Author: joeward7

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

After hearing complaints from Springfield residents, aldermen are voicing concern over the quality of the services provided by the three private waste-hauling companies regulated by city government, especially after the haulers recently raised rates to the city-approved maximum.

Springfield City Council members say complaints include yard waste bags not being picked up, haulers starting before 6 a.m., overflowing garbage and a need for haulers to provide consistent reports on fly dumping, as promised. Mayor Jim Langfelder said he would have a meeting with waste haulers next week to review the council’s concerns.

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

The city of Springfield’s decision earlier this year to raise local sales and telecommunication taxes will begin to hit shoppers and residents on Sunday. In almost all areas of the capital city, shoppers will see the total sales tax rate go from 8.5 percent to 8.75 percent, with city government’s new share being 2.5 percent.

The total telecommunication tax rate increases from 11 percent to 13 percent. The city gets 6 percent, while the state takes 7 percent.

“What it means is if they go out and spend $100 on an item or going out to dinner, they will pay an additional 25 cents,” budget director Bill McCarty said of the sales tax increase.

Telecommunication excise taxes apply to bills for cellular and landline telephones, though not for cellular data packages or internet-based telephone communications.

Springfield’s new sales and telecommunication tax rates will reflect the same rates as similar-sized central Illinois towns like Bloomington and Normal. Decatur, Champaign and Peoria all have a 9 percent sales tax rate. All of those communities already take the maximum amount of telecommunication tax allowed under state law, which is 13 percent.

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

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Though Lincoln Library has always been a favorite destination of the city’s homeless, the number of people sleeping outside of the library has increased visibly since May, according to anecdotal evidence by Springfield aldermen, as well as library and city officials.

The library is trying to address the needs of the homeless population by having weekly counseling sessions through Memorial Behavioral Health, as well as working with area shelter providers and Springfield police.

Aldermen, however, are frustrated with the discomfort caused to library patrons and what seems like a lack of progress toward a solution. Some are worried that public urination and defecation could affect downtown business in the height of tourist season.

The city hopes to meet with stakeholders and shelter providers to work toward a solution, Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder said.

The State Journal-Register

It is easier to ignore unpleasant topics. Why bring up something that could make tempers flare among a group of people who already are experiencing increased tensions?

Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner therefore deserves credit for addressing the tensions that have been percolating at Springfield City Council meetings and unfortunately boiled over June 11 during an embarrassing display by several aldermen during a utilities committee meeting.

Turner told The State Journal-Register she started looking at city code after that otherwise productive meeting ended with Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin and Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer trading jabs about perceived influence even after being gaveled out of order by Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath. As committee chairman, Redpath requested a security guard — and also told a community member who spoke out of turn to shut up.

No one wants to see that lack of decorum by our elected officials again. A regular observer of Springfield City Council meetings would note

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

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Apology

After a heated exchange at June 11 utilities committee meeting, Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin offered an apology Tuesday to the city council and the public for “speaking out of turn and so forth.”

McMenamin was repeatedly gaveled down by the utilities committee chairman, Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath, who did not recognize him to speak. The exchange came after McMenamin brought up campaign contributions to aldermen from a coal company, and then Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer accused McMenamin of being a member of the Sierra Club (he’s not). In an interview, Hanauer had said he was sorry for his “explosion.”

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

At the request of an alderman, the city is researching rules that would address disorderly conduct among aldermen and could ultimately allow two-thirds of aldermen to expel one of their own from a meeting.

A part of the municipal code already states that “The city council shall determine its own rules of proceeding and punish its members for disorderly conduct.” It also says that, “With the concurrence of two-thirds of the aldermen elected, it may expel an alderman, but not a second time for the same offense.”

The language is derived from the Illinois municipal code found within state statutes.

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Like most legislative bodies, Springfield aldermen use Robert’s Rules of Order for parliamentary procedure, which gives the chair

Bruce Rushton
The Illinois Times

With the corporate parent of Bergner’s declaring bankruptcy and Sears struggling, two of the city’s oldest and largest department stores, both in White Oaks Mall, are shutting down. But the death of the department store – or the mall itself – can be much exaggerated.

“From a 30,000-foot perspective, I know, for people in Springfield, it looks a little bit scary to lose two large anchors like that,” Clay Emerich, White Oaks manager, told the Springfield City Council last week during what might best be described as a state-of-the-mall presentation.

Sears and Bergner’s together hold down 125,000 square feet of retail space on some of the most lucrative land in a city that balances its books on sales taxes. Sales taxes paid by businesses aren’t matters of public record, but even before a nickel in sales tax is generated, Bergner’s, which owns its store, pays more than $75,000 a year in property taxes; Sears, which owns both retail space and adjacent parking areas, pays more than $180,000 on nearly 14 acres, according to Sangamon County property records.

It is space that Indiana-based Simon Properties, owner of White Oaks, perhaps naturally, covets, given that Bergner’s and Sears are co-joined to the mall. “From conversations I’ve had with executives at Simon, they’re being very, very aggressive right now in acquiring that space,” Emerich told the council. “The bottom line is, we’re very, very excited to have the opportunity to have both those spaces back. … I can’t stress it enough: Losing those two anchors, really, is a wonderful, wonderful thing for us.”

Cymphanie Sherman
WICS NewsChannel 20

A new task force is working to reduce coyote sightings in the city. On Tuesday, Springfield City Council created the group.

Three aldermen volunteered to participate in the task force and will partner up with Sangamon County Department of Public Health to establish an ordinance.

“We have government so we can all work at problems and we don’t want to have individuals individually try to take care of these problems that are bigger than any single homeowner,” said Alderman Joe McMenamin, with for Ward 7 in Springfield.

This comes after several coyote run ins, just this year.

According to research, coyotes are very skittish.

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

Though Springfield aldermen voiced concerns about animal control, they unanimously approved a roughly $262,000 contract to have Sangamon County continue to provide services.

The city has contracted with the county for animal control services since 2000 in effort to cut down on costs. The cost to the city of Springfield, and each municipality within Sangamon County, is based on the actual number of calls for service and animals impounded during the previous year. In 2017, animal control took in 2,470 animals from the city of Springfield and responded to 3,773 calls, while in 2016, it took in 2,769 animals and responded to 3,670 calls, according to Sangamon County Department of Public Health. Animal control falls under the purview of the county health department.

The cost to the city this year was about $25,000 less than last year, and about $91,000 less than the year before that, according to Jim Stone, the county’s public health director.

During several city council meetings, aldermen have spoken of constituent complaints about the animal control division.

Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso said she’s had several conversations with the operations manager about constituents who have said they have not been able to get after-hour or weekend help from animal control. DiCenso has said that she would like for a nonprofit that’s already operating in the city, Wild Canine Rescue, to take over calls from the county.

“It’s tough for me to look at these numbers and say it’s OK for me to pay the Department of Public Health this amount of money when I feel like their after-hours and weekends are under-serviced,” DiCenso said.

Stone said animal control has workers on-call who respond between 6:30 p.m. and 8 a.m. in emergency situations.

“As far as services expanding, that is something at some point in time we can discuss with the city – that’s your call,” Stone said. “But if we expand, I’m sure there is going to be an additional cost associated with that.”

Several aldermen also expressed concerns that they and their constituents were seeing more coyotes in places they never used to be, especially in the urban core.

“Our contract with animal control does not address that problem of coyotes, but I think we need to,” Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said. “It’s a growing urban problem.”