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 […]
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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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’ […]
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Retired doctor donates $1M to HSHS NICU
Former HSHS anesthesiologist Dr. Babu Prasad has donated $1 million to St. John’s Children’s Hospital to celebrate his 80th birthday. Dr. Beau Batton, director of newborn services at HSHS St. John’s Children’s Hospital, said the donation will fund upgrades to specialized respiratory and temperature control equipment that’s critical for transporting newborns in need of medical […]
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Identifying brownfield sites for redevelopment
The Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission is seeking public input as it begins assessing contaminated brownfields in areas that are difficult to redevelop after being awarded a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The grant is scheduled to run from October through September 2030 and will be used initially to look at […]
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Powered by private equity
A Chatham solar project approved by the Sangamon County Board in late 2021, on the same evening the Board approved the 4,100-acre Double Black Diamond Solar farm, is finally expected to begin construction in August. At least one-fourth of the approximately 650-acre solar field’s power will be directed to CWLP. Its owner and operator, AES […]
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Mental Health Board seeking executive director, lawyer
The Sangamon County Mental Health Board, still in its infancy, is seeking an executive director and lawyer to help guide the new organization. The board is responsible for funding mental health services in the county through a 0.5% sales tax levy approved by voters in March, which the county estimates will bring in roughly $14.7 […]
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Solar company, landowner sue Sangamon County
For the second time in as many weeks, the Sangamon County Board was served a lawsuit seeking to overturn a Board zoning decision. In June, the board’s legal adviser and assistant state’s attorney, Joel Benoit, warned the board of potential legal action from Summit Ridge Energy. He said the petition for a 20-acre solar farm […]
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Residents sue Sangamon County, CyrusOne
Several Waverly residents who live approximately a mile or less from the site recently approved for the CyrusOne data center filed a lawsuit against Sangamon County and the Sangamon County Board July 6 seeking to overturn the county’s approval of the project. Chloe Russell, a Plainfield lawyer, filed the case that claims the county’s approved resolution from April […]
