Author: joeward7

Bruce Rushton
The State Journal-Register

A representative from a gunshot-detection company is scheduling meetings with Springfield aldermen about the effectiveness of technology designed to alert police when shots are fired.

The meetings come midway through a three-year contract reached in 2020, when Springfield aldermen agreed to pay about $644,000 to ShotSpotter, a California-based company, to install gunshot detection equipment covering 4.25 square miles in the city. While Mayor Jim Langfelder and police are ShotSpotter fans, the city council is divided.

ShotSpotter has contracts in more than 100 municipalities, but

Riley Eubanks
The State Journal-Register

Amid intersecting interests from local townships, businesses and schools and city and state government officials, all parties involved were able to come to a last-minute agreement regarding the renewal of Enos Park’s tax increment finance district.

Now, state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, wants to codify parts of that agreement to apply to TIF districts statewide. She said Tuesday she’s planning to introduce legislation that would outline additional rules and reporting procedures for TIF districts, which are funding mechanisms utilized by cities to fund redevelopment projects, based on the Enos Park agreement

Riley Eubanks
The State Journal-Register

There’s a possibility new liquor licenses could be issued allowing Springfield bars to stay open until 3 a.m. But don’t expect it to happen anytime soon, according to the mayor.

Springfield City Council Tuesday voted 5-4 against a proposed amendment that would have prevented the city from issuing any new liquor licenses allowing bars to stay open past a 1 a.m. closing time. The amendment would have codified an existing moratorium by Mayor Jim Langfelder, who doubles as the city’s liquor commissioner.

There hasn’t been a new liquor license allowing a bar to stay open until 3 a.m. since The Wet Bar was given one in October 2015 and Langfelder has had a self-imposed mortarium on issuing such licenses since 2018 when that bar’s license was

Maria Gardner
The Illinois Times

Visit Springfield Fire Department Station #1 on East Capitol Avenue and you will see the firefighters’ pole near the garage entrance. It’s partially enclosed by a metal railing – as if it were a shrine to the profession. The city’s 206 firefighters now take the stairs to respond to fires or, increasingly, to attend to medical emergencies.

During its Sept. 21 meeting, the city council approved a measure for St. Louis-based Archimages Inc. to design up to three new fire stations. The contract with the architecture firm is slated to cost up to $750,000. Springfield fire chief Brandon Blough said during a council meeting that it’s possible at least two of the fire stations could be completed by the end of 2022. Locations have not been finalized for the sites.

Firefighters in 2020 responded to 592 fires, including 212 fires at residences. Medical emergencies gained far more attention from the fire department, with 11,023 cases attended to in 2020, according to

Kenneth Lowe
The Illinois Times

All Springfield hotels will see a 1% tax increase under a number of ordinances passed by the Springfield city council last week and effective immediately. As a result, the sports complex planned for the land near Scheels along South MacArthur Boulevard will benefit from an estimated $30 million to $35 million in tax rebates.

The council approved ordinances increasing the city’s hotel and motel tax to 8% from 7%, as well as a 2% hotel tax rebate for the planned Legacy Pointe Sports Complex, along with sales and property tax rebates. The sales and property tax rebates will apply to the complex itself, while the 2% tax rebate will be drawn from all Springfield hotel tax revenue. All told, tax abatement

Riley Eubanks
The State Journal-Register

Fresh off her swearing-in ceremony, Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Purchase voted to conditionally raise taxes in a group of ordinances passed by Springfield City Council.

The council at its meeting Tuesday was unanimous in voting for Purchase to become an alderwoman, filling a seat that was vacant for a couple of weeks. However, the council was once again divided in passing ordinances that provide conditional property, sales and hotel-motel tax rebates for Virginia-based Legacy Park Sports LLC, which plans to built a multimillion-dollar sports complex in the city.

An omnibus vote on those three tax rebate ordinances and an ordinance that

Riley Eubanks
The State Journal-Register

Springfield Police Chief Kenny Winslow will not leave the city for Bloomington’s top post.

After Winslow was announced as one of two finalists for the position, Bloomington opted not to hire Winslow and instead will hire Illinois State Police Col. Jamal Simington, who already lives in Bloomington but works in Springfield, to head its police department, it was announced Wednesday.

Winslow, for the immediate future, will remain with the Springfield Police Department,

Riley Eubanks
The State Journal-Register

Another grocery delivery service will soon launch in Springfield.

Gopuff will launch in Springfield in the near future, according to a lawyer representing the company. The operation will be based on MacArthur Boulevard and add another grocery delivery option for residents.

”They’re really eager to get started,” said Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin. Gopuff will be based in McMenamin’s ward.

”It’s real good to see them occupy what was an empty space in that building

Riley Eubanks
The State Journal-Register

Ward 5 residents will likely find out who their new representative is on the Springfield City Council on Sept. 7.

Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder is set to interview candidates for the role in the coming weeks. He said he intends to introduce his nomination for council approval at its next meeting, the first Tuesday of September. The replacement is prompted by Ward 5 Ald. Andrew Proctor‘s impending resignation, effective Wednesday.

Langfelder said he will introduce his nomination on emergency passage, allowing the process to be finalized that same day. Unlike earlier in the year when he nominated current Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams for his position, Langfelder said

Riley Eubanks
The State Journal-Register

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Following the ceremony, council formally convened and approved the following ordinances, among others:

• The purchase of five traffic control cameras totaling at most $127,000 from the lowest bidder. Those cameras are designed to help administer the changing of traffic lights and aren’t designed to check speed or enforce other ordinances.
• An allocation of $35,765 toward Springfield-based Melotte, Morse, Leonatti, Parker Ltd. to design a one-stop design for administrative services in Municipal Center West.
• An amendment to the city’s ordinance on paid sick live to pay out one-half of all sick time accumulated beginning November 1988, except for employees hired after July 2014. This brings the city up to code and amends a technicality that budget director Bill McCarty said affected virtually no one.