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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The end of an era
For 116 years, St. Patrick Catholic School has been an educational cornerstone on Springfield’s east side – a small school with big ambitions for the children it has served. At the end of this school year, its classrooms will fall silent. School leaders announced this month that St. Patrick Catholic School, founded in 1910, will […]
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Primaries for contested County Board seats
There are two contested races for the Sangamon County Board in the March 17 primary election, one each on the Republican and Democratic ballots. Incumbent Republican David Mendenhall faces challenger Samantha Auby in District 3, while Democratic incumbent Sam Cahnman is opposed by Miguel Valente in District 18. Mendenhall vs. Auby Both Republican candidates for […]
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A heated race for Sangamon County sheriff
A retired Sangamon County deputy challenging incumbent Paula Crouch to become the Republican candidate in this year’s race for sheriff says Crouch and her allies are using lies and distortions to sway voters as the March 17 primary approaches. David Timm is pushing back against an onslaught of radio, print and video advertisements paid for […]
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Illinois mayors call on Pritzker to rethink flat local government funding
Local government leaders in Illinois are once again calling on state lawmakers to increase funding for their communities after Gov. JB Pritzker called for reducing the share of income taxes disbursed to municipalities. Pritzker’s budget, introduced last month, calls for reducing the share of income tax revenues that is divided among counties and other municipalities […]
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Data center project moves forward
Opponents of a proposed $500 million data center in southwestern Sangamon County went away disappointed and angry but unbowed, while officials from a Dallas-based company left smiling, after a pair of nonbinding votes by county officials Feb. 19. “This is a long-term catalyst for the labor and construction industry,” Bradd Hout, location and power strategy […]
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Urban League has ambitious development plans
“At a time when it’s easy to take a step back, the Urban League is stepping up.” Those were the words of Springfield Urban League President and CEO Dr. Marcus Johnson during a Dec. 2 Springfield City Council meeting. Johnson was trying to convince the alderpersons to sell eight city-owned parcels of land on Springfield’s […]
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An overview of Springfield’s finances
Several of Springfield’s city council members voiced concern that the city’s rate of spending could lead to future shortfalls, but a majority still approved a new fiscal year budget of almost $203 million. The new corporate fund budget for fiscal 2027, which supports most city functions, such as road repairs and police and fire protection, […]
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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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Pritzker denies traveling on Epstein’s plane after Bill Clinton’s since-recanted testimony
Gov. JB Pritzker denied a since-recanted comment by former President Bill Clinton that Clinton thought the pair may have traveled together on a plane owned by convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. His denial was in response to a 90-second video clip of Clinton’s closed-door deposition before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that […]
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A lucky shot
Eleven minutes’ worth. That’s all the 16-millimeter color film Alan Dater had in the canister of his handheld camera on the night of Feb. 22, 1980, inside the Field House International Ice Rink (now named Herb Brooks Arena) in Lake Placid, New York. The U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team was to play the Soviet Union […]
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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 […]
