As 2025 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on what makes Illinois Times special — and that’s you, our readers and supporters, who believe in the power of local, independent journalism.
Illinois Times was selected as a Report for America newsroom, and this partnership has allowed us to expand our newsroom and deepen our coverage of the stories that shape our community.
Thanks to this opportunity — and to your generosity — we welcomed Dilpreet Raju, a new full-time reporter, to our staff in July. His work has already strengthened our reporting on the issues that matter most to central Illinois. Dilpreet’s reporting focuses on health, which has included topics such as mental health resources for children, rising health care premiums and how our city and county are responding to an increase in deaths from opioid overdoses.
Report for America provided $25,000 toward Dilpreet’s first-year salary, and with your help we raised the $35,000 needed to cover our share. Now, we need your help to keep this momentum going.
We will learn in January if we have been accepted for a second reporter through the Report for America program. We applied for a position that would focus on coverage of local governments, which could include everything from the city council and county board to the school board and park district for Springfield and surrounding municipalities.
In 2026, our support from Report for America decreases to $15,000. That means we must raise $45,000 to fund our share of Dilpreet’s second-year salary.
Since 1975, Illinois Times has been dedicated to providing high-quality, fact-based reporting — from uncovering corruption to celebrating the culture that makes our community thrive. We’re a free publication, supported by readers and local businesses, and we’ve weathered challenges from social media disruption to the pandemic. Through it all, our mission has never wavered: to keep our community informed, engaged, and empowered.
As the year ends, we invite you to invest in local journalism that makes a difference. Your contribution — of any size — helps ensure that Illinois Times can continue reporting the stories that matter most to central Illinois.
If you’d like to make a donation by check (to help us avoid credit card fees), please send it along with your contact information to:
Illinois Times
c/o Report for America
1240 S. Sixth Street
Springfield, IL 62703
