Mid-sized cities in “flyover” country face extreme challenges to survive, let alone thrive. Springfield has a significant number of positive attributes and several promising initiatives, but is far too willing to accept mediocrity. Leadership of Springfield for the next two to four years is critical to its future. The mayor and City Council will face […]
Bob Gray
Posted inOpinion
Where to cut the city budget
The city of Springfield’s pending financial disaster is much more a problem of priorities, and less a problem of revenue. Informal comments already suggest that there is nothing left to cut, but they mean “other than police and fire, there is nothing left to cut.” A review of past budgets shows that in fiscal year […]
Posted inOpinion
A fiscally stressed city has to prioritize
The Springfield mayor and city council should be commended for discussing a variety of needs facing the city. Infrastructure, a city planner, Hunter Lake and the mansion block, to name a few. The bottom line, unfortunately, seems always to be a lack of resources to make anything happen. Initiatives need to be discussed and prioritized, […]
Posted inOpinion
An agenda for the new mayor and city council
“As goes the leadership of the top 100 cities, so goes the country’s economic future,” suggests Jim Clifton, Gallop CEO, in The Coming JOBS War. “Fixing America’s biggest problems and re-winning the world can only be accomplished one city at a time. A natural order is already present… cities have a self-organized, unelected group of talented […]
Posted inOpinion
Where can Springfield look for money?
The proposed 2016 operating fund (corporate fund) for the City of Springfield is $118.1 million. The Springfield Police Department ($45.8 million) and the Springfield Fire Department ($37.1 million) account for 70 percent of the fund. Any organization, private or public, attempting to balance a budget under tight fiscal restraints has to look closely at where […]
Posted inOpinion
Changing how we do local government
Former U.S. Senator from Illinois Alan J. Dixon, in his recent book, The Gentleman from Illinois, writes, “Frankly, I believe there are too many elective offices in most states, including an excess of counties with elective offices. And then there are all the elected officials in the small cities and townships in most states. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Imagination needed to save public access TV
Imagine cable television channels keeping you aware of all the local activities, events, policies and important decisions that affect your quality of life. Springfield offers that service, sort of. But how much longer the opportunity will exist is questionable. The Dec. 11 Illinois Times feature, “Fringe Voices – the fading promise of public access TV” […]
