Author: joeward7

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

Springfield aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday to ask a firefighter board to use tax money it controls to pay for half the cost of technology that would give city firefighters more green traffic lights as they drive on busy Veterans Parkway. The other half of the $105,000 cost for devices that would be installed in four fire rigs and on some intersections along Veterans would come from the city’s coffers.

Fire Chief Barry Helmerichs requested the new equipment so firefighters responding to emergencies could bypass traffic congestion on Veterans and get to their destinations

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

Gene Beenenga, 76, has watched the evolution of the boundaries on the west side of Springfield for more than 45 years. He remembers when Iles Avenue, the road that leads to his house, was gravel. As the years have gone by, more subdivisions and more people have moved into the area, and Hope Church and the Kerasotes YMCA continue to bring in drivers from all over Springfield.

But the roads haven’t kept up, he added. Driving down Lenhart Road, a north-south route that runs along Centennial Park, cars slant toward adjacent ditches, jumping up over patches.

“My brother from Bloomington drove on Lenhart and he told me

Illinois Times
Bruce Rushton

Nyree Morris says that she has no problems with her landlord in Poplar Place, where she’s lived since January, but she is nonetheless moving. Repairs and maintenance, Morris says, aren’t a problem, but she doesn’t like wood floors. There is also, she says, the issue of a recent shooting a few doors down from her duplex.

But Springfield city officials say there are a lot more issues than shootings and wood floors at Poplar Place, an east side housing development with a history of crime and code violations.

Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner and Mayor Jim Langfelder have proposed spending more than $1 million in city money to repair crumbling streets in the development, even though the city says that the streets are privately owned and so maintenance should be the responsibility of

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

With firefighter response times in southwest Springfield almost twice as much the city’s average, the fire chief asked aldermen Tuesday for money to buy a system that would coordinate traffic signals with emergency vehicles and reduce congestion.

Outfitting four fire vehicles and a few intersections along the Veterans Parkway corridor with the emergency vehicle pre-emption system would cost about $105,000, according to Fire Chief Barry Helmerichs. Helmerichs said that only 1.2 percent of the city’s calls come from

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

With the hopes of solidifying Springfield’s reputation as leaders in canine policing, the Springfield City Council voted Tuesday to accept a bid to build a new no-frills police dog training facility. The 9-1 vote authorized no more than $460,000 be spent on the facility at 3501 Color Plant Road.

Police Chief Kenny Winslow said that though the new building will be a “square slab,” the bid was the lowest that the city could get. The building will be used not only to train and house the city’s seven canine units but also

Tracy Owens
The State Journal-Register

I’m deeply disappointed the Springfield City Council voted Oct. 24 to table Resolution 2017-489, which would have designated Springfield as a Welcoming City.

Kudos to aldermen Kristin DiCenso, Joe McMenamin and Jim Donelan for having the wisdom, compassion and foresight to vote for the resolution. Shame on the rest of the council, who couldn’t see

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

After the Springfield police officers’ union announced Monday a vote of no confidence in Police Chief Kenny Winslow’s ability to lead, lines of communication were opened Wednesday. Winslow reached out to the union’s president, Sgt. Grant Barksdale, Wednesday to set up a meeting next week to hash out the union’s concerns. Barksdale said the union board will attend.

The vote was sparked by low morale among officers and the belief their grievances regarding inconsistent scheduling and staffing were falling on “deaf ears,” Barkdsale said. Winslow tried to meet with the union board two days before the vote, but

State Journal-Register
Jason Nevel

A large crowd in support of a resolution to designate Springfield as a “welcoming city” left the Springfield City Council chamber dejected Tuesday after seven aldermen voted to table the measure.

The resolution now has an uncertain path forward, as Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin pointed out Tuesday it will take a super majority vote for it to resurface.

McMenamin was one of three aldermen who cast votes against

NewsTalk 94.7 & 970 WMAY
Ray Lytle

A Springfield alderman is criticizing some of his colleagues for having too cozy a relationship with labor unions.

The Illinois Times first reported on a recent social gathering in which seven of the city’s 10 aldermen were invited and received campaign donations from labor and a developer totaling up to $5,000 for a couple of them.

Ward 7’s Joe McMenamin wasn’t invited and says that kind of money is an attempt to buy influence.

WMAY