Editor’s note

At Monday night’s Citizens Club meeting to ponder Sangamon County’s low ranking in health indicators – 80th among 102 counties in Illinois – a new guard seems ready to move in where the old guard has stopped advancing. After Jim Stone, the county public health director, proudly reported he had already started a pilot project with the two hospitals about the low health rankings, an audience member said he needs to widen the circle and bring in a lot more players. Stone said he will. Groups like genH Kids and the Springfi eld Coalition on Dismantling Racism are already hard at work getting Springfi eld healthier, and need a place at the discussion table. On the subject of building a healthier community, there’s a lot of energy waiting to be tapped. Meanwhile, for “baseline data,” see Chris Britt’s take on the subject, page 4. –Fletcher Farrar, editor and publisher

Cover photo is by Patrick Yeagle.