Arriel Williams plans to open 7’s Groceries on Nov. 1 at the location formerly occupied by Save-A-Lot on Clear Lake Avenue, and he says a $100,000 business grant from the city of Springfield will be “extremely important” to his future success. “It’s helping me out a lot,” Williams, 50, a Springfield resident and native, said […]
Dean Olsen
Dean Olsen is a senior staff writer for Illinois Times. He can be reached at:
dolsen@illinoistimes.com, 217-679-7810 or @DeanOlsenIT.
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Downtown dilemma in Taylorville
The Taylorville City Council is pushing forward with a planned $5 million renovation project downtown despite organized opposition and fears that disruptions caused by the work could decimate many businesses on the square. The project is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2027. It is to be funded with a $3 million state […]
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Breathing life back into Lincoln
The desire of a Peoria businessman and his wife to live out their Christian faith by helping a central Illinois community in need led to their recent purchase of the shuttered Lincoln College campus for a job-creating lease program. “We want life back on that campus,” John Wieland told Illinois Times in describing the $1 […]
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Banking on the BOS Center
Hotel taxes will rise 3% one month from now to pay for a $60 million expansion of Springfield’s publicly owned convention center after a 20-5 vote by the Sangamon County Board on Sept. 1. The bipartisan vote on the Republican-controlled County Board came after arguments from advocates who said the 47-year-old BOS Center, last renovated […]
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$60 million BOS Center expansion backed
Unwilling to wait on the Illinois General Assembly, the Sangamon County Board plans to vote as soon as Sept. 1 to impose a new 3% hotel tax to fund a $60 million expansion of the BOS Center. County officials say they want to act now because state legislation that would create an oversight board – […]
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Another downtown project
Local real estate investor Chris Stone has acquired the former PNC Bank building on the Old State Capitol Plaza downtown. “I think it’s probably the best building on the square,” Stone said. “I’ve been working on projects in downtown Springfield for more than 10 years, and I thought this was an opportunity to take a […]
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Data center developer abandons plans for Christian County
Eagle Rock Partners announced Aug. 12 that it will abandon its quest to build a $6 billion data center in Christian County. County Board President Bryan Sharp told Illinois Times that the North Carolina-based company’s decision was rooted in its concern that the planned supplier of the 1,000-megawatt data center’s power – a yet-to-be-built natural […]
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Wyndham hotel up for sale
The 30-story Wyndham Springfield City Centre, closed since March 2025 by water damage that local police and the FBI were investigating as an alleged act of vandalism, is going up for sale as part of bankruptcy proceedings. Bids for the aging former hotel are due by Sept. 15, according to a July 30 news release. […]
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Data center development linked to power plant construction
A change in developers hoping to build Lincoln Land Energy Center near Pawnee in Sangamon County has meant more uncertainty for a project in Christian County – a proposed $6 billion data center. Christian County Board Chairperson Bryan Sharp told Illinois Times on July 28 that he is “waiting on clarification” from Eagle Rock Partners, […]
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End run for data center developer
Hut 8 Corp. could avoid scrutiny from the Logan County Board if it convinces Latham Village Board members to annex the proposed site of the company’s planned 500-megawatt data center – two miles west of the village – and thus take control over the future of the $5 billion project. The five-member Village Board – […]
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Mayor, state detail Y block plans
A permanent amphitheater for free Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series concerts and other community events would be built on the downtown Y block, and the state would acquire the two-acre property as part of a $4 million, state-funded development plan for a public park that City Council members may consider for approval this month. Mayor […]
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Crowd reacts to Christian County data center plan
Facing strong opposition to a proposed $6 billion data center near Taylorville, a founder of Eagle Rock Partners told the Christian County Board he wouldn’t want to live next door to the center his firm wants to build. But Ken Loeber added that the center, on farm ground two miles southwest of the Christian County […]