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 […]
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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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 […]
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An unlikely alliance
Democrat candidate Marc Bell, who dropped out of the Sangamon County sheriff’s race prior to the March primary and rejoined the race in April, is now being endorsed by David Timm, a former Republican candidate. Bell held a July 14 fundraiser in Springfield where the two men made a joint appearance and Timm praised the […]
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Residents sue to stop Sangamon County data center
This is a breaking news story, here is an updated story published July 16. 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 […]
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Data center details
Sangamon County’s average residential electricity bill has increased by more than 52% in the past five years when comparing seasonal data, according to a database constructed by Heatmap News and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That’s nearly 15% more than Cook County, and almost 10% more than the state, experienced over the same time frame. […]
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Sangamon County seeks more local control
The Sangamon County Zoning and Land Use Committee discussed ways to regain more local control over renewable energy projects, such as solar and wind farms, in light of a recent state law that restricts authority of municipal governments to veto such developments. At the June 18 meeting, lawyers gave the committee a laundry list of […]
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New Mental Health Board meets
Sangamon County’s recently convened Mental Health Board agreed on a job listing for an executive director position and started discussions about how to organize the Board’s grant structure during its June 24 meeting. Former Massey Commission staff and members also implored the board to avoid filling governmental budget gaps with the nearly $15 million it’s […]
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Future data center tax breaks on hold
Despite the governor mentioning a pause on data center tax breaks at his budget address in February and a massive swell of political will to regulate the energy-hungry centers since then, Illinois lawmakers did not meaningfully address data centers during their spring session. Gov. JB Pritzker, less than a week after legislators left Springfield, ordered […]
