Page 5 - John Stremsterfer News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Plans take shape for new business hub in South Town

Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln column presents ten goals for a better life in Springfield's future.

After six months of gathering ideas and strategies, Community Foundation releases the result

Dominic Watson is intimately familiar with the disparities that exist in Springfield and Sangamon County. Growing up, he would travel from the north side of town to the east side to attend St. Patrick's Catholic School near the corner of MLK Drive and South Grand Avenue. "Driving from the north side to the east side, or from the west side to the east side, you can see how things change,” said Watson, 37, who is president and chief executive officer of the Springfield Black Chamber of Commerce. “You transition. It's like a whole different world." In Sangamon County, the median household i...

Jim Moll may not be the smartest man in Springfield, but the Hanson Professional Services engineer sounded like it during a public meeting held last week to discuss progress on a rail line under construction along 10th Street. The new line will replace tracks along Third Street. Moll's been in charge of the $353 million project for more than a decade, and he says it's on time and on budget. The feds gave the green light in 2012 and have paid millions of dollars since then to make it happen – there remains a $60 million gap, Moll says, but he's confident that the money will come. He seem...