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SUPPORT DOWNTOWN
Downtown Springfield is becoming a ghost town, and it feels like nobody in leadership cares. The mayor, the aldermen, city departments, economic development, tourism – no one is stepping up to protect the heart of our city.
Right now, during one of the biggest tourism events of the year, the Illinois State Fair, the road in front of our restaurant is completely torn up. Not closed with proper notice and signage – just a mess. And this isn’t an isolated issue, it’s part of a long-standing pattern of neglect.
If city leadership actually cared about downtown, we would see consistent investment and planning to keep it vibrant, accessible and alive – especially during peak seasons when businesses have a real chance to thrive. But instead, we’re given construction, detours and silence.
It’s heartbreaking and infuriating to watch a city with so much history, tourism, art and potential be treated like an afterthought. The leadership culture in Springfield has allowed this to happen. And this is what you get when you don’t provide vision, consistency or leadership that truly cares about the city and its people.
We are asking – no, demanding – that someone take responsibility. Start making decisions that support small businesses downtown instead of pushing them further toward failure.
Michael Higgins
Owner, Maldaner’s Restaurant
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THANKS FOR RECOGNITION
The NPR Illinois articles are fantastic (“NPR Illinois celebrates 50 years,” July 24). Thank you so much for doing the station justice and highlighting the Sangamon Experience’s work along the way.
Evie Rodenbaugh
Sangamon Experience
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WHY REPUBLICANS WON’T RUN
Your article noted that there are fewer Republicans preparing to run for election than normal (“Which Republicans are seeking statewide office in 2026? So far, hardly any,” Aug. 12). Republicans should look at the bad advice being given out by their chair, which is welcomed by the Illinois Freedom Caucus. If a voter doesn’t agree with Trump’s recently passed Big Beautiful Bill, they should “…ignore things they disagree with…” and find something else they like.
I think most people would find it hard to ignore something that will decimate medical care, with $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, increasing health care costs, cutting 12 million people out of health coverage and nutrition, education and small business impacts – plus higher debt, interest rates, inflation and long-term economic instability. All this will put much more economic pressure on state government, which is not the inheritance a politician wants to get.
Mark Vassmer
Springfield
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ULTERIOR MOTIVE
It’s going to be nearly impossible for the postal service to keep functioning with what little money it’s getting from the government (“Budzinski hosts Springfield forum on postal service problems,” July 31). The truth is, Amazon wants to take the place of the U.S. Postal Service and do all of our deliveries for triple what we were giving the post office. Now you have to ask yourself why the president is shutting the Postal Service down by cutting all its funding. How is this good for America? Jeff Bezos must have donated a lot of money.
Michelle Kiska-Gabriel
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
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GOVERNMENT WORKS
It’s a typical method to privatize any well-functioning public service. Throttle it with funding cuts. Force it to charge fees for everything. Throttle some more. Stack its board with self-interested prigs or fools or incompetents. Throttle more. Make its director a guy with a direct conflict of interest and give him free reign. Then when it fails as intended, point at it and scream, “See! Government is bad; it doesn’t work!”
Don Hanrahan
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
This article appears in Combating homelessness.
Michael Higgins comments regarding the neglect of downtown should be an alarm sounding for every city elected official and every resident of Springfield. In a time when most larger cities have reclaimed and redeveloped their downtowns into thriving and vibrant centers, Springfield is allowing their historic and once vibrant downtown to degrade right before everyone’s eyes.
Wake up!! There is a presidential library to one of the most noted presidents in history right downtown! The downtown area should be booming. Instead, the small businesses that make a downtown unique are crying out for help and are doing whatever they can to remain in business.
You can’t blame the condition of downtown on the business owners or the parking (which is outstandingly more abundant that the majority of other cities) or anything else other than poor city management. Seeing this happen to what could be a lovely and vibrant downtown is disappointing to say the least.
The very real infrastructure improvements to downtown Springfield could not have come at a better time. I am thrilled to see the new crosswalk curb ramps at all four corners of every intersection that required replacement. The ongoing asphalt street overlay stage of this transportation system improvement will soon grade seamlessly with these curb cuts to support citywide public access for every manner of mobility. Thanks to the hard work and skill of the various craftsmen involved, and the commitment of Mayor Buscher’s administration, our historical urban core will now reflect an attractive and welcoming curb appeal to resident and tourist alike.
PSA: Mike Higgins gives zero f*cks about the failure or success of downtown businesses aside from his own and is only vocal when it personally affects him.