A Chatham resident and union activist will head the Sangamon County Democratic Party for the next two years, succeeding longtime Democratic stalwart Bill Houlihan. Diana Carlile, 64, a former Illinois Bell operator and AT&T engineering department employee who retired in 2011, was unanimously elected April 15 in a weighted vote of the local Democratic Party’s […]
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Sangamon Auditorium to reopen in October with major upgrades
After more than a year without performances, there’s finally a date to circle on the calendar: Sangamon Auditorium is set to reopen this October. The UIS Performing Arts Center has been closed since June 2025 to make way for a major plumbing replacement throughout the building. It’s not the most glamorous upgrade, but it was […]
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‘Credit card chaos’? Financial institutions bet big on repeal of first-of-its-kind Illinois law
“Credit cards may not work for sales tax or tips starting July 1.” By now, you’ve heard that claim, but whether it’s true depends on who you ask. The ads — funded by the Electronic Payments Coalition of banks, credit unions and card companies — argue that Illinois lawmakers must repeal the state’s first-in-the-nation Interchange […]
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A welcoming place
By 2024, Greg Kanter had been out as a gay, ordained rabbi for nearly three decades, a pioneer of sorts, who had been leading a congregation in Charleston, South Carolina, for about eight years. Life had been good there for him, his husband, and two adopted daughters. Then came a new presidential administration, and the […]
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A heated city council meeting
What former Springfield police chief Michael Walton said after speaking to the City Council on April 7 remains in dispute, but Walton won’t be banned from future council meetings, Mayor Misty Buscher says. Walton’s statement during the public comment section of the meeting, in which Walton defended the actions of a white Springfield police officer […]
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Springfield slated to lose ambulance provider
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect comments from Springfield Fire Chief Nicholas Zummo. LifeStar Ambulance Service Inc., one of three ambulance providers responding to 911 calls in Springfield and transporting patients to local hospitals, is slated to be barred from operating in Sangamon County after May 25 because of health care deficiencies […]
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Will this be the year the state legislature approves a cellphone ban in schools?
After the Latin School of Chicago passed a cellphone ban, students, who typically would be glued to their phones on their way to class, looked up, interacted with their peers and were more immersed in school, officials said. The Latin School of Chicago first restricted cellphone use for the 2024-25 school year, and a year […]
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“A good step forward”
A three-building apartment complex with 22 affordable housing units for people exiting homelessness is opening where the Sportsman’s Lounge once stood. The longtime tavern, which had operated under various names for more than a century, closed in September 2023, around the same time the Springfield City Council approved the rezoning necessary for the redevelopment project […]
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Illinois lawmakers begin days of deep dives on data centers
Illinois lawmakers are digging deep on data centers, with a House committee hearing from mayors, labor groups, and agriculture representatives about the facilities’ local impacts in the first of three planned meetings. Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago, the chair of the House Executive Committee, said she wanted to hear about the benefits and challenges of data […]
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Phoenix Center facing closure
Two years after Sara Bowen-Lasisi began working for the Phoenix Center, she realized the Springfield nonprofit appeared to be overbilling the state for grant-supported HIV testing. But Bowen-Lasisi said the questionable practice was openly admitted and encouraged by the former executive director, Jonna Cooley. According to Bowen-Lasisi, Cooley said, “‘We were doing the work, so […]
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Sangamon County approves data center
Sangamon County Board members voted 17-10 to approve a $500 million data center project on April 7, just weeks after the board tabled the proposal following hours of constituents’ complaints. Once again, the meeting was moved to the BOS center with hundreds of residents turning out, many holding signs or speaking in opposition to the […]
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Marc Ayers to resign from County Board
Springfield resident Marc Ayers isn’t ruling out running for Ward 7 alderperson or mayor in April 2027, or maybe another elected office someday. But the 40-year-old Springfield native has decided to leave the Sangamon County Board seat he has held since 2022. “No one was forcing me out,” Ayers, the board’s District 12 representative, told […]
