Author: joeward7

Bernard Schoenburg
The State Journal-Register

Joe Davis, the Springfield City Council coordinator who has worked with aldermen since the position was established in 1993, said Monday he plans to retire as of Jan. 26. Davis told The State Journal-Register that he recently notified members of the council of his intentions, and did so early because he wants to give them adequate time to find a replacement.

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Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said Davis has been a “solid” coordinator.

Tim Landis
The State Journal-Register

The latest plan for redevelopment of the old Esquire Theatre property in Springfield stalled before it started. Springfield developer Chris Stone said Tuesday he has pulled plans for a retail strip center on the property at MacArthur Boulevard and South Grand Avenue after he was presented with a much more ambitious — and costly — proposal that added townhouse apartments, assisted-living facilities for seniors and a seven-story office tower.

Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, whose ward includes the Esquire

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

The Springfield City Council overwhelmingly passed two ordinances Wednesday that some city administrators have come out against. With no debate, the council unanimously passed an ordinance directing city police to begin chronic nuisance proceedings against the troubled Bel-Aire Motel. Aldermen spent more time discussing an ordinance to devote extra revenue from City Water, Light and Power to the city’s underfunded police and firefighter pension plans,

In the classic 1980s arcade game Frogger, players were challenged to use a joystick to navigate a frog across a busy multi-lane street filled with cars, trucks and other vehicles traveling both directions at varying speeds. Hop by hop, players had a limited amount of time to get their frog to safety on the other side of the street. Frogs that rested too long in a lane experienced a vintage electronic version of a splat and had to start over.

A dangerous, real-life variation on Frogger takes place in Springfield every day at MacArthur and Williams boulevards at the entrance to Washington Park. And instead of ignoring the problem, city and park district officials are working together to find a solution.

Those who travel this stretch of MacArthur

Tobias Wall
The State Journal-Register

The Springfield City Council Committee of the Whole on Tuesday advanced a plan on how to use more than $2.1 million of payment-in-lieu-of-taxes funds City Water, Light and Power realized at the end of the last fiscal year. Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, Steve Dove (Ward 9) and Tim Griffin (Ward 10) proposed splitting the excess funds between the city’s police and fire pension funds, which have a total unfunded liability of about $230 million.

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

Three Springfield aldermen are sponsoring an ordinance that would see excess payment-in-lieu-of-taxes revenue the city receives devoted to paying down unfunded liabilities on police and fire pension funds. The ordinance would devote roughly $2 million in excess PILOT revenue from City Water, Light and Power to spending down the city’s hundreds of millions of dollars in unfunded liabilities for its police and fire pension funds.

The city budget projected about $7 million in PILOT monies would come in last fiscal year, when roughly $9 million is now sitting in city coffers from the revenue source. The money is currently in the corporate fund as part of the city’s unappropriated fund balance, Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

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Bruce Rushton
The Illinois Times

The city of Springfield has prevailed in a lawsuit brought by Calvin Christian, who had claimed that the city’s towing-fee ordinance was unconstitutional.

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At the time, the city charged motorists arrested for certain offenses a towing fee of $500, which was lowered last year to $250. The fee was on top of charges levied by towing companies for impounding and storage services.

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

At least three Springfield aldermen oppose a proposal to change city code to allow the city to use the joint purchasing agency that was used to procure the controversial NAPA Auto Parts contract because of concerns it will leave local businesses out of the bidding process. The city council is poised to vote next week on an ordinance that would in the future remove the abundance of questions that surrounded the city’s use of a Minnesota state agency to procure a contract with NAPA Auto Parts

Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register

Springfield Mayor Mike Houston has proposed an ordinance that would amend city code to allow the city to procure property, supplies and services through the National Joint Powers Alliance, which was used in a controversial contract with NAPA Auto Parts.

More than a month after the city council approved a $3.75 million contract with NAPA