The Springfield City Council approved a contract worth up to $25,000 for Scott Hanauer, brother of Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer, at its Jan. 6 meeting. It serves as an extension of a professional service agreement with the Office of Public Utilities that originally took effect in October 2024. Scott Hanauer retired from City, Water […]
Dilpreet Raju
Dilpreet Raju is a staff writer for Illinois Times and a Report for America corps member. He has a master's degree from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and was a reporting fellow at Capitol News Illinois.
Posted inNews
New liquor license created for sports park
The Springfield City Council unanimously approved a new liquor license classification Jan. 6 that is designed to allow businesses to sell alcohol at the new SCHEELS Sports Park at Legacy Pointe. The ordinance allows “restaurant licensees to sell alcoholic liquor at retail for consumption on the premises and will also allow the sale of” packaged […]
Posted inNews
Find helpful Springfield resources
One immediate result of the Massey Commission’s year-plus spent investigating the county’s response to mental health emergencies is a Springfield-area resource guide that lists more than 100 services available to residents who may need help with anything from mental health crises to accessing transportation and more. The guide, developed by Brian Wojcicki of Illinois Capitol […]
Posted inNews
Meet Springfield’s lasagna lady
Beth Rees is trying to make Springfield a better place, one lasagna at a time. She rents a modest house on the north end with her husband and two daughters, works a full-time job and, like many people, has sometimes struggled to keep the bills paid and put food on the table. For the past […]
Posted inNews
Marketplace health insurance deadline nears
Health expenses are booming and insured consumers could feel the full force of those rising costs in 2026 as premium tax credits that made health insurance plans affordable for millions of Americans are set to expire. Open enrollment ends Jan. 15, though “Illinoisans who want their coverage to begin Jan. 1 must enroll by the […]
Posted inNews
Saving big money (eventually) at Menards
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a settlement this week with Menards to resolve a suit Raoul and nine other attorneys general filed claiming the home improvement chain violated consumer fraud laws by deceptively marketing its 11% rebate program as a way for customers to save money when they were really receiving future store credit. […]
Posted inNews
Kids with many needs have few options
The family of a nonverbal 11-year-old boy with autism who lives at a Hope Learning Academy residential home called Illinois Times in late August, detailing how the child, Noah, was admitted to HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield with a blood infection and bruises all over his body. He stayed at the hospital for multiple […]
Posted inNews
Massey Commission issues final report
The Massey Commission has released a final report that details more than two dozen recommendations, specifically labeling them “calls to action,” and listed entities that should be responsible for carrying them out. Members of the commission and its staff presented the final report to the Sangamon County Board at its Dec. 9 meeting. A handful […]
Posted inNews
Sober living house for LGBTQ+ in the works
Casey Prather credits a sober living home run by Springfield resident Julie Benson to playing a part in the longest stretch of sobriety he’s experienced in his adult life. Prather calls Benson’s Home Sweet Home Sober Living home, which he began living at almost two-and-a-half years ago, “unlike any other” he’s experienced. Now, the pair […]
Posted inNews
Turner and Coffey find agreement on veto session bills
While state politicians Sen. Doris Turner and Rep. Mike Coffey represent different parties, both were displeased with two of the bills passed during last month’s veto session. At a Tuesday evening Citizens Club forum held at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, they shared their thoughts on a transit reform package to avert Chicago public […]
Posted inNews
No progress for Police Community Review Commission
The city of Springfield’s Police Community Review Commission approved an extension of the window that citizens can file complaints from 15 days to 30 days – though the city council will also have to approve the change – during its final meeting of the year on Nov. 6. In addition, Sunshine Clemons, co-founder of the […]
Posted inNews
Doctors, scientists at odds with CDC
The director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Dr. Sameer Vohra, joined a chorus of doctors, epidemiologists and other public health professionals this week in admonishing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest change to its vaccine safety webpage, which states “studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism,” […]
