Author: joeward7

The positive news that came out of Monday’s Public Utilities Committee meeting was overshadowed by the unbecoming behavior of some of Springfield’s aldermen.

What should have been the message was that City Water, Light and Power was proactively seeking to engage the community about the city’s energy future.

The utilities committee was started as a way for aldermen and the public to ask questions of CWLP on a quarterly basis in order to become more informed. Given how important CWLP is to Springfield, having a meeting where the utility is the sole focus of discussion is wise. And to address complaints that arose after the first such meeting in March, the city this time gave more advance notice of the meeting and its agenda, and set aside more time for public comments.

Starting the committee this year was smart timing too: In about six months the city will receive an Integrated Resource Plan, which will look at what type of power generation will best provide the electricity needed to meet the community’s needs for the next 20 years. Aldermen will use the IRP to decide the best path forward. The city is asking for the public’s thoughts upfront, so they have a better chance of having meaningful input at the beginning of the process.

And yet those who left Monday’s meeting were not talking about all that good stuff. They were likely discussing how the 1 hour, 40 minute meeting ended: With accusations, shouting, a resident being told to “shut up” by an alderman and a request for a security guard. Just watch the last 10 minutes of the video of the meeting (available on the city’s YouTube channel), and the body language alone shows just how cringe-worthy the exchange was.

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

For the first 90 minutes of Monday’s Public Utilities Committee meeting, Springfield aldermen and the public gave feedback and asked questions relatively calmly of City Water, Light and Power officials about a 20-year action plan it had commissioned.

Then came the accusations, the shouting, the gavel banging and asking the deputy mayor to fetch a security guard.

It all started with comments about campaign contributions.

“We got to kind of deal with the fact that we have financial interests, special interests coming to bear on the city council,” Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said. “Let’s just talk about the coal mine. I think it was inexcusable for aldermen from my point of view — it’s legal — but I think it’s a really severe mistake for aldermen to take campaign contributions from a coal mine when we got that issue to deal with down the road. Or to take contributions that have a direct impact on … the special interests that want the city council to go a certain direction.”

“What about the Sierra Club?” Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso responded.

Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer straightened up in his seat.

“Yeah, Joe? You are part of the Sierra Club. How is that any different?” Hanauer said.

“That’s enough! That’s enough,” Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath, the committee’s chairman, said, while banging a gavel. “Anything else?”

McMenamin continued to speak, saying his wife, not him, was a Sierra Club member. Redpath called him out of order.

“I may be out of order but he just made a charge!” McMenamin said.

“If I’ve done anything wrong, Joe, then turn me in!” Hanauer said, pointing his finger at McMenamin. ”… I’m tired of you questioning my integrity!”

“I’m talking about the fact that lots of money moves around,” McMenamin said.

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

Mayor Jim Langfelder plans to bring forward a resolution that would put a question on the November ballot asking Springfield voters in an advisory referendum whether Capital Township should merge with the city of Springfield.

If approved by the Springfield City Council, the question would join another on the November ballot approved by the Capital Township board in May, asking voters if the township should merge with Sangamon County.

The township, which administers welfare and handles property tax assessments, is located wholly within the city of Springfield. However, under a state law unique to Sangamon County, the county treasurer is township supervisor and collector, while the county clerk is the township’s assessor and clerk.

Langfelder sees combining the township with a city as a way to reduce duplicated services and save money, like when Evanston Township merged with the coterminous city of Evanston. According to The Chicago Tribune, the city found about $780,000 in savings once the township was dissolved.

The city of Springfield already does a lot of the same kinds of work as the township when it comes to general assistance, Langfelder said. For example, City Water, Light and Power provides energy payment assistance and the Office of Planning and Economic Development offers job training and housing assistance, while the Office of Community Relations could take on more duties when it came to welfare, he added.

“The real benefit of it is the possible reduction of property taxes,” Langfelder said.

Sangamon County Treasurer Tom Cavanagh, who doubles as the Capital Township supervisor of assessments, said the referendum question approved last month by the township board is to help gauge public opinion in hopes the findings would bolster state lawmakers to provide a mechanism for a township to merge with a county

“Unfortunately the legislation doesn’t accommodate that at this point because we are so narrowly situated,” Cavanagh said. “It’s outside the bounds of what’s normal.”

Cavanagh argued the township and the county was largely already merged. About 13 county employees also perform township duties and are paid with county and township tax dollars. Both share office space, as well as information and assessments systems.

The only substantial difference would that the tax levying authority would cede to the county from the township board. Also, five employees who administer welfare assistance and are paid solely through township tax dollars would become county employees.

Cavanagh said in his opinion, it would “make no sense for the township to merge with the city.

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

With Tuesday’s vote by Springfield aldermen, the “public” in public-private partnership of the Land of Lincoln Economic Development Economic Corporation is complete.

The Springfield City Council voted 9-1 Tuesday to give the regional effort to attract businesses to Springfield and Sangamon County $250,000. The Sangamon County Board approved its $500,000 agreement with the EDC in early April..

The city’s contract with the EDC emphasizes targeted industry attraction, publicly available information and minority representation and participation, as per Mayor Jim Langfelder’s request.

Originally resistant to spending the money, Langfelder called the EDC a way to “tear down the silos” and for different stakeholders to work in unison.

“The EDC is more an outreach, a more of a broader approach with national, global proportions,” Langfelder said, adding the city would still focus on retaining businesses.

Aldermen hoped the EDC will help diversify the city’s jobs and stop the outmigration, especially of young people who leave Springfield for college and don’t return. Springfield has fewer residents now than in 2010.

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

The Springfield City Council voted 8-1 Tuesday to cancel a more than $1.1 million tax-increment financing grant and an $800,000 TIF loan to redevelop historic buildings on the corner of Sixth and Monroe streets.

Bright New Day Investments, led by Rick Lawrence, has worked to convert the vacant Ferguson, Booth and Bateman-Kennedy buildings into apartments and office space since he bought the property in 2012. To date, $3.8 million in TIF funds were committed to the project, though most of it has not been paid out to Lawrence.

Everyone in the city council chamber was frustrated Tuesday — Lawrence with obstacles in financing, aldermen with Lawrence, union leaders with a lack of payment and rules broken, downtown business owners with the idea that a vacant building downtown would continue to remain vacant.

Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer sponsored an ordinance that would withdraw the city’s TIF offer after Lawrence didn’t meet a Feb. 28 deadline to close on the other two financing mechanisms of the project: new market and historic tax credits, as well as a bank lender.

“This isn’t personal,” Hanauer said. “It’s business.”

Fletcher Farrar
Illinois Times

One good thing about the political divide in Springfield is that it keeps a lot of bad things from happening, bad things like casino gambling expansion. The proposal died in committee in the closing days of the General Assembly, but not before local officials got to think about having a casino in Springfield, proposed by developer Chris Stone. Several city council members polled on the matter by the State Journal-Register said they worry about whether it would have a negative effect on video gaming terminals, Springfield’s biggest new business. Only one alderman said gambling is a bad way to raise revenue. “Casino gambling and video gambling is premised on the strong taking advantage of the weak,” said Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin. “It’s bad public policy to promote broad-based gambling. I think it basically encourages people to waste their time in pursuit of gain that goes to the owner of the gambling enterprises.” Way to go, Joe, for standing amid muddle to make a rare and clear statement of conscience.

Illinois Times

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

A Springfield lobbyist and developer is once again promoting the idea of a casino for downtown Springfield coupled with video gaming positions that would be permanently located at the state fairgrounds. But while a House subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing on a massive gambling expansion bill on Monday, Springfield won’t be part of the mix. A new gambling expansion proposal filed in the House Friday afternoon called for six new casinos in the state, but not in Springfield.

Much of the new plan mirrors legislation that was passed by the Senate last year, but never came to a vote in the House. It puts new casinos in Chicago, the south Chicago suburbs, Rockford, Danville, Lake County and Williamson County in far southern Illinois.

“The House decided at this time not to include any more casinos beyond the original Senate version,” said Ryan Keith, a spokesman for Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island. Rita is the House sponsor of the gambling expansion bill. He is also chairman of the Gaming Subcommittee of the House Executive Committee, which will hold the hearing Monday.

During an appearance with The State Journal-Register editorial board last week, Chris Stone acknowledged that next year might be more promising for gambling expansion.

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

After haggling over a contract, the city of Springfield is one step closer to becoming a full-fledged member of the countywide economic development corporation. The contract, which aldermen will discuss and possibly vote on at their next city council meeting on June 5, lays out the city’s expectations for the Land of Lincoln Economic Development Corporation in exchange for $250,000 from city coffers. It is the last significant piece of funding the EDC needed; Sangamon County approved its $500,000 agreement with the EDC in early April.

Much of the city’s agreement contains the same language as that of the county’s, according to the EDC’s sole employee, Josh Collins.

Areas of concern emphasized by Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder included making sure information was available to the public, having minority representation and participation and putting an emphasis on targeted industry attraction, according to Collins.

Bernard Schoenburg
The State Journal-Register

When Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder won the nonpartisan primary in March 2015, paving the way to winning his first term the next month, he used his victory speech to single out Brad Schaive, business manager of Laborers Local 477, and his group for their help.

“Thank you, Laborers,” Langfelder said at the time.

Spring 2019 will mark Langfelder’s try for a second term — he said months ago he will be running again — but as speculation grows about possible challenges, Schaive is among those taking a wait-and-see attitude.

“I would say that at this time … there would be no endorsement of anyone until we see who all the candidates are,” Schaive said.

Several names have been mentioned in political circles as possible candidates, but there have been no announcements, and some of those named claim no plans to run.

Schaive said that among issues he has had with Langfelder is the mayor’s choice of a proposal backed by Gov. Bruce Rauner to build a park in the downtown area known as the Y block — property north of the Governor’s Mansion that included the now-demolished YWCA. The city council has yet to give that choice the go-ahead.

Schaive said instead of a park, there could have been $30 million to $40 million in construction work on the site, via alternative proposals.

In response to Schaive’s criticism of the Y-block choice, Langfelder said the “magic question” is where to find the resources.

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

With Springfield heading into the summer tourism season, the fate of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau director is still uncertain.

Citing a immediate need for leadership in the department, Mayor Jim Langfelder appointed Benedictine University’s Springfield campus director, Janet Kirby, as acting director starting mid-June, a year-long appointment that doesn’t require Springfield City Council approval.

An attempt to prevent Kirby — who aldermen say lacks the necessary tourism experience — from filling the job failed during Tuesday night’s council meeting, but aldermen will have another chance at