217 Burger Week continues through Aug. 28
217 Burger Week kicked off Aug. 19, and there are actually 10 days to celebrate and explore the specialty burgers area chefs have created at these participating restaurants. Many locations will also offer Jack Daniel’s specials. Find more details at 217FoodWeek.com and download your 217 Burger Week passport to plan your food journey and for a…
Chamber Job Fair to be held on Tuesday, Aug. 27
The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce’s fall job fair will feature dozens of employers ready to hire qualified candidates. A list of the participating employers can be found on the event calendar for The Chamber at www.gscc.org. Whether you’re looking to advance within your current industry or start a new career, there are plenty of…
Menards constructing a self-storage facility
Menards is getting into the self-storage business, with 456 units under construction on nearly eight acres of land adjacent to its Prairie Crossing store. “This piece of property has sat vacant for 10 years, so I’m sure they’re trying to get some use out of it,” said Adam Pallai, vice president of Martin Engineering, which…
Allison Paul named chief nursing officer of the HSHS Central Illinois Market
Hospital Sisters Health System has appointed Allison Paul to chief nursing officer of the HSHS Central Illinois Market. In this role, Paul is responsible for leading and coordinating nursing operations at HSHS ministries in central Illinois, which includes St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, St. Mary’s Hospital in Decatur, St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital in Effingham, St.…
Dr. Brian McGregor joins AlignLife of Springfield
Dr. Brian McGregor has joined AlignLife of Springfield Chiropractic and Natural Health Center. The 49-year-old brings 24 years of experience and a passion for working with young athletes. “I enjoy working with high school and college athletes and helping them increase their sports performance,” he said. “But the most rewarding experience I have as a…
Luminary Counseling & Solutions to relocate, expand
Luminary Counseling & Solutions is relocating and the owners plan to significantly expand the practice, less than five years after opening. “We opened in March 2020, just as everything shut down,” said co-owner Lauren Henton, who opened the practice at 3050 Montvale Dr. along with Katie Romang. “I had left a large health organization and…
Growth Corp named Illinois’ 504 Lender of the Year
Growth Corp was named Illinois’ 504 Lender of the Year by the Illinois District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). This prestigious award recognizes Growth Corp’s commitment to economic development and job creation through facilitation of the 504 Loan Program. Doug Kinley, president of Growth Corp, accepted the award during an Aug. 1…
Stacey Vincent joins Alliance Community Bank
Stacey Vincent has joined Alliance Community Bank as a mortgage loan officer. Vincent most recently spent nearly seven years in a similar position with Heartland Bank & Trust, which previously operated as Town & Country Bank. Prior to that, she worked as a mortgage loan officer for Hickory Point Bank & Trust and Illinois National…
State unveils business development plan
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity on Aug. 12 published a five-year plan outlining how it hopes to attract and retain businesses in the state. At the plan’s center is a strategy to invest in six industries that will receive “prioritized support,” capital investment and job training. They are life science, quantum computing,…
Emerald’s Eats and Homemade Passions by Bryce team up on new location
Two longtime friends who both own food-related businesses have teamed up on a shared commercial space. Emerald’s Eats and Homemade Passions by Bryce have moved into the building at 713 N. Seventh St. in Riverton. It was most recently occupied by Bakin’ Me Happy, which closed unexpectedly at the end of May. “We’ve moved in…
O’Shea provides scholarship for LLCC Construction students
Lincoln Land Community College has received a gift from the O’Shea family to fund a scholarship for LLCC students in the construction trades program. The first recipient of the O’Shea Family Scholarship is Alexis Bowman of Palmyra, a 2024 graduate of North Mac High School. “The O’Shea Family Scholarship has opened the door for more…
Building permits – Aug. 5 – Aug. 11
RR Family LLC % Raymond E. Roland received a commercial remodel permit for 816 N. Dirksen Parkway. Contractor is Illinois Valley Construction and the project is valued at $315,000. Legacy Pointe Dev. Co. LLC received a commercial permit for 3751 Imagineer Drive. Contractor is Mammoth Sports Construction and the project is valued at $27.4 million.…
Jasen Best joins American Bank of Freedom
Jasen Best has joined American Bank of Freedom in Rochester as a commercial banker and business development officer, effective Aug. 1. He most recently worked as a treasury management officer at Heartland Bank & Trust and was previously a business development officer at Prairie State Bank & Trust. Best has a bachelor’s degree in finance from…
MJ’s Fish & Chicken Express reopening
MJ’s Fish & Chicken Express is reopening Sept. 4 for dine-in service, more than two years after shifting its business model to focus on catering and special events. “My wife is retired now, and she has committed to being here and managing the front end,” said Jerome Taylor, who co-owns the restaurant at 716 E.…
Docs Just Off 66 receives $50,000 national grant
Docs Just Off 66 in Girard has received $50,000 from the Backing Historic Small Restaurants Grant Program, a program presented by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express. Docs begin in 1884 as Deck’s Store and operated as a pharmacy and soda fountain until 2001. Between 2001 and 2021, there were various owners…
New CEO for the Illinois Fuel and Retail Association
Nate Harris is the new CEO of the Illinois Fuel and Retail Association. Harris, of Springfield, replaces Josh Sharp as the leader of IFRA. Sharp left IFRA for another advocacy leadership role in early July after five years as CEO. Harris joins the IFRA from the Health Care Council of Illinois, where he served as legislative…
Remembering Juliana Turchetti
As wildfires continued to rage in the West, friends took time this summer to remember a fallen heroine who was a force and presence in their lives in the brief time they knew her. In Dalton Ingram’s words, his good friend Juliana Turchetti was “the epitome of the American dream mixed with a life dream.”…
Pritzker signs measures reining in biometric data privacy law
Illinois’ first-in-the-nation law that allows residents to sue companies over the improper collection of their biometric information will be slightly less punitive after Gov. JB Pritzker signed a new law late last week. Lawmakers this spring amended the Biometric Information Privacy Act in response to an Illinois Supreme Court ruling last year that suggested lawmakers…
Building permits – July 29 – Aug. 4
LRSP Entertainment Corp. received a commercial demolition permit for 229 W. Mason St. Contractor is Windsor Homes, Inc. and the project is valued at $20,000. Thermo King Quad Cities Inc. received a commercial roofing permit for 3410 Remington St. Contractor is Dan Jewett Construction Co. and the project is valued at $102,510.
Applications now open for the 2024 Isringhausen DRIVE Grant
Isringhausen Imports and Downtown Springfield, Inc. have opened applications for the 2024 Isringhausen DRIVE Grant, a sizable cash grant presented yearly to individuals looking to kick start or expand a business in downtown Springfield. Now in its third year, the Isringhausen DRIVE Grant is committed to fostering entrepreneurship and supporting the growth of small businesses…
Downtown fire sparks call for action
“A revitalized and resilient downtown” was the No. 1 initiative in The Next 10, A Community Visioning Plan for Greater Springfield released by the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln in spring 2021. The report described downtown as “the heart of the community and region, the seat of state and local government, our cultural…
Q&A With Bruce Sommer
Where were you born and raised, and what was your first job? I was born and raised in Springfield, and technically my first job was when I was 9 years old, emptying garbage cans at the family business. My first job after college was as an accountant at Boulder Medical Center in Boulder, Colo. How…
Del’s Popcorn Shop still popping after 90 years
Del’s Popcorn Shop is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year by taking its trademark popcorn and sweet concoctions to an ever-expanding global fan base, and the Springfield Del’s location is expanding to handle the additional demand. “Last December we became one of the top-selling products on Amazon in the popcorn category,” said Del’s chief operating…
No more bitcoin for one Springfield business
A Springfield man has removed a once-prominent feature of his business after he witnessed an alarming trend. “One hundred percent of the time that we saw somebody at the machine they were being scammed,” said Matthieu Fortin. “So I was like, this machine has to go. I’m not going to be a part of that.”…
Your website has less than a second to make a first impression
Your company’s website is making first impressions with potential customers 24/7. Forbes Advisor published its top website statistics for 2024 and reported that users form an opinion about a website in 0.05 seconds, and 61% leave a site if they don’t find what they’re looking for in about five seconds. Karen Carlson, web content and…
Building permits – Aug. 12 – Aug. 18
Springfield Clinic LLP received a commercial remodel permit for 350 W. Carpenter St. Contractor is O’Shea Builders and the project is valued at $3.8 million. 1700 W Washington St 28000135 LLC % Keybank Real Estate received a commercial remodel permit for 1700 W. Washington St. Contractor is CRUSA Construction & Restoration Solutions LLC and the…
AI and employment practices
Applicant screening, video interview analysis, resume filtering and ranking, candidate sourcing, game-based cognitive and emotional assessments and predictive analytics are just some of the artificial intelligence functions businesses are increasingly relying on for hiring and employment practices. Roughly 83% of employers, including 99% of Fortune 500 companies, use some form of automated tools as part…
City council moves Frito-Lay project forward, despite objections from neighbors
Almost two dozen neighbors of what is expected to be a large Frito-Lay distribution center along Interstate 55 near the Chatham exit left a Springfield City Council meeting frustrated July 16. The council voted 6-3 in favor of zoning variances allowing the project to move forward. Voting in favor were Alds. Chuck Redpath of Ward…
Widening the pathways to work: Reaching untapped pools of talent
Did you know that 25% of the working-age population in the U.S. has some sort of disability? Or that 28% of adults in the U.S. have been impacted by the justice system with an arrest or criminal record? Did you know that almost 10% of Americans are connected to the military as active duty, veterans…
AI and the law
Artificial intelligence has rapidly transformed various sectors, from health care and finance to transportation and entertainment. As AI technologies become increasingly sophisticated and pervasive, they present unique challenges and opportunities for the legal field. Most people probably don’t realize it, but the state of Illinois has taken a leading role in establishing artificial intelligence policies.…
Computer Banc serves our community and beyond
Since 1999, Springfield’s Computer Banc has served as a depository for donated computers which are refurbished and distributed to nonprofits, schools and the underserved at a reduced cost. The organization is also an authorized nonprofit Microsoft refurbisher, meaning it is officially licensed to repurpose computers with up-to-date Windows software and is the largest nonprofit Microsoft-registered…
Delaney’s Smokehouse
Delaney’s Smokehouse is the latest iteration of this long-time, north-end stalwart. This latest incarnation has managed to provide diners with the classics that have been forever associated with the location, such as the fried chicken, as well as new and fun offerings. If you’ve never been to Delaney’s, you might think you are in the…
