Untitled Document After years of debate, the city of Springfield may be close to making a decision on whether to proceed with the construction of Hunter Lake. The controversial project, which would result in the creation of a 7,795-acre lake southeast of Lake Springfield, has been on the drawing board since at least 1965. The […]
Amanda Robert
Posted inNews
Spared
Untitled Document During a special meeting of the Springfield City Council last week, aldermen slashed the city’s fiscal year 2009 budget — five firefighters here, five policemen there, and all the city’s food supplies, furniture, and gasoline thrown out for good measure — but Lincoln Library was again spared from the chopping block. Ward 6 […]
Posted inNews
Gimme shelter
Ruth Capler never imagined that she would own a home. The soft-spoken, stalwart mother raised all six of her kids in rental apartments across Springfield and, at the age of 50, was living with two of her grandchildren in a cramped two-bedroom unit on North Fourth Street. She slept in one bedroom and young cousins […]
Posted inNews
Fiscal follies
Untitled Document The city administration handed out a revised fiscal year 2009 budget at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, but some aldermen complained that the newly-crunched numbers weren’t what they had requested. The council is set to meet at 5:15 p.m. tonight (Thursday, Feb. 21) to discuss and approve the budget, but Ward 1 Ald. Frank […]
Posted inNews
Sweet memories
Untitled Document Joyce Faulkner thought our readers would enjoy reading about her parents’ long love story and how they met. When we found out that her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Bliss — as in “50 years of wedded Blisses” — we couldn’t resist: We whipped out the phone book and started searching for other […]
Posted inNews
In a pickle
Untitled Document Just call him our resident “Mr. Fix-It.” Timothy Bramlet became Springfield’s newest financial adviser after signing on as chairman of the city’s Blue Ribbon Committee this week. Bramlet — along with a select group of business, labor, and community leaders — is expected to spend countless hours between now and early summer evaluating […]
Posted inNews
“Tell the truth”
Untitled Document Preston Jackson’s bronze and steel sculptures — from his “Martin Luther King Memorial Bronze Bust” in Danville to his “Stainless Steel and Cast Bronze Relief of Gwendolyn Brooks” in Chicago — dot cityscapes across Illinois. Now Springfield will host its very own Jackson creation, thanks to a $300,000 grant from the Capital Development […]
Posted inNews
On Lincoln’s trail
He was born in Kentucky, grew to manhood in Indiana, and became the nation’s leader as an Illinoisan. Now, all three states that lay claim to Abraham Lincoln’s life story are preparing events, commemorations, and exhibits to honor his legacy during a national two-year bicentennial celebration. The celebrations officially begin next week and continue through […]
Posted inNews
Troubled waters
Untitled Document During a budget hearing last week, Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards sat dumbfounded as City Water, Light & Power general manager Todd Renfrow announced to the aldermen that the water department was in dire need of infrastructure improvements — a project that would cost $84.4 million and require a four-tiered water-rate increase. Edwards […]
Posted inNews
Hard look
Untitled Document Undeterred by this month’s hiring freeze veto, Republican aldermen continue to keep employee head count and salaries at the forefront of the city budget discussion. They’re taking an especially hard look at one document that names all of the people hired by the city of Springfield from October 2007 through January 2008. More […]
Posted inNews
Tweakers
Untitled Document Ward 7 Ald. Debbie Cimarossa means business. As promised, she’s combing through the proposed fiscal year 2009 budget, considering every line and demanding justification from city directors. The other six new aldermen are right behind her — searching for ways to trim fat and to save Springfield from financial doom. They’re now a […]
Posted inNews
Mayor’s veto of hiring freeze survives
Untitled Document Mayor Tim Davlin’s second veto since taking office in 2003 prevailed at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, even though Ward 7 Ald. Debbie Cimarossa says aldermen had enough votes for an override. In a letter sent to aldermen on Jan. 17, Davlin announced his veto of a city hiring-freeze ordinance introduced by Cimarossa. […]
