Don Howard

Springfield ICON (Inner City Older Neighborhoods) announced that most of the candidates in elections to be held April 4 share the organization’s priorities for keeping the city neat and clean, and making government more responsive to the needs of Springfield citizens. That was the result of a questionnaire the group sent to the two candidates […]

The underground railroad was a secret collection of safehouses used by runaway slaves before the Civil War to escape bondage. Harboring escaped slaves was a criminal offense, so written records of underground railroad activity are scarce. State Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, has cosponsored a bill to create the Illinois Underground Railroad Task Force charged with […]

The Illinois General Assembly is one step closer to lifting the state’s moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants. House Bill 1079, proposing to allow such construction, passed out of the Public Utilities Committee Feb. 28 on an 18-3 vote. The bill’s primary sponsor is Rep. Mark Walker, D-Arlington Heights. Nuclear power plant […]

State Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, has introduced a bill that would prohibit auto insurers in the state from considering consumer credit information in setting rates. After a Feb. 28 hearing, the bill was sent to a subcommittee, a signal that it may not be considered by the full House this term. If the measure were […]

Construction crews have been working through winter weather on a new $67 million project on the site of the Dallman power generating station on the north end of Lake Springfield. City Water, Light and Power broke ground Dec. 8, 2022 on a carbon capture system funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the state […]

Springfield nonprofit Cielo (Spanish for “sky” or “heaven”) has just been awarded a $230,000 grant by the Illinois Public Health Association. The organization, headed by Julio Barrenzuela, helps the Spanish-speaking community to stay healthy and emotionally and financially stable. The grant will allow Cielo to expand its reach by paying for staff and improvements to […]

The Lincoln Library in Springfield will soon take delivery of a bookmobile, which will allow the library to greatly increase the number of Springfield residents it serves, according to director Summer Griffith. Griffith announced the purchase during a presentation before the City Council on Monday, Jan. 30. The company building the diesel hybrid vehicle has […]

Down payment assistance is on its way to low-income homebuyers through the Illinois Housing Development Authority. The program will be part of $75 million in federal funds designated for IHDA by the Illinois General Assembly in legislation which went into effect Jan. 24. The money will allow IHDA to resume the popular “Opening Doors” program, […]

Sports gambling became legal in Illinois in March 2020. Since then, Illinoisians have wagered increasing amounts of money, reaching $1 billion in each of October and November of 2022, the last months for which numbers are available. The Illinois Gaming Board reports $14.5 million in tax revenue for November and year-to-date revenues in 2022 of […]

The state of Illinois has set a goal of one million electric vehicle (EV) registrations by the year 2030. With fewer than 60,000 registrations currently, the state has a long way to go. Megha Lakhchaura was appointed by Gov. JB Pritzker to coordinate the state’s push to electrify the stock of automobiles registered in Illinois. […]