A proposal to construct 50 more single-family homes for low-income renters may hinge on whether Springfield City Council members grant an exception to a 2023 ordinance that guarantees union involvement in the hiring and pay of workers on large projects. The proposed fifth phase of home development in the Nehemiah Expansion project would provide desperately […]
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City Council enacts new conflict-of-interest standards
The Springfield City Council voted 8-0 on Feb. 4 to spend about $1.5 million in TIF funds to help a local couple renovate a dilapidated building in the 300 block of East Adams Street. But the Ward 5 representative on the council, Lakeisha Purchase, who has worked with Martin and Laurie Haxel for two years […]
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City of Springfield shuts down 11 massage parlors
Eleven massage parlors in Springfield have been closed down, while another 25 believed to be operating legitimately will be issued local licenses in coming weeks. City officials mandated the closures as part of the much-anticipated rollout of an ordinance passed by the City Council in June 2024 to crack down on massage establishments believed to […]
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Green Toyota breaking ground on $11 million expansion
Green Toyota is planning an $11 million project intended to significantly modernize and expand the Toyota showroom, service area and customer amenities. The groundbreaking for the major expansion and renovation project at 3901 Wabash Ave. will take place at 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 3. “We are thrilled to break ground on this state‐of‐the‐art renovation […]
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‘Blatantly unlawful’ federal spending freeze sends state scrambling
State agencies, nonprofit organizations and a host of other entities that rely on federal funding were thrown into chaos Tuesday following the release of a White House memo that froze – at least temporarily – the distribution of all federal grants, loans and other financial assistance programs. Late Tuesday, however, the Associated Press reported that […]
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Q&A With Amy Rasing
Amy Rasing joined the city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development in 2023 as a grant manager. In December, Mayor Misty Buscher nominated her as the new director of OPED, and her appointment was confirmed Jan. 7 by the Springfield City Council. She has worked more than 30 years in nonprofit agencies on the local, […]
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Notable building projects in 2025
Within a few blocks of each other, both public and private landowners are doing their part to support community reinvestment, working with architects and contractors to find creative, sensible ways to evolve and age in place. The Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar, Springfield School District 186 and entrepreneurs Court and Karen Conn are […]
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Area bankers predict commercial real estate trends for 2025
The annual meeting of the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance, held Jan. 23, touted eight notable projects in the area. Highlights included plans for an Amazon distribution center at the intersection of Bissell Road and North Dirksen Parkway, a Frito-Lay warehouse at the south end of town and the Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe that […]
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Business owner arrested in murder-for-hire scheme
A man accused of putting out a $10,000 contract to have a Collinsville woman killed may find it difficult to fulfil his own contract with the city of Springfield – to raze 38 dilapidated houses. Sammy J. Shafer Jr. owns S. Shafer Excavating, a company based in Pontoon Beach that does work throughout the Metro […]
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Cannabis College
University of Illinois Springfield combines education and cannabis with Green Flower noncredit certification courses, offering professional development and credentials to people seeking to get into the growing cannabis industry. Partnering with UIS in early 2021, Green Flower, a cannabis education platform and program, has been a driving force for nearly 10 years in bringing science-based […]
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No free rent
Springfield officials recently finalized an agreement with the owner of the Wyndham City Centre hotel in which the hotel will resume paying rent for use of a city-owned parking lot at 700 E. Monroe St. But on a higher-profile issue – whether the Wyndham hotel will be renovated in the near future – Tower Capital […]
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Monster Pawn raids result in multiple charges
A chain of central Illinois pawn shops with two Springfield locations functioned as a criminal enterprise, fencing stolen goods and buying silver bullion to launder the proceeds, the Illinois attorney general alleges. The owners of Monster Pawn and some employees appeared in court Thursday in Sangamon County. Charged were Monster Pawn’s owners, Edwin Pierce, 65, […]