Lawmakers could consider expanding the overall region, and special district powers, of the Mid-Illinois Medical District due to a new bill filed by state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, last month.
Senate Bill 2829 proposes adjustments to the existing Mid-Illinois Medical District Act by essentially doubling the size of the district’s region, extending the southern boundary from Madison Street down to South Grand Avenue. The other boundaries would remain the same, North Grand Avenue to the north, Walnut Street to the west and 11th Street to the east.
The expansion would integrate Springfield Clinic’s Main Campus, 1025 S. Sixth St., into the Medical District but exclude “all local, state and federal government properties within the area.”
The bill also further specifies the special district “is created to improve the city center of Springfield.”
Jen Boyer, acting CEO of Springfield Clinic, welcomed the medical district’s expansion to include more Springfield Clinic facilities in a written statement shared with Illinois Times.
“Becoming part of the Mid-Illinois Medical District will strengthen collaboration among local health care organizations and physicians, expand access to innovative services and support economic development in the heart of our city,” Boyer wrote. “We believe this effort aligns with our ongoing commitment to improving health outcomes, expanding access to care and serving the greater Springfield community with excellence and integrity.”
While the existing act allows the Mid-Illinois Medical District Commission to construct hospitals, clinics and laboratories, the proposed legislation would allow the commission to also construct “housing, educational buildings (and) research facilities.”
The bill also provides more regulations for the commission itself by removing a requirement that someone appointed by the governor or mayor of Springfield shall serve as the commission’s president and vice president.
Instead, SB 2829 would institute a commission election through “a regular meeting on the second Thursday of February in even-numbered years for the election of a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer from among its members.” If passed during this legislative session, February 2028 would be the next election cycle for the commission.
The bill as it stands suggests no changes to the commission’s makeup, which consists of four gubernatorial appointees, four mayoral appointees and one appointee from the Sangamon County Board Chair.
The Downtown and Medical District Master Plan, published in late 2024, suggests the city of Springfield “work with the state of Illinois to conduct a study to determine the impacts of expanding the MIMD boundary. The intent is to incorporate properties closer to the downtown core and encourage redevelopment and residential infill.”
About 13 months after the master plan was published, Turner filed SB 2829, which currently sits in the Senate Local Government committee.
Ryan Croke, president of the commission, referenced the master plan when discussing SB 2829 at a Feb. 12 meeting of the Mid-Illinois Medical District Commission.
“That, I think folks will recall, was intended, in part, to strengthen the tie, collaboration and development efforts of our downtown institutions and the Medical District institutions. That, not coincidentally, also allows the Medical District zone to include the headquarters of Springfield Clinic, which we thought everybody agreed just made sense,” said Croke, who works for the state as the first assistant deputy governor for health and human services.
“The bill was assigned to the local government committee in the state Senate. It was moved out of the assignments committee and into a substantive committee, which is a good sign,” he said.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, announced Feb. 18, outlines support for investment in the Mid-Illinois Medical District.
“The administration also supports a new, coordinated investment in the capital city centered on the Mid-Illinois Medical District and adjacent areas surrounding the state Capitol,” reads page 51 of the Governor’s proposed operating budget.
State funding for the Medical District could come via the Rebuild Illinois Downtown and Main Streets program. Housed in the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the program “provides grants to revitalize historic buildings and build business incubators, community grocery stores and other infrastructure improvements that help downtowns thrive across Illinois.”
Pritzker’s office proposed appropriating $35 million to fund the RDMS capital grants program, funding that would come from sales tax revenue bonds.
According to the proposed capital budget, grants to cities such as Joliet and Aledo allowed the municipalities to redevelop streets and public spaces in respective city centers. Grants through this program are capped at $3 million per proposal.