Karen Davis announces her resignation at the July 18 city council meeting. By Patrick Yeagle Karen Davis is resigning as director of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Springfield. Davis made the announcement Tuesday at the Springfield City Council meeting. She has served in the position since June 2015, when she [...]
By Patrick Yeagle The Springfield City Council on Tuesday approved the use of $757,800 from the city's downtown TIF to pay for repair of the roof at Springfield's Municipal Center East. The TIF request was one of three forwarded to the city council by the Springfield Economic Development Commission (EDC) on Tuesday. At a special [...]
The Illinois State Capitol. Photo courtesy of Illinois CMS Division of Media Services. Illinois may soon have a full budget for the first time in two years, thanks to a handful of Republicans who voted for two budget bills and an accompanying tax increase bill. The Illinois General Assembly passed the trio of [...]
By Patrick Yeagle It's been four years since Illinois adopted regulations on high-volume hydraulic fracturing, but it was only last month that the first application was filed with state regulators to actually use the controversial oil and gas extraction process. The company seeking the permit says its first well would be for research, part of [...]
The Springfield City Council approved zoning variances for three proposed restaurants on Tuesday. City ordinance limits the locations of establishments selling alcohol. It's common for restaurants, bars and similar establishments to seek zoning variances allowing them to open in areas otherwise prohibited. At the city council meeting on Tuesday, aldermen approved variances for restaurants at: [...]
The Springfield City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved William O'Hearn as director of Lincoln Library. O'Hearn comes to Springfield from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was most recently supervisor of the Cedar Rapids Public Library Downtown Branch. He will be paid $85,000 and will have 12 months to establish residency in Springfield.
The Springfield City Council on Tuesday voted down a proposal to give them oversight of certain new apartment and storage unit developments. The proposal comes about a month after the council approved raising the threshold to trigger oversight of large scale developments. Springfield mayor Jim Langfelder had proposed a change to the city's large scale [...]
The following building, electrical or other permits were recently approved for projects in Springfield by the City of Springfield Building and Zoning Office: -Silverleaf Children's Academy, 2715 S. Fourth St., obtained a permit for a 3,800-square-foot remodel. The contractor is Joyner Construction, and the project valuation is $80,000. -Glen Garrison obtained a permit obtained a permit [...]
The City of Springfield is poised to accept a $14 million federal grant to help pay for new underpasses where Ash and Laurel streets cross the 10th Street rail corridor. The underpasses are the next phase of Springfield's ongoing rail relocation project. At a Springfield City Council Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, the [...]
Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath is proposing the creation of a new TIF district near Rochester to enable a subdivision development. The Springfield City Council Committee of the Whole voted on Tuesday to forward the proposed ordinance to the full city council for a vote. According to a proposed ordinance under consideration by the city [...]