Water rates in Springfield will rise 32% beginning March 1 and another 32% a year later after contentious debate among City Council members and a 7-3 vote on Feb. 20. “We don’t have a choice,” Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer said of the increases, the first since 2011. He blamed prior city councils and prior […]
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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Sam McCann pleads guilty during trial
Former state Sen. Sam McCann pleaded guilty to all nine felony charges related to misuse of campaign funds for personal benefit on Feb. 15, one day before his bench trial was expected to end and as he considered taking the stand in his defense. McCann previously said his prosecution in Springfield’s U.S. District Court was […]
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Sam McCann finally has his day in court
Sam McCann illegally spent political contributions funded by the union dues of those who saw him as a friend of working people on luxury vehicles, a recreational motor home, trips, personal debts, home mortgage payments and to boost his income. Those were the allegations contained in evidence and statements presented on Feb. 13 during the […]
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McCann trial postponed until Feb. 12
The scheduled Feb. 5 start of former Conservative Party gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann’s trial was delayed until Feb. 12 after the judge presiding in the alleged illegal campaign fund spending case learned McCann was hospitalized in St. Louis. McCann, a Macoupin County resident charged in a federal grand jury indictment three years ago, told U.S. […]
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Springfield down to two residential waste haulers
Waste Management transferred most of its residential business in Springfield to Republic Services because alleys made service to certain parts of the city inefficient, a company spokesperson said. “Our company is moving more to automation,” Lisa Disbrow, spokesperson for Waste Management of Illinois Inc., told Illinois Times on Feb. 6. WM’s increasing use of garbage trucks […]
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CWLP asking for significant water rate increases
City Water, Light & Power officials say water rate increases of 32% this year and 32% in 2025 are needed for state-required replacements of lead lines and to reduce the frequency of water main breaks, dredge Lake Springfield and improve the water division’s finances. CWLP Chief Utility Engineer Doug Brown said the need for the […]
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Making city government more helpful to businesses
Springfield’s Office of Planning and Economic Development will focus on data and innovation to make city government more efficient, helpful to businesses and in line with Mayor Misty Buscher’s goal of creating more good-paying jobs in the city. Those are among plans for the office under Val Yazell, who was hired back to head OPED […]
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City-operated ambulance service to be considered
Springfield City Council members will consider spending $280,000 in the next fiscal year on what could be the first step toward a multimillion-dollar, city-operated ambulance service to supplement privately operated ambulances and shorten response times in medical emergencies. The money to buy a single ambulance appears on page 165 of the city’s 400-page budget proposal from […]
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Springfield Clinic, Blue Cross make a deal
After two years of financial and emotional stress for thousands of central Illinois patients, those covered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois regained in-network access to Springfield Clinic medical providers on Jan. 1. Chicago-based Blue Cross and the clinic issued statements Dec. 22 that they have reached a new five-year agreement allowing the […]
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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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Scheels Sports Park development on track “There is no delay in any of the financing”
Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe remains on track to be fully operational by spring 2025 on Springfield’s south side despite recent questions from City Council members about the way public money will flow to the project and the viability of private financing scheduled that will cover half of the total $67 million in costs. […]
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Sangamon County could see first wind farm soon
A German clean energy company plans to file applications with Montgomery and Sangamon County officials early in 2024 for approval to construct the first phase of a four-county, $450 million wind farm development known as Grand Prairie Energy Park. UKA Group’s North American affiliate, based in Stuart, Florida, would build about 60 wind turbines in […]