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VOTERS DIDN’T WANT IT
I was the Springfield corporation counsel who represented the city in the McNeil v. City of Springfield Voting Rights Act lawsuit. I believe that there is a factual error in Jim Krohe Jr.’s column “Through the looking glass” (May 28).
He states: “A consent decree worked out the details, the voters approved the resulting plan and in 1991 Springfield abandoned its by-then venerable commission government…” In fact, there was no post-trial referendum to approve the aldermanic form of government contained in the consent decree. Rather, before trial, there was a referendum held to determine if voters wished to switch from the commission form to the aldermanic form. The voters, by a narrow margin, voted to keep the commission form. As a result, the case then went to trial, the city lost the case, and, as a result, the consent decree, which changed the form of government to the aldermanic form, was approved by the court.
Fred Benson
Portland, Maine
REPURPOSE WYNDHAM
I feel the Wyndham has an iconic mid-century modern, future-positive aesthetic to it, which should be leaned into (“Wyndham owner settles lawsuits with insurance company,” May 28). I had my wedding reception there decades ago.
What they should do next is repurpose it into a mix of condos and apartments from top to bottom. Why? Because that puts a critical number of residents living in the downtown core who would be in walking distance of their shopping needs 365 days a year. The triad of customers downtown is tourism, office workers and residents. Tourism is variable, office workers have declined and will not increase again, so we need to balance those two legs with more residents.
The tower is the perfect place to do this in a timeline that would help downtown business quickest.
Mark Suszko
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
GLAD FOR PROGRESS
It was gratifying to see the recent article on establishment of a statewide paint recycling program (“Illinois launches paint recycling program,” April 16). Many in Springfield and Sangamon County might remember that we had the first-ever pilot program in the state providing this service.
Called the Partners for Waste Paint Solutions, the program was supported by Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Dave Walters and the Bureau of Land, which paid to recycle or responsibly dispose unusable paint. The partners were the Sangamon County Solid Waste program, locally owned Ace Hardware stores (thanks to the Preckwinkle family), and Friedman‘s Wallpaper and Paint (thanks to Ron Herbstrith).
As the solid waste coordinator for Sangamon County at the time, I provided publicity for the program and educational outreach. But the real heroes were the employees of Ace and Friedman’s who took in and physically managed many thousands of gallons of leftover paint.
Through the interest and support of two former interns of mine, the pilot Partners for Waste Paint Solutions program spread to Macon County and continued there for several years after our pilot program was finished.
Both Sangamon and Macon County programs made the recycled paint resulting from these collections available for sale to the public. As it is not specified in your article, I wonder what will happen to all of the recycled paint collected in this statewide program?
Sadly, while our successful pilot program was established from 1994 through at least 1997, it took another 30 years to get the program into state law. The old maxim “reduce, reuse, recycle” still holds true. Please buy only what you need and use up what you buy – Earth Day every day!
Wynne Coplea
Springfield
CORREX
This year’s Rock the Dock event at Lake Springfield Marina is set for 6 p.m. Friday, July 3. A date listed in the Summerguide issue was incorrect.
This article appears in June 11-17, 2026.
