Author: joeward7

Tim Landis
The State Journal-Register

MacArthur Boulevard alternatives in a state transportation study to be released next week range from basic repaving to roadway expansion plans that would affect up to 156 parcels of land along the busy thoroughfare.

The Illinois Department of Transportation has scheduled a public meeting for Thursday on six alternatives — ranging in cost from $1.1 million to $16.5 million — resulting from a two-year study of boulevard traffic patterns, safety issues and beautification between South Grand Avenue and Wabash Avenue. A group of city officials, including Mayor Jim Langfelder and Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

The Springfield City Council on Tuesday approved a contract with Arch Coal and held off on extending a redevelopment agreement with the Salvation Army for tax increment financing funds.

Aldermen voted 7-3 for a contract to purchase coal for a lower price, $35.90 per ton through 2020. City Water, Light and Power buys a substantial amount of the coal produced at the Viper Mine near Elkhart, which Arch owns

Joe McMenamin
The State Journal-Register

I voted no to the Springfield city budget appropriation again last week — the fifth time in five years on the Council. I voted no because the proposed budget, like previous ones, is unbalanced. It continues 20 years of escalating pension debt.

In effect, each year’s budget finances a portion of current operations by “borrowing” from pensions — by not paying into the pension funds as much as is being obligated to future retirees. We finance annual pay raises and continue benefits for our employees by deferring pension obligations to the future. This is exactly what the State of Illinois did for so long. It is wrong and

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

A pair of Springfield aldermen want to impose a local motor fuel tax that could funnel more than $1 million per year into a city infrastructure fund. Ward 4 Ald. John Fulgenzi and Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin asked the city’s legal staff this week to draft an ordinance that would levy a 2-cents-per-gallon tax on gasoline purchases in the city of Springfield.

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

The Springfield City Council on Tuesday carved away almost $7 million in proposed spending from City Water, Light and Power, then passed a nearly $600 million city budget that funds inspector general services. The city-owned utility’s budget proposal from Mayor Jim Langfelder’s administration saw the most drastic changes in the finalized spending plan aldermen passed at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

City Water, Light and Power and Springfield’s recruiting efforts for minority police officers were the main concerns voiced Tuesday at a public hearing about the city’s proposed $602 million budget for the fiscal year that begins March 1.

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

A vacant restaurant building along South MacArthur Boulevard was demolished Thursday to make room for a new eatery, one in a series of planned redevelopments along the bustling corridor. Developer Corky Joyner purchased the property at 1710 S. MacArthur, which will become the second local location for Pie’s the Limit, a “fast-casual” pizza restaurant.

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

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Pay increases

Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin at Wednesday’s budget session raised concerns about 1.7 percent raises given to the majority of nonunion city workers in November, something he said he just heard about this week.

McMenamin contended that giving raises to hundreds of city workers is the type of spending decision that should be communicated to aldermen beforehand. He pointed to an ordinance the city council unanimously approved in March requiring mayors to file any executive orders they issue with the city clerk’s office, an effort aimed at increasing transparency.

Bruce Rushton
The Illinois Times

The Springfield City Council has approved a resolution aimed at convincing the state to pay delinquent utility bills. But city officials say it’s unlikely that the city will shut off service to state facilities. “At this point, I don’t see it happening,” said Mayor Jim Langfelder after Tuesday’s council vote.

The state is City Water, Light and Power’s largest customer, and there’s no end in sight to a budget impasse that is preventing the state from paying utility bills that are piling up at the rate of