Joe McMenamin for Ward 7Retired 12 year alderman on Springfield City Council 2011-2023
Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register
Springfield aldermen on Tuesday approved a City Water, Light and Power electric rate restructuring that customers will see phased in on their bills over the next four years.
The restructuring aims to smooth out CWLP’s electric revenue throughout the year, making the city-owned utility less dependent on weather and usage and resulting in more even customer bills month-to-month, with fewer seasonal peaks and valleys.
Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register
City Water, Light and Power is closing in on a window of opportunity over the next month, giving the city-owned utility a shot to smooth out its perpetually rocky electric fund finances, a make-or-break moment that could bring about stability for the future.
Local officials are confident that if several initiatives fall into place between now and Thanksgiving, CWLP’s electric division finances can reverse directions and push toward prosperity.
Bruce Rushton
The Illinois Times
A City Water, Light and Power plan to restructure electrical rates is a recipe for wastefulness, critics say.
The utility has proposed raising fixed meter charges while lowering usage rates as a means of stabilizing finances that can swing significantly with the weather. Residential meter charges would zoom from $5.76 per month to $12.87 per month in 2019. Meanwhile, the cost of electricity would go down so that CWLP
Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register
Springfield aldermen on Tuesday had mixed reactions to a rate restructuring that increases the fixed charge on City Water, Light and Power bills while dropping energy usage rates.
The proposal, rolled out last week by Mayor Jim Langfelder and CWLP chief utility engineer Doug Brown, will be up for a vote at next Tuesday’s city council meeting, despite at least one alderman contending it needs more consideration.
Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register
The city of Springfield’s panhandling regulations are facing yet another legal challenge as an attorney for a pair of Springfield panhandlers filed a lawsuit objecting to a new “privacy zone” aldermen just approved Tuesday. The lawsuit challenging the newly established privacy zone, which bars panhandlers from stepping within 5 feet of someone whom they’re asking for money, was filed Wednesday
Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register
The Springfield City Council Tuesday held a public hearing on the proposed annexation of 48 acres that would become part of Ward 3, on the near east side. Originally on the agenda for final passage Tuesday, aldermen held off on taking action until the Oct. 6 meeting, to “err on the side of caution” and ensure all of the notices to affected property owners meet the minimum 10-day requirement, Corporation Counsel Jim Zerkle said.
Woodside Township Trustee Carroll Sutton urged aldermen to vote against the annexation
Tim Landis
The State Journal-Register
A state housing board is expected to decide next month whether to issue up to $15 million in bonds to aid redevelopment of the MacArthur Park Apartments in Springfield. The Illinois Housing Development Authority held a public hearing on the proposed project Thursday in Chicago but received no comments.
“The deal will be presented to the IDHA board meeting in October for review and approval,” board spokeswoman Cami Freeman wrote in an email Thursday. The meeting is scheduled for Oct. 16.
Kansas-based developer Cohen-Esrey Affordable Partners asked for board approval of the tax-exempt bonds toward the estimated $20 million cost of purchasing and updating the 184-unit complex at 2715 S. MacArthur Blvd. The company, which has developed affordable housing projects nationwide, has a contract to purchase the apartments from Granite City Investment Co., pending financing approval.
Cohen-Esrey executives have indicated that there would be extensive interior and exterior renovations of apartments, which for years had been the source of building code violations and criminal activity. Current owner Granite City Investment, based in the southwestern Illinois community of the same name, repaired hundreds of building code violations in 2014 under pressure from the city. City officials say police reports have also declined.
Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said the renovation project, which is in his ward, appears to be on track. “Everything is moving along,” he said. “(Cohen-Esrey has) asked us for guidance on the permitting process, and we’ve been helping them with that.”
McMenamin said he also has had questions about affordability for current residents once the apartments are updated. He pointed out that state rules require apartments remain affordable for low- and middle-income residents to qualify for tax-exempt bonds. “They must adhere to an affordable rate structure to get financing from IHDA,” he said.
Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register
Springfield city officials have resurrected their debate about the need for an inspector general to investigate alleged wrongdoing in city government and how much to pay for the watchdog role.
The previous city council voted last year to create an inspector general to oversee and investigate city departments, and then contracted for $79,000 with Chicago-based firm Hillard Heintze LLC to serve as the city’s interim inspector general.
Bernard Schoenburg
The State Journal-Register
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President McMenamin
Springfield Ward 7 Ald. JOE McMENAMIN has been elected president of the Illinois Government Bar Association for a one-year term. He was the organization’s founding treasurer in 1987 and was vice president for two terms, from 2013 to this year.
He replaced MICHAEL DELCOMYN, senior counsel at the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, who remains an ex-officio member of the group’s board.
McMenamin said his work in the past for four state agencies lets him know firsthand “the valuable role the GBA performs in creating a forum for public sector attorneys to share their professional concerns and issues with other government attorneys.”
McMenamin spends most of his time on city council business but still has a private law practice. He retired in early 2012 after 30 years with the Illinois Army National Guard.
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Tim Landis
The State Journal-Register
A Kansas firm that specializes in housing for low- and middle-income residents has reached agreement to purchase the MacArthur Park Apartments in Springfield. Cohen-Esrey Affordable Partners plans to invest $20 million in renovations to the 184-unit complex at 2715 S. MacArthur Blvd., pending completion of the sale and approval of state and federal tax incentives for the project.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 