Author: joeward7

Brenden Moore
The State Journal-Register

A resolution that would have affirmed Springfield as a “welcoming city” was withdrawn Tuesday evening after languishing in the city council’s Committee of the Whole for nearly two years.

Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso, requested the withdrawal, acknowledging there were not enough votes to spring the resolution out of committee.

The non-binding resolution — which would have affirmed Springfield as a “welcoming city” to immigrants and refugees —

Brenden Moore
The State Journal-Register

The Springfield City Council voted 7-3 Tuesday to approve a $30,000 subsidy for the Lincoln Land Charity Championship, which was held last week at Panther Creek Country Club.

According to the ordinance, the funds would be used to pay for regional and local marketing, as well as promotion of the event.

Council members voted in committee last week to slash the subsidy to $15,000, which was recommended by the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau advisory committee, but had

Brenden Moore
The State Journal-Register

When Dollar General district manager Dennis Helbig came before the Springfield City Council to answer for the heaps of trash and unkempt landscaping that have plagued several of the chain’s Springfield properties, he acknowledged that promises made have not been promises kept.

Helbig promised the chain was “going to rectify the situation” and try to be better neighbors as it prepares to open its 14th Springfield-area location later this summer at the northwest corner of 11th and Ash streets.

But for some members of the city council,

Brenden Moore
The State Journal-Register

Yard waste across vast swaths of Springfield has not been picked up in a timely or reliable matter, a Republic Services representative acknowledged before the Springfield City Council Tuesday evening.

“We understand your frustration. We take full responsibility. We underestimated some of the yard waste clippings that have generated this spring, and we’ve placed plans to get things back on track,” said Dan Winters, regional general manager for Republic.

Winters was asked to explain the current situation after several council members have fielded multiple calls from residents whose yard waste has not been picked up.

Republic was awarded

Brenden Moore
The State Journal-Register

Dollar General’s plans to open a new store in Springfield have hit a snag as the Springfield City Council moved Tuesday night to reconsider a previously approved zoning change amid complaints the discount chain is a “bad neighbor.”

The move comes after the council voted last month to follow the recommendations of city staff and the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission and approve Dollar General’s request to change the site, 1057 E. Ash St., from an I-2 (Heavy Industrial District) to a B-1 (Highway Business Service District) zoning designation.

Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin was among the seven who voted to approve the zoning change two weeks ago, thus giving him the right to request a motion to reconsider.

“We’ve heard Dollar General in the past come to us — two years ago and four years ago — (and) make all kinds of promises that

Brenden Moore
The State Journal-Register

A major redevelopment slated for MacArthur Boulevard near Laurel Street has been placed on ice.

At Tuesday’s Springfield City Council meeting, Ward 7 Ald. JOE MCMENAMIN informed his colleagues that plans to build a 9,000 square-foot strip mall and a 2,352 square-foot standalone building for a restaurant are a no-go for now.

The development would have replaced several buildings that currently hug MacArthur along that stretch, including one that houses a Family Video and Metropcs, one formerly occupied by

Brenden Moore
The State Journal-Register

If four years ago represented a changing of the guard in Springfield city government, Wednesday was a continuation of the status quo as Mayor Jim Langfelder and other city elected officials — mostly incumbents — were sworn in to new terms.

Langfelder was sworn in for his second term along with incumbent City Clerk Frank Lesko and incumbent Treasurer Misty Buscher. Eight incumbent Springfield City Council members also were sworn in, along with

Bruce Rushton
The Illinois Times

The city of Springfield wants more information from developers of a proposed $56 million downtown hotel-apartment complex that would be built with $7.65 million in public money via tax increment financing.

The subsidy includes $450,000 that would be paid to buy land before construction begins on property where Club Station House now stands on Washington Street. During Tuesday’s committee-of-the-whole council meeting,

Bernard Schoenburg
The State Journal-Register

Springfield Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin is treasurer of a newly formed political fund that donated $800 to the recent election effort of Elizabeth Jones, who lost a race to Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso. And McMenamin’s wife, Lynn, also contributed $800 to Jones, recent campaign finance reports show.

McMenamin said the goal of the new, nonpartisan “Springfield Watchdog Group” is to “support local candidates who promote the general interest, independent of special interests.”

Jones survived an objection to her nominating petitions to stay on the