While many businesses remain closed or only partially open, Theo and Kristen Spilman are preparing to open a new business. The husband and wife are new franchisees for Nothing Bundt Cakes, a bakery chain that started in Las Vegas. The Spilmans, who are originally from Springfield, most recently lived in Austria and managed a cafeteria [...]
New jobless claims in May appear to level out By Peter Hancock, Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com The unemployment rate in Illinois reached a staggering 16.4 percent in April, the highest rate recorded since the modern system of tracking joblessness began in 1976, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday. The previous record of 13.9 [...]
Are you active and engaged in our community? Do you want to help grow and support local businesses? Springfield Business Journal is a locally owned and operated monthly business-to-business publication serving the Springfield/Jacksonville area. For 25 years, we’ve built a reputation for covering issues and people that are important to our community. Central Illinois Communications, [...]
After filing for bankruptcy three months ago, Pier 1 has announced plans to close all of its locations nationwide. A press release put out by the company cited shutdowns caused by COVID-19 and failure to find a buyer as reasons for the decision. “This decision follows months of working to identify a buyer who would [...]
BRANDT has named Morgan Beck as corporate accounting manager. Beck joins the BRANDT corporate staff in the company’s Springfield headquarters. Prior to joining BRANDT, Beck spent 15 years at Security Bank in Springfield. She held multiple management positions at the bank, most recently serving as chief financial officer for the past three years. Beck also [...]
Once the governor’s stay-at-home order is lifted, Springfield-area residents will have a new retail option with the opening of Versona, an apparel, jewelry and accessories boutique. The specialty retailer is taking over the space at 2841 S. Veterans Pkwy. in White Oaks Plaza that was previously occupied by Charming Charlie. That retailer closed all its [...]
By Rebecca Anzel, Capitol News Illinois ranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com Unemployed Illinoisans will soon have access to free, online skills-based training programs. Beginning in June and lasting through the end of the year, 3,800 courses and 400 specializations will be offered by over 160 universities through the online learning platform Coursera, Gov. JB Pritzker said Thursday. Formal certification [...]
Ryan McCrady takes the helm of the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance By Carey Smith Though much of the world is currently on pause, the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance (SSGA) continues to work to help businesses navigate through challenges presented by the pandemic. In addition to getting up to speed as the newly-hired president of SSGA, [...]
Capital plan money to go to projects that can begin within 90 days By Rebecca Anzel, Capitol News Illinois ranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois department tasked with the state’s economic development launched a program Tuesday providing grant funding to local governments for capital projects. Its aim, said Michael Negron, assistant director of the Department of Commerce and [...]
By Rich Miller Gov. JB Pritzker has repeatedly said he's delegating enforcement of his stay-at-home order to local governments. That stance has frustrated some folks who want him to get tougher with violators (although he'd undoubtedly risk making martyrs out of them if he did crack down hard). And the governor's position seems to have [...]