
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LifeStar Ambulance seeks to drop lawsuit against Memorial
LifeStar Ambulance Service. Inc. has temporarily dropped its lawsuit against Springfield Memorial Hospital to gather proof of what LifeStar considers the hospital’s bias against the company. “We’re still trying to find more evidence,” LifeStar Chief Executive Officer John Wright told Illinois Times. “We need more for a lawsuit.” Associate Circuit Judge Christopher Perrin on June […]
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Crowd reacts to Christian County data center plan
Facing strong opposition to a proposed $6 billion data center near Taylorville, a founder of Eagle Rock Partners told the Christian County Board he wouldn’t want to live next door to the center his firm wants to build. But Ken Loeber added that the center, on farm ground two miles southwest of the Christian County […]
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EMT charged with murder sentenced
A former emergency medical technician accused in potentially the nation’s first murder case against a first responder received the lightest possible sentence – probation and no prison time – on June 23 after pleading guilty to a lesser charge. Members of Earl Moore Jr.’s family showed their displeasure with Circuit Judge Robin Schmidt’s decision to […]
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Muni president addresses controversy
It may not have been the full-throated apology critics wanted, but a top official from Springfield Municipal Opera says mistakes were made in the handling of sexual harassment complaints against a man ultimately banned from participation in the organization. Kevin Burke III, president of the Muni Board of Managers, told Illinois Times that the 76-year-old […]
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Area data center updates
Plans for CyrusOne’s $500 million data center in Sangamon County are moving forward, with construction expected to begin this summer, after approval two months ago in a County Board vote that crossed party lines. Meanwhile, debate on the potential Meridian Technology Park data center – 10 times more expensive and two miles west of Taylorville […]
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Springfield Memorial Hospital CEO to resign
The president and chief executive officer of Springfield’s largest hospital is resigning after fewer than two years at the helm. Jay Roszhart, 41, who was promoted to lead 500-bed Springfield Memorial Hospital on July 1, 2024, will leave on June 12, according to a statement June 9 from Drew Early, senior vice president and chief […]
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#MeToo at the Muni
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect a statement issued the morning of June 5 by the Springfield Municipal Opera Association Board of Trustees. Springfield Municipal Opera is facing criticism, resignations of cast members from several of the season’s musicals and a boycott of concessions sold at performances over its response to sexual […]
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LifeStar Ambulance fights suspension
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 […]
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 […]
