The Sangamon County Board just locked in a new 3% hotel motel tax to help expand the Bank of Springfield Center — but it wasn’t a quiet decision. Local lodging representative Darren Dame warned the board the tax was moving too fast, questioned why Springfield should become one of the highest tax hotel markets in […]
Sangamon County Board
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Recall powers and data center accountability debate
The Sangamon County Board just heard some of the strongest public calls yet for recall powers — tying today’s debate to decades of civil rights struggles and high profile local cases that have given the county a “black eye.” Citizen Ken Pacha pushed recall as a proactive accountability tool: a way for taxpayers to remove […]
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New board member and mounting data center dissent
The Sangamon County Board had one of its rare feel-good moments as members unanimously approved and swore in a new board member — complete with a light-hearted nod to cutting through “tangled bureaucratic nonsense.” Then public comment turned straight back to tension over the recently approved data center. Residents: The chair closed public comment, accepted […]
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Courthouse heroism and calls to honor Sonya Massey
The Sangamon County Board packed a lot into this meeting, starting with something rare: a unanimous vote to appoint a new member and an on-the-spot swearing in at the front of the room. Right after, the board paused regular business so the sheriff could publicly recognize court security officers and a civilian whose fast CPR/AED […]
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Sangamon County tables data center amid fierce debate
The Sangamon County Board just spent a long night wrestling with a massive data center proposal – and ended it with a surprise move to put everything on hold. Highlights from the meeting:– A second motion to table the controversial item cut off debate and narrowly passed 15–13, shifting the whole trajectory of the project.– […]
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Sangamon County debates Cyrus One data center
The Sangamon County Board heard a full-on community showdown over a proposed $500 million Cyrus One data center in southwest Sangamon County. On one side, residents called for a 180-day moratorium on data centers, warning about higher electric rates, shaky tax promises, loss of prime farmland and low-quality jobs. They pointed to other Illinois communities […]
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Massey commission report and data center debate
The Sangamon County Board handed the mic to the Massey Commission — then the room got real. The Commission kept Sonya Massey at the center, shared the work across nearly 50 community members and put forward 26 calls to action — 13 the county can move on now. What you’ll see: Related You’ll also hear […]
