For 55 years, the city has neglected Lake Springfield, refusing to dredge in hopes of building Hunter Lake, an unneeded, expensive and environmentally destructive monument to the Langfelders’ legacy. It would destroy historical wetlands, hundreds of acres of mature forest, endangered species habitat, two streams and hundreds of acres of farms, eliminating nearly 10% of […]
Don Hanrahan
Posted inOpinion
The last study of Lake 2
The Springfield City Council recently approved another $285,000 for yet more studies on the city’s favorite 50-year-plus boondoggle, Lake 2. At the council meeting, Alderman Gregory asked the best, most obvious question: Is this the last of these endless studies? His question drew laughter, for we know the answer. Why more studies? The mayor and […]
Posted inOpinion
Central Illinois needs clean and green jobs, too
Last June, EPA announced proposed rules to minimize carbon pollution in new power plants. This June, they will announce proposed rules for existing power plants, like the Dallman power plants at CWLP. In June 2015, after input from all stakeholders, the EPA will publish final rules, and each state will have one year to develop […]
Posted inOpinion
Pull the plug on Hunter Dam
In December 2008, federal and state regulators told city officials (for the third time) that Hunter Dam was a turkey. They demanded yet more information about the supposed need and the claimed insufficiency of alternatives. Advocates for the dam claim that do-nothing, unreasonable bureaucrats have this wonderful project tied up in red tape. The truth, […]
