City, county and state elected officials are offering bipartisan support for a bill in the Statehouse that would help facilitate an expansion of the BOS Center in downtown Springfield, along with construction of a new hotel. The bill would also create a new governing board to promote business development and tourism in Springfield and Sangamon […]
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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Social service concerns mount as federal changes take effect
The federal budget’s sweeping changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including additional work requirements and shifting age bracket qualifications, could lead to nearly 20% of Illinois SNAP recipients – as many as 340,000 people – losing benefits in the coming months, according to state estimates and local agencies. Adults from the ages of 18 […]
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New police chief for Leland Grove
The Leland Grove City Council unanimously approved hiring Kenton Oliver as the new Leland Grove chief of police at a March 24 meeting. The six members of the City Council unanimously voted to terminate the previous police chief, Dan Ryan, retroactively effective Feb. 24. Ryan, whose license was suspended on March 23, is awaiting trial […]
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County Board votes to table data center proposal
After almost three hours of constituents mostly deriding the idea of a data center in Sangamon County, the County Board voted 15 to 13 to table the CyrusOne project that would occupy more than 280 acres of farmland. More than 700 residents of Sangamon County, and other counties, attended the Sangamon County Board meeting on […]
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Leland Grove police chief’s license to be suspended
Starting March 23, Leland Grove Police Chief Dan Ryan will not be able to drive a motor vehicle while he’s awaiting trial for driving under the influence. At a March 20 court appearance, Ryan’s attorney asked for a continuation of the hearing related to an automatic license suspension, which was granted by Sangamon County Judge […]
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Limited environmental assessment of data center
After months of hearings and discussions, the Sangamon County Board seems poised to approve plans for the county’s first data center on March 23 despite consistent pushback from constituents. CyrusOne plans to build a data center campus on 280 acres of farmland, which would have more wattage than any other data center the company currently […]
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Voters narrowly approve mental health board
Primary voters approved a referendum March 17 that will levy a 0.5% limited sales tax for a mental health board to distribute an estimated $14.7 million annually to service providers and programs. Nearly 53% of Sangamon County primary voters supported the referendum, which received 17,300 votes. Only about 24% of registered voters, roughly 33,500 people, […]
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Voting information for March 17 primary
Primary election voters will decide key Democrat and Republican nominees for a number of local, statewide and federal government offices up for grabs in November. And for those who only want to vote on the referendum to create a mental health board, nonpartisan ballots are available. Early voting at the Sangamon County Municipal Building, 200 […]
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A desert for mental health care
Long waitlists to obtain mental health care may shorten if supporters of a mental health board are successful during the March 17 primary election. A wide range of community leaders, along with every hospital and health care organization in Sangamon County, have voiced support for the referendum that would use revenue from a limited sales […]
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Back in business
When Illinois Times last wrote about environmental engineer Michael Keebler in August 2015, his situation was grim. The U.S. government had filed seizure notices for multiple assets, including his home, around the same time he was sentenced to five years in federal prison for defrauding the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency out of $13 million. The […]
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Police chief fights to keep license
After Leland Grove Police Chief Dan Ryan was arrested for domestic battery and driving under the influence earlier this month, his lawyer argued Ryan’s driver’s license should not have been suspended. John Sharp, Ryan’s attorney, filed a motion to rescind the statutory summary suspension, a state law that automatically suspends anyone who tests over the […]
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Med District could expand
Lawmakers could consider expanding the overall region, and special district powers, of the Mid-Illinois Medical District due to a new bill filed by state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, last month. Senate Bill 2829 proposes adjustments to the existing Mid-Illinois Medical District Act by essentially doubling the size of the district’s region, extending the southern boundary […]
