Governor visits Pillsbury site

The roof was nearly entirely removed from the former Pillsbury Mills plant while piles of wreckage and broken equipment littered what was once a workplace for hundreds of Springfield residents when Gov. JB Pritzker stopped by the site on Oct. 30.

Environmental cleanup efforts have been underway at the 18-acre site for the past several years – including asbestos removal that is now complete – thanks to more than $3 million in grant funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. Demolition of the remaining buildings at the former Pillsbury Mills site began last month, and Pritzker was visiting to announce that Sen. Doris Turner is helping to fund this phase of the cleanup through her district fund for local projects and the state’s commerce department. He also announced funding for the regional site readiness program, a state program that funds the remediation of sites in disrepair.

“Through a $1.3 million grant from a member initiative, from your champion, Sen. Doris Turner, and from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, operations are underway,” Pritzker said. “This is a transformational first step on the way to attracting more good jobs for the community and growth for all of Springfield. There are sites like this all over the state of Illinois and communities that need our support to fix that.”

Pritzker said the state needs to help with improving sites so businesses can succeed, particularly in downstate Illinois, “In every corner of Illinois now, there are communities that are overflowing with truly untapped potential, but they did not have the resources and support that they need to fully realize that potential.

“These grants allow readiness planning, assessments, infrastructure improvements – the fundamental work that must be done for businesses and jobs to grow on sites across the state where once there seemed like there was no hope,” he said. “Illinois was failing to invest in the foundational elements of growth in the state and our communities, especially cities, small towns and rural areas in central and southern Illinois. They were being left out and left behind.”

Pritzker encouraged eligible Illinois entities to apply for the program, which includes local governments, economic development organizations, nonprofit organizations and private landowners. Qualified entities can apply for planning grants up to $150,000 and capital ready grants up to $5 million. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until March 31, 2026, or until funds are exhausted.

Kristin Richards, director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, said the department has disbursed more than $80 million for site readiness projects since 2023.

“Investing in site readiness is one of the most effective ways to attract new employers and private investment to our communities,” said Abby Powell, director of business development for the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance. She noted that the initiative allows communities such as Springfield to compete on a national scale by preparing sites to be development-ready.

Turner, who has represented the neighborhood housing the former Pillsbury Mills site across city, county and state government positions throughout her career, said the plant helped drive the local economy before its closure in 2001.

“This was a site that was once a very vibrant workplace for hundreds of workers that provided a very good middle-class lifestyle for those families… it created a neighborhood, a very vibrant middle-class neighborhood,” she said.

Chris Richmond, founder of the nonprofit Moving Pillsbury Forward that owns the site, described the past of the now-dilapidated site before sharing his hopes for what will be built in its place.

“Pillsbury Mills chose this site in 1929 because central Illinois was a major wheat-growing region and (has) an active rail yard right next door that could move their manufactured goods from this site anywhere in the world,” Richmond said. “I’m often asked, ‘What are you going to do with the site once clear?’ And my answer is always the same: We’re aimed at the highest and best use – we’re aimed at a light or medium manufacturer to reuse this site, utilize that adjacent rail yard next door and bring jobs and economic activity.”