Page 6 - Julia Frevert News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

A newly proposed date for the Springfield St. Patrick's Day parade is on the books, a spokeswoman for the city said. Mayernick said a parade committee meeting is "pending." A post from the parade committee's Jan. 12 noted the March 13 parade was being postponed "due to the continued unprecedented circumstances caused by COVID-19." City spokeswoman Julia Frevert confirmed the Oct. 16 date from the Office of Public Works. The 2020 parade was postponed after a nudge from Gov. JB Pritzker, who called Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder personally amid concerns about the spread of the virus in lar...

George Reisch admitted that his dad's birthday is always an emotional time for him. Reisch's father was Edward L. Reisch, the last brewmaster of Springfield Reisch Brewing Co., who died in July 2019. George Reisch, who now lives in Wildwood, Missouri, was to be in Springfield Tuesday night to accept a Springfield City Council proclamation declaring March 1 "Edward L. Reisch Day."  The day marks what would have been his 102nd birthday. "To have this proclamation means a lot to the family," said George Reisch earlier Tuesday. "I'm just very grateful to Mayor (Jim) Langfelder and (city spokes...

The county reported 112 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the highest since Dec. 17. As of Monday, the seven-day-rolling positivity rate was 7%.

The city of Springfield is again accused of discriminating against LGBTQ employees. Former city library employee Kate Holt, a transgender woman, claims the city violated state law by refusing to cover her medical expenses related to gender transition. Transgender people have a variety of ways to go about transitioning. Some, like Holt, regularly take hormonal treatments via shots or pills. Holt started a job at the city library in February 2020. "My prescriptions were excluded from insurance," said Holt in a post on the website for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. "They wer...

Brandon Blough confirmed as Springfield fire chief Brandon Blough is officially Springfield’s new fire chief.  The Springfield City Council unanimously approved Blough’s appointment Tuesday evening, elevating the deputy division chief of operations to the top job vacated by Chief Allen Reyne two weeks ago. Blough has served as acting chief since Nov. 30.  Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder chose Blough after interviewing three candidates from within the department for the position. A fairly unique clause in the city’s contract with the firefighters union requires that the mayor choose ...