Springfield City Council had a range of topics this week — from promoting downtown to confronting hard truths.
- Hear the council invite everyone to the Downtown Food & Drink Crawl (Saturday, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.) and weekly holiday walks. Tickets are at tourofdowntown.eventbrite.com. Downtown businesses are asking for your foot traffic.
- A speaker challenged the city’s enforcement on massage parlors ahead of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, alleging ongoing illicit activity, property value impacts and county officials openly mocking Springfield’s response.
- The council asked the city’s legal team for a list of parlors closed or cited. Staff said they’ll check their files.
- A community advocate delivered a searing plea on domestic violence and pretrial release — describing repeated order of protection violations, calling the issue a public crisis and urging survivor-centered justice.
If you care about downtown vitality and public safety, this one’s worth your time.
