Springfield, Illinois

Cityscape

thumb|Illinois State Capitol and East Capitol Avenue in 2019

Springfield proper is largely based on a grid street system, with numbered streets starting with the longitudinal First Street (which leads to the Illinois State Capitol) and leading to 32nd Street in the far eastern part of the city. Previously, the city had four distinct boundary streets: North, South, East, and West Grand Avenues. Since expansion, West Grand Avenue became MacArthur Boulevard and East Grand became 19th Street on the north side and 18th Street on the south side. 18th Street has since been renamed after Martin Luther King Jr. North and South Grand Avenues (which run east–west) have remained important corridors in the city. At South Grand Avenue and Eleventh Street, the old "South Town District" lies, with the City of Springfield undertaking a significant redevelopment project there .

Latitudinal streets range from names of presidents in the downtown area to names of notable people in Springfield and Illinois to names of institutions of higher education, especially in the Harvard Park neighborhood.

City neighborhoods

Springfield has at least twenty separately designated neighborhoods, though not all have neighborhood associations. They include: Benedictine District, Bunn Park, Downtown, Eastsview, Enos Park, Glen Aire, Harvard Park, Hawthorne Place, Historic West Side, Lincoln Park, Mather and Wells, Medical District, Near South, Northgate, Oak Ridge, Old Aristocracy Hill, Pillsbury District, Shalom, Springfield Lakeshore, Toronto, Twin Lakes, UIS Campus, Victoria Lake, Vinegar Hill, and Westchester neighborhoods.

The Lincoln Park Neighborhood is an area bordered by 3rd Street on its west, Black Avenue on the north, 8th street on the east and North Grand Avenue. The neighborhood is not far from Lincoln's Tomb on Monument Avenue.

Springfield completely surrounds four suburbs that have their own municipal governments: Jerome, Leland Grove, Southern View, and Grandview. It also surrounds various unincorporated enclaves, including the neighborhoods of Laketown and Cabbage Patch.

Demographics

thumb|Map of racial distribution in Springfield, 2020 U.S. census. Each dot is one person:

2020 census

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Springfield, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|89,510

|86,781

|style='background: #ffffe6; |77,775

|80.31%

|74.65%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |67.99%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|17,007

|21,344

|style='background: #ffffe6; |23,126

|15.26%

|18.36%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |20.22%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|203

|205

|style='background: #ffffe6; |191

|0.18%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.17%

|Asian alone (NH)

|1,612

|2,538

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,327

|1.45%

|2.18%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.91%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|30

|23

|style='background: #ffffe6; |42

|0.03%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.04%

|Other race alone (NH)

|204

|221

|style='background: #ffffe6; |455

|0.18%

|0.19%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.40%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|1,551

|2,813

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,896

|1.39%

|2.42%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.15%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|1,337

|2,325

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,582

|1.20%

|2.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.13%

|Total

|111,454

|116,250

|style='background: #ffffe6; |114,394

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

At the 2010 Census, 75.8% of the population was White, 18.5% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2% Asian, and 2.6% of two or more races. 2.0% of Springfield's population was of Hispanic or Latino origin (they may be of any race). Non-Hispanic Whites were 74.7% of the population in 2010,

As of the census of 2000, there were 111,454 people, 48,621 households, and 27,957 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 53,733 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.0% White, 15.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.5% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population.

There were 48,621 households, out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.5% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,388, and the median income for a family was $51,298. Families with children had a higher income of about $69,437. Males had a median income of $36,864 versus $28,867 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,324. About 8.4% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

thumb|right|Construction of the water works, 1936

Many of the jobs in the city center around state government, which is headquartered in Springfield. As of 2002, the State of Illinois is both the city's and county's largest employer, employing 17,000 people across Sangamon County. According to estimates from the "Living Wage Calculator" the living wage for the city of Springfield is $7.89 per hour for one adult, According to the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Civilian Labor force dropped from 116,500 in September 2006 to 113,400 in February 2007. In addition, the unemployment rate rose during the same time period from 3.8% to 5.1%.

Largest employers

According to the city's 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:

{| class="wikitable"

! scope="col" |

! scope="col" |Employer

! scope="col" |Employees

! scope="row" |1

|State of Illinois

|style="text-align: right;"|17,800

! scope="row" |2

|Memorial Health System

|style="text-align: right;"|5,238

! scope="row" |3

|Hospital Sisters Health System

|style="text-align: right;"|4,434

! scope="row" |4

|Springfield Clinic

|style="text-align: right;"|3,400

! scope="row" |5

|Springfield Public Schools

|style="text-align: right;"|2,130

! scope="row" |6

|University of Illinois Springfield

|style="text-align: right;"|1,642

! scope="row" |7

|Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

|style="text-align: right;"|1,470

! scope="row" |8

|City of Springfield

|style="text-align: right;"|1,410

! scope="row" |9

|Horace Mann Educators Corporation

|style="text-align: right;"|1,066

! scope="row" |10

|Illinois National Guard

|style="text-align: right;"|967

Arts and culture

thumb|left|upright|[[Abraham Lincoln resided in Springfield for 24 years]]

Springfield has been home to a wide array of individuals who, in one way or another, contributed to the broader American culture. Wandering poet Vachel Lindsay, most famous for his poem "The Congo" and a booklet called "Rhymes to be Traded for Bread", was born in Springfield in 1879.

At least two notable people affiliated with American business and industry have called the Illinois state capital home at one time or another. Both John L. Lewis, a labor activist, and Marjorie Merriweather Post, the founder of the General Foods Corporation, lived in the city; Post in particular was a native of Springfield. In addition, astronomer Seth Barnes Nicholson was born in Springfield in 1891.

A Madeiran Portuguese community resided in the vicinity of the Carpenter Street Underpass, one of the earliest and largest Portuguese settlements in the Midwest. The Portuguese immigrants that originated the community left Madeira because they experienced social ostracization due to being Protestants in their largely Catholic homeland, having been converted to Protestantism by a Scottish reverend named Robert Reid Kalley, who visited Madeira in 1838. These Protestant Madeiran exiles relocated to the Caribbean island of Trinidad before settling permanently in Springfield in 1849.

Literary tradition

Springfield and the Sangamon Valley enjoy a strong literary tradition in Abraham Lincoln, Vachel Lindsay, Edgar Lee Masters, John Hay, William H. Herndon, Benjamin P. Thomas, Paul Angle, Virginia Eifert, Robert Fitzgerald, and William Maxwell, among others. The Illinois State Library's Gwendolyn Brooks Building features the names of 35 Illinois authors etched on its exterior fourth floor frieze. Through the Illinois Center for the Book, a comprehensive resource on authors, illustrators, and other creatives who have published books who have written about Illinois or lived in Illinois is maintained.

Performing arts

The Hoogland Center for the Arts in downtown Springfield is a centerpiece for performing arts, and houses among other organizations the Springfield Theatre Centre, the Copper Coin Ballet Company, and the Springfield Municipal Opera, also known as The Muni, which stages community theatre productions of Broadway musicals outdoors each summer. Before being purchased and renamed, the Hoogland Center was Springfield's Masonic Temple. Prior to the Hoogland, the Springfield Theatre Centre was housed in the nearby Legacy Theatre. Sangamon Auditorium, located on the campus of the University of Illinois Springfield also serves as a larger venue for musical and performing acts, both touring and local.

A few films have been created or had elements of them created in Springfield. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde was filmed in Springfield in 2003.

Musicians Artie Matthews and Morris Day both once called Springfield home.

Springfield was also home to long-running underground all-ages space The Black Sheep Cafe.

Festivals

Springfield is home to the annual Springfield Old Capitol Art Fair, a spring festival held annually in the third weekend in May. Since 2002, Springfield has also hosted the 'Route 66 Film Festival', set to celebrate films routed in, based on, or taking part on the famous Route 66.

Tourism

Springfield is known for several popular food items: the corn dog is claimed to have been invented in the city under the name "Cozy Dog", although there is some debate to the origin of the snack. The horseshoe sandwich, not well known outside of central Illinois, also originated in Springfield. Springfield was once the site of the Reisch Beer brewery, which operated for 117 years under the same name and family from 1849 to 1966.

thumb|right|[[Lincoln's Tomb]]

The Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop in Springfield still operates what it claims as the first U.S. drive-thru window. The city is also known for its chili ― or "chilli", as it is spelled in many chili shops throughout Sangamon County. Another interpretation is that the misspelling represented the "Ill" in the word Illinois.

Springfield is dotted with sites associated with U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who started his political career there. These include the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, a National Historical Park that includes the preserved surrounding neighborhood; the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site, the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site, the Old State Capitol State Historic Site, the Lincoln Depot, from which Abraham Lincoln departed Springfield to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C.; the Elijah Iles House, Edwards Place and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The church that the Lincoln family belonged to, First Presbyterian Church, still has the original Lincoln family pew on display in its narthex. Near the village of Petersburg, is New Salem State Park, a restored hamlet of log cabins. This is a reconstruction of the town where Lincoln lived as a young man. With the opening of the Presidential Library and Museum in 2004, the city has attracted numerous prominent visitors, including Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the actor Liam Neeson, and the Emir of Qatar.

thumb|right|[[Old State Capitol State Historic Site]]

The Donner Party, a group of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism while snowbound during a winter in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, began their journey West from Springfield. Springfield's Dana–Thomas House is among the best preserved and most complete of Frank Lloyd Wright's early "Prairie" houses. It was built in 1902–1904 and has many of the furnishings Wright designed for it. In August, the city is the site of the Illinois State Fair at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Although not born in Springfield, Lincoln is the city's most famous resident. He lived there for 24 years. Springfield's largest baseball field, Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park, takes its full name in honor of Roberts and his athletic achievements. Former MLB player Dick "Ducky" Schofield is currently an elected official in Springfield, and his son Dick also played in the Major Leagues, as does Ducky's grandson, Jayson Werth. Ducky, Dick, and Jayson were all born in Springfield. Ducky's daughter (and Jayson's mother) Kim Schofield Werth, also from Springfield, is a track star who competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials. National Basketball Association players Dave Robisch, Kevin Gamble, and Andre Iguodala are all from the city. Long-time NFL announcer (NBC) and former Cincinnati Bengal Pro Bowl tight end Bob Trumpy is a city native, having graduated from Springfield High School. Former NFL wide receiver Otto Stowe was a 1967 graduate of the now-defunct Feitshans High School. A UFC fighter, Matt Mitrione, attended and played football for Sacred Heart Griffin. He also played in the NFL as an undrafted free agent.

At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Springfield native Ryan Held won a gold medal as a member of the USA 400-meter (4 X 100 meter) freestyle relay team along with Caeleb Dressel, Michael Phelps, and Nathan Adrian. During his senior year at Sacred-Heart Griffin High School in 2014, Held was named Illinois State Swimmer of the Year.

Parks and recreation

The Springfield Park District operates more than 30 parks throughout the city. The two best-known are Carpenter Park, an Illinois Nature Preserve on the banks of the Sangamon River, and Washington Park and Botanical Garden on the city's southwest side and adjacent to some of Springfield's most beautiful and architecturally interesting homes. Washington Park has also been home to the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon since its dedication in 1962. Southwind Park, on the southern edge of the city, has been developed as a park enjoying full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Lincoln Park, located next to Oak Ridge Cemetery where President Lincoln's tomb is located, is home to the Nelson Recreation Center, which boasts a public swimming pool, tennis courts, and the city's only public ice rink, home of the Springfield Junior Blues, a minor league hockey team. Centennial Park, which rests on the outskirts of Springfield's southwest limits, holds one of the city's two public skateparks (the other being in Iles Park), as well as several ball fields, tennis courts, and a manmade hill for cardio exercises and sledding in winter months.

In addition to the public-sector parks operated by the Springfield Park District, two significant privately operated tree gardens/arboretums operate within city limits: the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden on Lake Springfield south of the city, and the Adams Wildlife Sanctuary on Springfield's east side.

Government

Springfield city government is structured under the mayor-council form of government. It is the strong mayor variation of that type of municipal government, the mayor holds executive authority, including veto power, in Springfield.

Elected officials in the city (mayor, aldermen, city clerk, and treasurer) serve four-year terms. The elections are not staggered.

Members

City elections are technically non partisan, however most candidates are affiliated with a political party. As such, party affiliation is a matter of self identification.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Springfield elected officials

|- bgcolor="#cccccc"

!Citywide positions!! Officeholder !! Party

|- bgcolor="#ffaaaa"

|Mayor ||Misty Buscher||Republican

|- bgcolor="#ffaaaa"

|Treasurer ||Colleen Redpath Feger||Republican

|- bgcolor="#ffaaaa"

|Clerk ||Frank Lesko||Republican

|- bgcolor="#cccccc"

!City council!! Officeholder !! Party

|- bgcolor="#ffaaaa"

|Ward 1 ||Chuck Redpath||Republican

|- bgcolor="#73C2FB"

|Ward 2 ||Shawn Gregory||Democratic

|- bgcolor="#73C2FB"

|Ward 3 ||Roy Williams Jr.||Democratic

|- bgcolor="white"

|Ward 4 ||Larry Rockford||Unknown

|- bgcolor="#73C2FB"

|Ward 5 ||Lakeisha Purchase||Democratic

|- bgcolor="#73C2FB"

|Ward 6 ||Jennifer Notariano||Democratic

|- bgcolor="#ffaaaa"

|Ward 7 ||Brad Carlson||Republican

|- bgcolor="#73C2FB"

|Ward 8 ||Erin Conley||Democratic

|- bgcolor="#73C2FB"

|Ward 9 ||Jim Donelean||Democratic

|- bgcolor="#ffaaaa"

|Ward 10 ||Ralph Hanauer||Republican

State government

thumb|The [[Illinois Governor's Mansion in 2012]]

As the state capital, Springfield is home to the three branches of Illinois government. Much like the United States federal government, Illinois government has an executive branch, occupied by the state governor, a legislative branch, which consists of the state senate and house, and a judicial branch, which is topped by the Illinois Supreme Court. The Illinois legislative branch is collectively known as the Illinois General Assembly. Many state bureaucrats work in offices in Springfield, and it is the regular meeting place of the Illinois General Assembly. All persons elected on a statewide basis are required to have at least one residence in Springfield, and the state government funds these residences.

none of the major constitutional officers in Illinois designated Springfield as their primary residence; most cabinet officers and all major constitutional officers instead primarily do their business in Chicago. A former director of the Southern Illinois University Paul Simon Institute for Public Affairs, Mike Lawrence, stated that many of the elected officials in Illinois "spend so little time in Springfield".

In the 21st century Springfield annexed large parts of Springfield and Woodside townships. The annexed parcels remained part of their original townships despite being within the Springfield city limits.

Law enforcement

thumb|upright|Ford Police Interceptor Utility

The Springfield Police Department was founded in 1840 as part of the city charter. The police chief is Joseph Behl, and as of 2022, the department had 242 employees.

Springfield Police officer Samuel Rosario was arrested by the Illinois State Police on February 28, 2017, after fighting with a teenager on charges of official misconduct and battery. He was found guilty of official misconduct in August 2019.

In 2024, Sangamon County sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson was fired, and subsequently charged with first-degree murder, following the murder of Sonya Massey in Springfield.

Education

thumb|The Colonnade, [[University of Illinois Springfield]]

Springfield is currently home to six public and private high schools.

The Springfield public school district is District No. 186. District 186 operates 24 elementary schools and an early learning center, (pre-K). District 186 operates three high schools, Lanphier High School, Springfield High School and Springfield Southeast High School, which replaced Feitshans High School in 1967, and five middle schools.

Springfield's Sacred Heart-Griffin High School is a city Catholic high school. Other area high schools include Calvary Academy and Lutheran High School. Ursuline Academy was a second Catholic high school founded in 1857, first as an all-girls school, and converted to co-ed in 1981. The school was closed in 2007.

Springfield hosts one University. The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS, formerly Sangamon State University), which is located on the southeast side of the city.

Springfield is also home to a junior college Lincoln Land Community College, located just south of UIS. From 1875 to 1976, Springfield was also home to Concordia Theological Seminary. The seminary was moved back to its original home of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the campus now serves as the Illinois Department of Corrections Academy.

The city is home to the Springfield campus of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, which includes Simmons Cancer Institute in Springfield's Medical District.

Media

The State Journal-Register is the primary daily newspaper for Springfield, and its surrounding area. The newspaper was founded in 1831 as the Sangamon Journal, and claims to be "the oldest newspaper in Illinois". The local alternative weekly is the Illinois Times.

Television stations

Springfield is part of the Springfield-Decatur-Champaign TV market. Four TV stations broadcast from the Springfield area: WCIX MYTV 49, WICS ABC 20, WRSP FOX 55, and WSEC PBS 14. Both WICS and WRSP are currently owned by the same parent company Sinclair Broadcast Group. Springfield is also served by two stations in Decatur, WAND NBC 17 and WBUI CW 23, and two stations in Champaign, WCIA CBS 3 and WILL PBS 12. One television station that has since ceased to exist was WJJY-TV, which operated in the Springfield area for three years (1969–1971).

Radio stations

The following radio stations broadcast in the Springfield area:

Infrastructure

thumb|[[Springfield Union Station (Illinois)|Springfield Union Station]]

Health systems

There are two Springfield hospitals, Memorial Medical Center and St. John's Hospital. A third hospital, originally Springfield Community Hospital, and later renamed Doctor's Hospital operated on Springfield's south side until 2003. Kindred Healthcare opened a long term acute care hospital in Springfield in 2010, however, the facility was purchased by Vibra Healthcare in 2013, and was operated by Vibra under the name Vibra Hospital of Springfield until it closed in 2019.

St. John's Hospital is home to the Prairie Heart Institute, which performs more cardiovascular procedures than any other hospital in Illinois. The dominant health care providers in the area are SIU HealthCare and Springfield Clinic. The major medical education center in the area is the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. The major regional cancer center is the SIU Simmons Cancer Institute.

Public utilities

The owner of Lake Springfield – City Water, Light & Power – supplies electric power generated from the Dallman Power Plants to the city of Springfield and eight surrounding communities. The company also provides these cities and towns with water from the lake. In 2005, ground was broken for a third municipally owned power plant, which came online in 2009. Natural gas is provided via Ameren Illinois, formerly Central Illinois Light Company (CILCO).

Transportation

Interstate 55 runs from north to south past Springfield, while I-72, which is concurrent with U.S. Route 36 from the Missouri state line to Decatur, runs from east to west.

Amtrak serves daily with its Lincoln Service and Texas Eagle routes. Service consists of four Lincoln Service round-trips between and , and one Texas Eagle round-trip between and Chicago. Three days a week, the Eagle continues on to . Springfield is served by the following freight railroads: Canadian National, Illinois and Midland Railroad, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. Springfield is also served by Greyhound buses at a station on North Dirksen Parkway.

Local mass transportation needs are met by a bus service. The Sangamon Mass Transit District (SMTD) operates Springfield's bus system. The city also lies along historic Route 66.

Border thoroughfare traffic is handled by Veterans Parkway and J. David Jones Parkway on the west side, Everett M. Dirksen Parkway on the east side, Sangamon Avenue on the north end, and Wabash Avenue, Stanford Avenue, and Adlai Stevenson Drive on the south end. The far south corridor is served by Toronto and Woodside Roads. Thoroughfare traffic through the heart of the city is provided by a series of one-way streets. Fifth and Sixth Streets serve the bulk of the north–south traffic, with Seventh Street serving additional traffic between North Grand and South Grand Avenues. East–west traffic is handled by Jefferson Street, entering Springfield on the west side from IL 97, and then splitting into a pair of one-way streets at Amos Avenue (Madison eastbound and Jefferson westbound). The two converge again after Eleventh Street to become Clearlake Avenue, which in turn converges into I-72 eastbound just past Dirksen Parkway. Additional east–west one-way streets run through the downtown areas of Springfield, including Monroe, Adams, Washington, and Cook Streets, as well as a stretch of Lawrence Avenue.

Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport serves the capital city with scheduled passenger jet service to Chicago O'Hare, Fort Myers (via the Punta Gorda Airport) and Orlando.

Springfield and the surrounding metropolitan area have constructed several bike trails; currently, four main trails exist. Two significant paved trails, the Interurban Trail and the Lost Bridge Trail, serve Springfield and its suburbs of Chatham, Illinois and Rochester, Illinois respectively. The Lost Bridge Trail has been extended further into Springfield by the Bunn to Lost Bridge Trail, which follows a stretch of Ash Street and Taylor Avenue. Plans are to extend it further still to Stanford Avenue. A third trail, the Wabash Trail, extends westward from the northern end of the Interurban Trail toward Parkway Pointe, a regional shopping destination. Additionally, several streets contain designated bicycle lanes, and there are multiple class III bicycle routes.

The fourth trail is a section, opened in July 2011, of the Sangamon Valley Trail spanning north to south through the west central part of Sangamon County. The section open as of 2011 extends northward from Centennial Park to Stuart Park. This trail, if completed in its entirety, will reuse the entire Sangamon County portion of the abandoned St. Louis, Peoria and North Western Railway railroad line as a trail that will extend from Girard, Illinois, to Athens, Illinois.

Notable people

Sister cities

Springfield, Illinois has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

San Pedro, Coahuila (Mexico)
Ashikaga, Tochigi (Japan)

Springfield, Illinois

Cityscape

Demographics

2020 census

Economy

Largest employers

Arts and culture

Literary tradition

Performing arts

Festivals

Tourism

Parks and recreation

Government

Members

State government

Law enforcement

Education

Media

Television stations

Radio stations

Infrastructure

Health systems

Public utilities

Transportation

Notable people

Sister cities

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links