The Committee of Springfield Illinois, a nonpartisan group, held two debates on Sunday, Sept. 27, bringing together candidates for the 48th Senate district and Sangamon County sheriff races. Bernard Schoenburg, a former political journalist at The State Journal-Register, moderated the debates held at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Springfield. Schoenburg now serves on the board […]
Dilpreet Raju
Dilpreet Raju is a staff writer for Illinois Times and a Report for America corps member. He has a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from American University, a master's degree from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and was previously a reporting fellow at Capitol News Illinois.
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Springfield researcher awarded SIU’s 2026 Inventor of the Year
Springfield-based microbiology researcher Andrew Wilber, a director of cell biology and hematology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, was recently named SIU’s 2026 Inventor of the Year for his work on developing gene therapies for rare blood disorders such as sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. Wilber, who has a doctorate in molecular genetics, […]
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Data Center Revolt bus tour stops in Lincoln
Data centers have become a hot-button issue for virtually every politician in the country as proposals for the hyperscale server warehouses continue to spark arguments amongst community members. President Donald Trump has repeatedly backed the idea of developing data centers, most notably writing late last month “the only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. (sic) […]
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County Board defends data center approval in court
The Sangamon County Board defended its April zoning approval of the county’s first hyperscale data center in court on Sept. 11, as Circuit Judge Adam Giganti set the stage for an Oct. 9 hearing about a motion to dismiss. Several Waverly residents who live approximately a mile or less from the site filed a lawsuit […]
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Local surgeon inspires prescription accessibility law
A Chatham native decided to be the change he wanted to see in the world when he reached out to his state representatives in an attempt to better healthcare in Illinois. One year later, Dr. Brandt Whitehurst’s conversation with state Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, has brought about a new law allowing easier transfer of prescriptions […]
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The most well-staffed data center in Illinois?
If all ‘projections’ go according to plan, Sangamon County could have the most well-staffed hyperscale data center in the state. The CyrusOne data center slated for Talkington Township in southwest Sangamon County is expected to have four main buildings that convert 1.8 million square feet of farmland into the foundation for racks of computer servers […]
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Mental Health Board faces forks in the road
Some community members, including the former Massey Commission’s managing director, say the inaugural Sangamon County Mental Health Board has to better address the communities it is attempting to support if the board wants to be successful. Since the Mental Health Board began meeting monthly at the end of May, some of the specific asks have […]
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Hazardous levels of lead found in Taylorville park
The Illinois Department of Public Health has found a baseball field in Manners Park, located in Taylorville, has “high detections of lead.” IPDH’s Sept. 1 report, published with the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, warns of elevated lead exposure for children and summer league baseball players who played on Field One of […]
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Lead-aches
Springfield’s thousands of service lines that are made out of lead will need to be removed within 10 years due to the Illinois Pollution Control Board’s decision to adopt a 2024 federal rule. The move likely occurred as a precaution amid fears the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would ditch the Biden-era rule that sought to […]
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Doris Turner joins Mid-Illinois Medical District
The Mid-Illinois Medical District has a new, but familiar, member in state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield. She was nominated to serve on the commission by Mayor Misty Buscher and approved unanimously at the Aug. 5 Springfield City Council meeting. Turner tried and failed, through a total of five separate bills in the current General Assembly, […]
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State Journal-Register partners with Palantir
The nation’s largest newspaper chain turned heads Aug. 6 – in what would otherwise be a traditional, jargon-filled earnings call that garners few headlines – when USA Today executives announced its papers would be using Palantir to “collect, connect and activate audience data to drive more effective and faster monetization.” Executives said the move is […]
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Keeping the peace
The Illinois State Board of Elections has been paying off-duty Springfield police officers to provide security for records examinations, including the validation of candidate petitions. Andrew Finko is a lawyer for Byron Sigcho-Lopez, a Chicago alderman who is suing the State Board of Elections in an attempt to get onto the November ballot for Illinois’ […]
