When Astria Campbell works as a substitute teacher at inner-city schools in District 186, she often asks her middle and high school students what they want to be when they grow up. The most common answer is to work in the same low-wage jobs as their parents. Campbell, 42, who grew up in a working-class […]
Video
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Bodycam video of Sonya Massey death released
Here is video from the body-worn cameras of two Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies who entered Sonya Massey’s Woodside Township home on July 6. Massey, 36, received a fatal head wound, allegedly from a 9mm handgun fired by Deputy Sean Grayson. Grayson, 30, has been charged with first-degree murder in the incident, and authorities have said […]
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Pritzker keeps economic development at forefront in exclusive interview with “Illinois Lawmakers”
With fiscal year 2025 beginning July 1, Gov. JB Pritzker continues to tout available state tax incentives and promote Illinois as a site for business development. On the season finale of “Illinois Lawmakers,” Pritzker pointed to a pair of developments in East Alton and Normal as proof of his administration’s effectiveness in luring businesses to […]
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City compromises on liquor licenses
The six Springfield bars allowed to be open until 3 a.m. on weekends will see their closing times moved to 2 a.m. on Jan. 1 and beyond instead of the 1 a.m. closing that originally was proposed. Bars that were previously required to close at 1 a.m. will now have the option to stay open […]
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Doing more for the homeless
There it stood, a three-foot-tall Christmas tree marking the entrance to a litter-strewn encampment in a wooded area near a railroad line on Springfield’s north side. The tree was decorated with about a dozen ornaments, with a dirty pink jacket serving as a skirt. A few steps down a hill from the tree was a […]
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Rail improvement project delayed
Completion of Springfield’s rail improvement project will be delayed beyond 2025 because the project failed to secure $138 million in funding from the federal government. Springfield and Sangamon County backers of the years-long project had hoped 2025 would be the last year of construction on the massive project to alleviate rail congestion in the city’s […]
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Haley suspended by NAACP
The national NAACP has suspended Teresa Haley as president of the group’s Illinois State Conference after the Springfield resident was recorded on video in October calling immigrants “savages” and saying they are “raping people” and attracting more sympathy than Black people with similar needs. Haley’s comments, made during an online monthly video call with NAACP […]
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Elimination of cash bail seems to be working
The Sangamon County Jail’s average daily census has dropped by one-third since cash bail was eliminated in Illinois, crime rates haven’t spiked, and the system providing more information to judges before they make decisions on whether to release defendants before trial is running smoothly. Ninety days after the Pretrial Fairness Act took effect in Illinois […]
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Federal trial for Sam McCann postponed again
Former Conservative Party gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann fired his latest court-appointed lawyer and decided moments before opening arguments in his federal trial Nov. 27 to represent himself against charges of illegal campaign fund spending that could land him in prison for 20 years or more. McCann, 54, told reporters after his decision that he doesn’t […]
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Groundbreaking for Scheels Sports Park
Ceremonial shovels turning over dirt Sept. 20 signaled the start of construction for a $67 million sports complex that city officials said will make Springfield a popular destination for young people competing on traveling athletic teams from throughout the Midwest and beyond. “This puts Springfield on the map for sports tourism,” Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher […]
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Growing the east side of Springfield
Yves Doumen says he traveled 6,500 miles west, across the Atlantic Ocean from his home country of Cameroon, to settle in Springfield six years ago to promote sustainable agriculture. “We have space here, but at the same time, where we have space is where people are struggling to find fresh, healthy food,” Doumen told Illinois […]
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CO2 pipeline stalled in Sangamon County
A recent vote by the Sangamon County Board has given more hope to opponents of the Navigator Heartland Greenway carbon-dioxide pipeline that the proposed project can be defeated in Illinois. The Republican-controlled board voted unanimously on Aug. 8 to enact a moratorium through Dec. 31 on issuing any permits for future underground storage of CO2 […]
