News

New Obama exhibit opens and African American History Museum

LIVE | Springfield City Council Committee of the Whole April 9th

LIVE | Springfield City Council Meeting April 3rd

Morgan County Republicans host municipal candidate form for Jacksonville

Jacksonville City Council approves cost savings in Clerk’s office

Published

2 months ago

February 13, 2019

Thomas Clatterbuck

President Barack Obama was the first African American president of the United States, and the fourth to have strong ties to Illinois. His two terms as president usually draw the most attention, but a new exhibit at the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum focuses on the start of his political career. Before rising to national prominence as a US Senator and later as President, Obama served in the General Assembly right here in Springfield.

Obama worked with many people in the Springfield area, many of whom are still active in the community. At the exhibit opening, two of his former staffers and mentors, Beverly Helm-Renfro and Nia Odeoti-Hassan, shared their experiences working with the then Senator Obama. From the first time they met the future president, to Michelle Obama’s reaction to Obama getting his first bill passed, to his eventual move to DC, these two women spoke about a side of him most outsiders never got to see. You can watch their full talk in the player.

The Obama exhibit showcases memorabilia and other artifacts from Obama’s time in the General Assembly all the way through his time as president. Community members from Springfield provided their own items to share their link with the president.

The museum is located at 1440 Monument Avenue, near the entrance to Oak Ridge Cemetery, and is open from 12 PM – 4 PM Tuesday through Friday, and 10 AM – 5:00 PM on Saturday. You can also check out their website at spiaahm.org.

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LIVE | Springfield City Council Committee of the Whole April 9th

Published

1 week ago

April 9, 2019

Staff Contributor

Follow along live with the Springfield City Council committee of the whole meeting. The council will be discussing proposals to allow businesses to access the local fiber optic network. Fiber optic connections can dramatically increase network speeds over other technologies.

Announcements

City branch pickup starts tomorrow in the Northwest Quadrant

Published

2 weeks ago

April 7, 2019

Staff Contributor

Springfield’s spring branch pickup program starts Monday, April 8th. Each quadrant of the city will have two pickup dates, one in April and one in May. Crews will only visit each quadrant once per month. The first pickup will be in the Northwest Quadrant.

Size of Branch Piles

Branches must meet the following standards to be picked up:

No larger than 3 foot in height, 4 foot in depth, and 10 feet in length;
Piles larger than a small pickup load will not be picked up by the city;
The program is for branches only, no logs will be accepted
Branches/limbs trimmed by a commercial contractor will not be picked up; and
Branches must be placed on the curb not obstructing the street or sidewalk.

Small branches may also be broken up and put into yard waste bags for pick up by your waste hauler.

Year-Round Residential Branch Drop Off

Residents may drop off branches, free of charge year-round, to Evans Recycling with proof of residency. This service is not for commercial contractors but for city residents only. Evans Recycling is located at 2100 J. David Jones Parkway and is open Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, 7:00 a.m. – 12-noon. Contact number is 217.391.0886.

Pickup schedule

Week of April 8^th & May 6^th

Northwest Quadrant – area north of South Grand Avenue and Old Jacksonville Road. West of Walnut Street/J David Jones Parkway.

Week of April 15^th & May 13

Southwest Quadrant – area south of South Grand Avenue and Old Jacksonville Road. West of Walnut Street.

Week of April 22^nd & May 20^th

Southeast Quadrant– area south of South Grand Avenue and east of Walnut Street, including the properties around Lake Springfield.

Week of April 29^th & May 27^th

Northeast Quadrant – area north of South Grand Avenue and east of Walnut/J. David Jones Parkway.

Live

LIVE | Springfield City Council Meeting April 3rd

Published

2 weeks ago

April 3, 2019

Staff Contributor

Follow along live with the Springfield City Council meeting for April 3rd, 2019. This meeting was moved for the April 2nd, election. There will be a presentation by Public Works on yard waste pickup service in the city. They also discussed providing funding for the Land of Lincoln Economic Development Corporation.