The My Heart’s Downtown campaign has been in the news recently, and while I am grateful to see attention focused on our city center, I want to clarify how this effort began. It was not created by a single organization or person. It came from a small group of individuals who care deeply about downtown […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Armory 2.0
How nice to see construction cranes instead of wrecking balls around the Illinois State Armory. Having kvetched for years about its neglect by the owners, I feel obligated to say a few words in praise of the project that is restoring it to health. As alert citizens know from these pages, the Armory, now in […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Letters to the editor 4/2/26
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. SLOW DOWN The coverage of the March 23 Sangamon County Board meeting by Dilpreet Raju was thorough and thoughtful (“County Board votes to table data center proposal,” March 26). Given how complex and extensive this issue […]
Posted inRich Miller
Voter turnout analysis
The trend in special elections around the country for the past several months has shown spiking Democratic voter turnout and tanking Republican turnout. And some preliminary primary election results from earlier this month show the same trend here. What follows is a quick look at governor’s race turnout in the state’s five most populous counties. […]
Posted inOpinion
Explanation for first responder hiring challenges
Thank you to Illinois Times for covering the city of Springfield’s annual budget (“An overview of Springfield’s finances,” March 4). Now that the budget has passed, I want to make four factual points to address misstatements made in the recent Guestwork by police union negotiator David Amerson (“Saving money on police costs safety,” Feb. 19). […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Letters to the editor
HIGHER STANDARDS Thank you for the in-depth story about Leland Grove Police Chief Dan Ryan’s recent arrest (“Leland Grove police chief granted pretrial release,” Feb. 6). This is clearly a case of “he should have known better.” He is the police chief, and there is absolutely no excuse for his conduct. While some may argue […]
Posted inEditor's Note
Editor’s note
This is a milestone to celebrate – hiring our new CEO, naming a new editor and changing to a nonprofit company. It’s good, and brave, of Kate McKenzie to join us on our journey, and I thank my colleague, Michelle Ownbey, for taking on new challenges as executive editor. I’m grateful to both for taking […]
Posted inRich Miller
Big spending doesn’t guarantee victory
One of the biggest stories to come out of election day was that several candidates with the most money came up short. The obvious example is the race for U.S. Senate, where U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi reportedly spent $29 million on TV ads and benefited from another $10 million spent by the crypto industry against […]
Posted inOpinion
Pick of the litter
“Company’s coming!” Caseworker, health inspector, church lady – whoever is coming, it means get the pizza boxes off the coffee table and pick up your dirty socks. For the City of Springfield, the company is out-of-town visitors. Mayor Misty Buscher says that 2026 might be a record-breaking tourism year for Springfield thanks to celebrants of […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Letters to the editor 3/19/26
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com. PEOPLE OVER PROFITS The proposed CyrusOne data center appears set to receive the Sangamon County Board’s blessing on March 23, as promised tax receipts and jobs seem to outweigh any concerns about energy use, pollution […]
Posted inEditor's Note
Editor’s note 3/19/26
It’s good that the community mental health board referendum won approval on its first attempt, shortening the time when public funds will help to repair a broken system. Many helped to win passage for the ballot measure, but it was the Massey Commission, formed in September 2024, in the wake of Sonya Massey’s killing in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Independent campaign expenditures rise
Independent campaign expenditures have skyrocketed this year in state legislative races. All of these numbers were current as of 4:20 p.m. Friday, March 13, when I finished writing this column. Independent expenditure committees are not allowed to coordinate their spending with candidates, ergo the “independent” label. As with the federal level, they are also not […]
