Articles

Executive director, Downtown Springfield, Inc. By Shannon O’Brien As a senior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Lisa Clemmons Stott co-wrote a documentary called “Whatever Happened to Saturday Night,” about the demise of downtowns when malls became more popular.  As the new executive director of Downtown Springfield Inc. (DSI), the documentary seems prescient. “I’m trying […]

Springfield Business Journal and United Community Bank are pleased to sponsor this year’s “Best Places to Work,” recognizing outstanding businesses in central Illinois. The program is open to any business in Sangamon or Morgan county with 35 or more employees. Many of the nominations were submitted by the employees themselves, in other cases someone who […]

by Job Conger During the early evolution of internal combustion gasoline engines, it didn’t take long for inventors to hang one on a bicycle, resulting in the first motorcycle. Similarly, about three years ago, when the first multi-rotor and quad toy helicopters zoomed skyward from fertile minds, it didn’t take long for someone to hang […]

By Colin Patrick Brady Maureen E. Williams of Strategic Hourglass Systems provides an essential service out of her Chatham headquarters. But it is one for which, she says, “tragedy was the catalyst.” When Williams received news that her nephew, Shayne, had died at age 32 in a house fire, he had none of the essential […]

By Catherine O’Connor The Wardrobe may be one of Springfield’s best kept secrets. Tucked away in a quaint former neighborhood gas station that was transformed in the 1960s into a cozy gallery-like shop, the store is an outstanding example of building adaptive reuse. A step inside reveals a quiet, understated microcosm of the boutique universe […]

By Ginny Lee Jose Lopez, Jr. moved to Springfield from Jacksonville four years ago and opened Casa Real at 301 North Grand Ave. W. in the building that once housed longtime Springfield eatery Wayne’s Red Coach Inn. The popular Mexican restaurant has earned a faithful following since then. More recently, Lopez, 28, bought the building […]

By Roberta Codemo Central Illinois now has access to the hottest game sensation sweeping the country. A longtime fan of escape room video games, Rebecca Henderson, founder of SMARTpath Education Services, first founded Escape Bloomington – a live interactive version of the popular video games – in Bloomington in 2014 as an offshoot of her […]

By Colin Patrick Brady On Sept. 23 a group of journalists and other interested parties toured Decatur’s Midwest Inland Port (MIP). The tour, hosted by The Economic Development Corporation of Decatur & Macon County (EDC) was led by current EDC President Larry Altenbaumer. The goal of the tour was to promote current and future economic […]

Connecting through music By Ann Farrar When you enter Music Therapy Connections, you can’t help but feel the cheery energy and enthusiasm for music. Light yellow walls are dotted with signs that proclaim, “Welcome!” “Music is my life,” and “Keep calm and strum on.” Mothers carrying babies and chasing toddlers swarmed into an early childhood […]

by Job Conger On Sept. 17, organizers of The Avenue North Grand Improvement Association held a first public meeting at the relocated offices of Goodenow Insurance at 700 North Grand Ave. E. The purpose was to formally introduce the organization and invite greater participation in a process intended to lead to a formally organized enterprise. […]

By Diane Lyddon Alex Block is one of two very busy architects at the award-winning engineering firm Crawford, Murphy and Tilly (CMT). He’s been with the firm for a little over a year and a half, lured here by the intrigue of the wide variety of projects. For all his hard work and dedication to […]

By Thomas C. Pavlik, Jr. I love exploring new cuisines. That’s not always easy in Springfield, where many menus look the same. Kingsway African & Caribbean Cuisine’s menu is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in Springfield.  And that’s a good thing. It’s hard to explain Kingsway – for example, how can a restaurant that offers […]