Cap City

Mosquito abatement districts. Tuberculosis sanitarium districts. Not exactly stuff that sets civic hearts afire. But the Sangamon County Citizens’ Efficiency Commission is, nonetheless, examining the minutia of local government to determine what we can, and cannot, live without. It turns out that we can do without a mosquito abatement district or tuberculosis sanitarium district, both […]

Forty-thousand pounds. That’s about equal to the weight of 10 cars, two large elephants or about 210 grown men. It’s also the total weight of food given away to families in need by the Central Illinois Foodbank on Dec. 10. The food bank set up mobile food pantries at Kumler United Methodist Church, 303 N. […]

Kids playing hopscotch is one thing. But after weeks of decorating downtown sidewalks with symbols, slogans and quotations, members of Occupy Springfield have gotten crosswise with police, who last week issued a pair of $500 vandalism tickets for quoting Aristotle with the help of chalk on a sidewalk outside the downtown office of U.S. Rep. […]

Feeding the hungry is a noble goal, but Trinity Lutheran School in Springfield takes it a step further. The school recently won a National School of Distinction award, given to fewer than 2,000 schools nationwide, from the nonprofit Schools Fight Hunger program run by ConAgra Foods. Trip Rodgers, principal at Trinity, says the school has […]

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a stricken helicopter on top of Memorial Medical Center! Believe it. The Bell helicopter operated by OSF Aviation was landing on the hospital’s helipad about 11 p.m. last Thursday when a wheel broke through a grate, sending the helicopter spinning about 80 degrees, said Brent Grady, executive director […]

While authorities in New York and elsewhere this week shut down Occupy Fill-In-Your-City-Here protests, Springfield occupiers who had planned a round-the-clock presence at the Old State Capitol Plaza faded away before their city permit expired on Tuesday. Spot checks over the past week revealed gaps in protest hours. Drew Duzinskas of Springfield, one of the […]

There’s a lot to like about Springfield, and the Citizens Club of Springfield wants the whole world to know it. The Citizens Club is developing a “palm card” extolling the virtues of the capital city – everything from the easy commutes and top-notch hospital care to the nine golf courses and two farmers markets. The […]

Sometimes stuff just breaks. That’s the assessment from the city of Springfield, which shut down Fifth Street in downtown last week after a 10-inch water main burst, heaving the street that cracked open from curb to curb, with water shooting upward through the fault like an upside-down waterfall. “This was a big one,” says Tom […]

No one is predicting pitchforks and torches at a neighborhood meeting called by Hy-Vee to explain the Iowa-based company’s proposal for a supermarket at the site of the vacant Kmart building on MacArthur Boulevard. “I don’t recall that I’ve heard any complaints about the project,” said Paul O’Shea, planning and design coordinator for the city […]

The Springfield Green Business Network, formed a year ago, has developed a “green” certification program that allows businesses to track their progress toward becoming more environmentally friendly. If businesses reach certain benchmarks, they are rewarded with the right to use one of four progressively greener SGBN certification seals. “There are a lot of businesses out […]

Is a train that averages less than 70 mph between St. Louis and Chicago really high-speed rail? It is according to the government, which is spending more than $1 billion to improve Union Pacific track in hopes of making the journey in a bit more than four hours, thirty minutes – not much faster than […]

Medicine cabinet overflowing with expired prescriptions? Don’t know what to do with the bulky television you replaced with a sleek flatscreen? Consider October your lucky month. The Sangamon County Department of Public Health and Vintage Tech Recyclers are hosting a free household electronics collection on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. at […]