Author: joeward7

Riley Eubanks
The State Journal-Register

Springfield union workers made it clear they want a “fair” collective bargaining agreement during a public meeting Tuesday.

After months of stalled negotiations and in some cases more than a year without a contract, union workers from the Office of Public Works, City Water, Light and Power‘s water division and clerical workers from various citywide operations filled the council’s chambers during Tuesday’s Springfield Committee of the Whole meeting calling for a new contract.

“For over a year, we have been pushing the city to negotiate and they have slow walked us every step of the way,” said Gene Mitchell, staff representative for AFSCME Council 31, which represents the three unions of subject.

Riley Eubanks
The State Journal-Register

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A majority of the relatively quick city council meeting was spent discussing Springfield’s homeless population, many of whom are still living in tents despite beds reportedly being available at homeless shelters in the city.

Though Langfelder said he assumes responsibility for helping to craft long-term solutions, he was adamant that outreach organizations need to step up in the short term to ensure the safety of the community and its individuals experiencing homelessness.

It’s unclear whether or not Springfield can legally relocate those who are camped

Riley Eubanks
The State Journal-Register

Nearly two years after a funding plan was established, there’s still no definitive timetable for when portions of Chatham Road running through Leland Grove will be resurfaced.

That one-mile stretch of road, which was supposed to be overlaid in 2020 and requires regular patchwork, won’t be touched by contractors until Leland Grove is awarded grants for the project or it agrees to accept a short-term loan from Springfield to front the cost.

Leland Grove Mayor Mary Jo Bangert wrote in a newsletter to her constituents this month that the city is still waiting on grants that would fund most of the roughly $1 million cost to resurface those portions of the road in the city, which runs from its intersection with Barberry Drive to

Steven Spearie
The State Journal-Register

After a year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Springfield announced Monday a full slate of ward planning meetings that will begin with Wards 9 and 10 meeting jointly June 2.

An outside facilitator will lead each discussion to gather information from attendees about neighborhoods and city needs from residents’ perspectives.

The discussions will be used to gather feedback on projects for each

Steven Spearie
The State Journal-Register

Legacy Pointe Development Company managing partner Steve Luker said a proposed sports complex for the south side of Springfield was “a generational-changing development.”

The Springfield City Council gave the go-ahead for the $65 million, 95-acre project, just off MacArthur Boulevard near Interstate 72, by a 7-3 vote.

Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory, Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams Jr. and Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin voted against the project. All three spoke during the more than 90-minute debate that

Bruce Rushton
The Illinois Times

The Springfield City Council is contemplating a tax hike to help pay for youth athletic fields near the MacArthur Boulevard-Interstate 72 interchange.

A proposed $36.25 million subsidy, including $30.5 million for construction and the balance for upkeep over 23 years, would be, so far as anyone can remember, the largest city grant for a private project in Springfield history. The city would raise hotel-motel taxes by 1 percent, rebate the city’s portion of property taxes to the developer of the 90-acre site and also rebate 70 percent of any increase in sales tax proceeds realized by area businesses, including Scheels, after

Steven Spearie
The State Journal-Register

Mayor Jim Langfelder officially vetoed an ordinance that decreased the minimum contract amounts for which Springfield City Council approval is required. The April 20 vote, which was approved 6-4, lowered the spending amount for the mayor and city departments from $50,000 to $10,000.

In a filing before Tuesday’s city council meeting, Langfelder reiterated his position that the ordinance would slow down city business. “The proposed change will result in significant delays and inefficiency to the regular daily operations of city government,” Langfelder said.

Steven Spearie
The State Journal-Register

Mayor Jim Langfelder plans to wield his veto power this week against an ordinance that decreased the minimum contract amounts for which Springfield City Council approval is required.

The Apr. 20 vote lowering the amount from $50,000 to $10,000 that mayor or city departments can spend was generally seen as a rebuke against Langfelder.

The ordinance passed with six votes, meaning supporters will have to find another vote among the dissenters to override the veto.

Deal Olsen
The State Journal-Register

Capital Township voters would get to decide whether the township could merge with Sangamon County government under legislation the Illinois House is expected to consider this week.

State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, chief sponsor of House Bill 2994, said a full merger of the township would be “a simple, good government” measure that would save money for township taxpayers. Capital Township is located inside Springfield and shares most of the city’s boundaries.

Though the bill was passed unanimously by a House committee on April 15 and has some Democratic co-sponsors, the legislation is part of a political battle between Republicans who control Sangamon County government and Democrats such as Mayor Jim Langfelder in Springfield city government.

Seventy-four percent of township voters

Steven Spearie
The State Journal-Register

The Springfield City Council in a 6-4 vote decreased the minimum contract amounts for which council approval is required. The amount goes from $50,000 to $10,000, generally considered a rebuke against Mayor Jim Langfelder.

Aldermen Shawn Gregory, Roy Williams Jr., John Fulgenzi, and Joe McMenamin voted against the ordinance while aldermen Chuck Redpath, Andrew Proctor, Kristin DiCenso, Erin Conley, and Jim Donelan, joined Hanauer to support the measure.

The ordinance was amended to exclude City Water, Light & Power. An amendment would also require each city department to submit an ordinance with its spending request at each meeting.