For the second time in as many weeks, the Sangamon County Board was served a lawsuit seeking to overturn a Board zoning decision. In June, the board’s legal adviser and assistant state’s attorney, Joel Benoit, warned the board of potential legal action from Summit Ridge Energy. He said the petition for a 20-acre solar farm […]
Dilpreet Raju
Dilpreet Raju is a staff writer for Illinois Times and a Report for America corps member. He has a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from American University, a master's degree from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and was previously a reporting fellow at Capitol News Illinois.
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Residents sue Sangamon County, CyrusOne
Several Waverly residents who live approximately a mile or less from the site recently approved for the CyrusOne data center filed a lawsuit against Sangamon County and the Sangamon County Board July 6 seeking to overturn the county’s approval of the project. Chloe Russell, a Plainfield lawyer, filed the case that claims the county’s approved resolution from April […]
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Residents sue to stop Sangamon County data center
This is a developing story, check back for updates. Several Waverly residents who live approximately a mile or less from the site recently approved for the CyrusOne data center filed a lawsuit against Sangamon County and the Sangamon County Board July 6 seeking to overturn the county’s approval of the project. Chloe Russell, a Plainfield […]
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Sangamon County seeks more local control
The Sangamon County Zoning and Land Use Committee discussed ways to regain more local control over renewable energy projects, such as solar and wind farms, in light of a recent state law that restricts authority of municipal governments to veto such developments. At the June 18 meeting, lawyers gave the committee a laundry list of […]
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Show me the job losses
Across the nation, economists have expressed concerns about the reliability of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not because of political bias or thumbs on the scale, but rather a lack of manpower amongst the scaled-back federal agency tasked with fielding data about the country’s economic health. That concern stretches to Springfield, according to Ryan McCrady, […]
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Denial for Springfield solar project
The Sangamon County Board voted 15-8 to reject a proposed 20-acre solar farm adjacent to a residential subdivision on the west side of Springfield, even as the board’s lawyer warned Summit Ridge Energy, the petitioner, may be able to sue the board and get the solar panels installed anyway. Assistant state’s attorney Joel Benoit, who […]
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Downtown Springfield bill fails to come to fruition
In the waning hours of legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly got close, but failed to pass a bill that would create multiple government boards to promote redevelopment of downtown Springfield. Sangamon County Board Chair Andy Van Meter said he expects elected officials to keep working on the proposal. The Senate approved an amended House […]
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Springfield area sheds jobs
Despite no major business layoffs or closures, the Springfield area led the state in job losses year over year, according to Illinois Department of Employment Security non-farm employment data released early this month. Springfield lost 3,300 jobs from March of last year to this year, nearly two-fifths of all the jobs lost by the state […]
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Local cannabis businesses receive state funding
Four Sangamon and Logan County marijuana businesses received a total of nearly $2 million in direct forgivable loans last month from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity as part of the Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program. Two craft grow businesses received $750,000 each in forgivable loans – Lincoln Labs and Rt. 66 Rec. […]
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Sangamon County approves data center
Sangamon County Board members voted 17-10 to approve a $500 million data center project on April 7, just weeks after the board tabled the proposal following hours of constituents’ complaints. Once again, the meeting was moved to the BOS center with hundreds of residents turning out, many holding signs or speaking in opposition to the […]
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County Board could approve data center 15 days after tabling propsal
Pushback from citizens and threats of voting out board members might not prevent the Sangamon County Board from approving a $500 million data center that supporters argue would bring in construction jobs and substantial property tax revenue. The County Board will again have an opportunity to vote on the proposal April 7. It would first […]
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A battle for control
At the March 31 Springfield City Council meeting, several members expressed discontent with what they feel is a lack of sufficient city representation for a potential new government authority that would be responsible for managing the construction of a new downtown hotel and expanding the BOS Center. Earlier that day, a bipartisan group of elected […]