Springfield, Illinois Springfield, Illinois The Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois.
Official name: City of Springfield Sangamon County Illinois incorporated and unincorporated areas Springfield highlighted.svg state of Illinois and the governmental center of county of Sangamon County.
Enumeration makes it the state's sixth most crowded city. It is the biggest city in central Illinois.
As of 2013, the city's populace was estimated to have increased to 117,006, with just over 211,700 inhabitants living in the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Sangamon County and the adjoining Menard County. Present-day Springfield was settled by European Americans in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state.
The most famous historic resident was Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield from 1837 until 1861, when he went to the White House as President.
Major tourist attractions include a multitude of historic sites connected with Abraham Lincoln including his presidential exhibition, his home from 1837 to 1861, his tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery, and the historical town of New Salem, inside a short drive from the city.
Lake Springfield, a large artificial lake owned by the City Water, Light & Power business (CWLP), supplies the town/city with recreation and drinking water.
In addition, the government of the state of Illinois is also based in Springfield.
State government entities include the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor of Illinois.
There are three enhance and three private high schools in Springfield.
Public schools in Springfield are directed by District No.
Springfield's economy is marked by government jobs, and the medical field, which account for a large percentage of the city's workforce.
Calhoun of South Carolina. The territory that Springfield now is situated in was originally settled by trappers and traders who came to the Sangamon River in 1818. The settlement's first cabin was assembled in 1820, by John Kelly.
Settlers from Kentucky, Virginia, and as far as North Carolina came to the city. By 1832, Senator Calhoun had declined out of the favor with the enhance and the town retitled itself Springfield after Springfield, Massachusetts.
At that time, Springfield, Massachusetts was comparable to modern-day Silicon Valley known for industrialized innovation, concentrated prosperity, and the jubilated Springfield Armory.
Most importantly, it was a town/city that had assembled itself up from frontier outpost to nationwide power through ingenuity an example that the newly titled Springfield, Illinois, sought to emulate. Kaskaskia was the first capital of the Illinois Territory from its organization in 1809, closing through statehood in 1818, and through the first year as a state in 1819.
Springfield became the third and current capital of Illinois in 1839.
Lincoln appeared in the Springfield region when he was a young man in 1831, though he would not actually live in the town/city until 1837. He spent the ensuing six years in New Salem where he began his legal studies, joined the state militia and was propel to the Illinois General Assembly.
In 1837 Lincoln moved to Springfield and spent the next 24 years as a lawyer and politician.
Lincoln bringed his Lyceum address in Springfield.
Abraham Lincoln's longterm position mirrors the Whigs' political rise, but by the 1840s Springfield began to fall into Democratic hands, as immigrants changed the city's political makeup.
The town/city was a political and financial center of support, and new industries, businesses, and barns s were constructed to help support the war accomplishment. The war's first official death was a Springfield resident, Colonel Elmer E.
Camp Butler, seven miles (11 km) northeast of Springfield, Illinois, opened in August 1861 as a training camp for Illinois soldiers, but also served as a camp for Confederate prisoners of war through 1865.
After the war ended in 1865, Springfield became a primary hub in the Illinois barns fitness and besides politics and farming, coal quarrying was a primary industry for Springfield by 1900. Sparked by the alleged rape of a white woman by a black man and the murder of a white engineer, supposedly also by a black man, in Springfield, and reportedly angered by the high degree of corruption in the city, some white inhabitants took their anxiety and frustration out on blacks.
The brawl ended when the governor sent in more than 3,700 militiamen to patrol the city, but isolated incidents of white violence against blacks continued in Springfield into September. On February 10, 2007, then-senator Barack Obama announced his presidential candidacy in Springfield, standing on the grounds of the Old State Capitol. Senator Obama also used the Old State Capitol in Springfield as a backdrop when he announced Joe Biden as his running mate on August 23, 2008.
Astronaut photography of Springfield Illinois taken from the International Space Station (ISS) Springfield is positioned at 39 41 54 N 89 37 11 W (39.6983146, -89.6195900). The town/city is at an altitude of 558 feet (170 m) above sea level. Located inside the central section of Illinois, Springfield is 90 miles (140 km) northeast of St.
According to the 2010 census, Springfield has a total region of 65.764 square miles (170.33 km2), of which 59.48 square miles (154.05 km2) (or 90.44%) is territory and 6.284 square miles (16.28 km2) (or 9.56%) is water. The town/city is positioned in the Lower Illinois River Basin, in a large region known as Till Plain.
Sangamon County, and the town/city of Springfield, are in the Springfield Plain subsection of Till Plain.
The majority of the Lower Illinois River Basin is flat, with relief extending no more than 20 feet (6.1 m) in most areas, including the Springfield subsection of the plain.
Lake Springfield is a 4,200-acre (1,700 ha) man-made reservoir owned by City Water, Light & Power, the biggest municipally owned utility in Illinois. It was assembled and filled in 1935 by damming Lick Creek, a tributary of the Sangamon River which flows past Springfield's northern outskirts. The lake is used primarily as a origin for drinking water for the town/city of Springfield, also providing cooling water for the condensers at the power plant on the lake.
Climate data for Springfield, Illinois (Capital Airport), 1981 2010 normals From 1961 to 1990 the town/city of Springfield averaged 35.25 inches (895 mm) of rain per year. During that same reconstructionthe average annual temperature was 52.4 F (11.3 C), with a summer maximum of 76.5 F (24.7 C) in July and a winter minimum of 24.2 F ( 4.3 C) in January. On June 14, 1957, a tornado hit Springfield, killing two citizens . On March 12, 2006, the town/city was hit by two F2 tornadoes. The storm fitness which brought the two tornadoes hit the town/city around 8:30pm; no one died as a result of the weather. Springfield received a federal grant in February 2005 to help advancement its tornado warning systems and new sirens were put in place in November 2006 after eight of the sirens floundered during an April 2006 test, shortly after the tornadoes hit. The cost of the new sirens totaled $983,000. Although tornadoes are not uncommon in central Illinois, the March 12 tornadoes were the first to hit the actual town/city since the 1957 storm. The 2006 tornadoes followed nearly identical paths to that of the 1957 tornado. An image of Downtown Springfield with a view of the State capitol Springfield proper is greatly based on a grid street system, with numbered streets starting with the longitudinal First Street which leads to the Illinois State Capitol and dominant to 32nd Street in the far easterly part of the city.
At South Grand and Eleventh Street, the old "South Town District" lies, with the City of Springfield comprehensive a momentous redevelopment universal there.
Latitudinal streets range from names of presidents in the downtown region to names of notable citizens in Springfield and Illinois to names of establishments of higher education, especially in the Harvard Park neighborhood.
They include: Benedictine District, Bunn Park, the Cabbage Patch, Downtown, Eastsview, Enos Park, Glen Aire, Harvard Park, Hawthorne Place, Historic West Side, Laketown, 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. Abraham Lincoln resided in Springfield for 24 years 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 citizens affiliated with American company and trade have called the Illinois state capital home at one time or another.
Lewis, a workforce 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. Springfield and the Sangamon Valley appreciate a strong literary tradition in Abraham Lincoln, Vachel Lindsay, Edgar Lee Masters, John Hay, William H.
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 elected resource on authors, illustrators, and other creatives who have presented books who have written about Illinois or lived in Illinois is maintained. The Hoogland Center for the Arts in downtown Springfield is a centerpiece for performing arts, and homes among other organizations the Springfield Theatre Centre, the Springfield Ballet Company, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and the Springfield Municipal Opera, also known as The Muni, which stages improve theatre productions of Broadway musicals outdoors each summer.
Sangamon Auditorium, positioned on the ground of the University of Illinois at Springfield also serves as a larger venue for musical and performing acts, both touring and local.
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 jubilate films routed in, based on, or taking part on the famous Route 66. Springfield is known for some prominent food items: the corn dog is claimed to have been invented in the town/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 directed for 117 years under the same name and family from 1849 to 1966. drive-thru window. The town/city is also known for its chili, or "chilli", as it is known in many chili shops throughout Sangamon County. The unique spelling is said to have begun with the founder of the Dew Chilli Parlor in 1909, due to a spelling error in its sign. Another interpretation is that the misspelling represented the "Ill" in the word Illinois. In 1993, the Illinois state council adopted a resolution proclaiming Springfield the "Chilli Capital of the Civilized World." President Abraham Lincoln, who started his political longterm position there. These include the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, a National Historical Park that includes the preserved encircling 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 Donner Party, a group of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism while snowbound amid a winter in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 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" homes. It was assembled in 1902 1904 and has many of the furnishings Wright designed for it. Springfield's Washington Park is home to Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon and the site of a carillon festival, held annually since 1962. In August, the town/city is the site of the Illinois State Fair.
Although not born in Springfield, Lincoln is the city's most famous resident.
Springfield has the area's biggest amusement park, Knight's Action Park and Caribbean Water Park, which is open from May to September.
Springfield Sliders Prospect League Baseball Lanphier Park 2008 1 Historically, Springfield has been home to a number of minor league baseball franchises, the latest club, the college-prep Springfield Sliders, arriving in the town/city in 2008.
In the 1948 baseball season, Springfield was also home to an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team, the Springfield Sallies, but the team's lackluster performance led them to be closed in with the Chicago Colleens as rookie evolution squads the following year.
The town/city was the home of the Springfield Stallions, an indoor football team who played at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in 2007.
Today, the town/city is host to the Springfield Jr.
A newly formed team in 2010, the Springfield Foxes, play in the Mid States Football League (MSFL) (11 man).
Current and former Major League Baseball players Kevin Seitzer, Jeff Fassero, Ryan O'Malley, Jason and Justin Knoedler, and Hall of Famer Robin Roberts were all born in Springfield. Springfield's biggest baseball field, Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park, takes its full name with respect to Roberts and his athletic achievements.
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 town/city native, having graduated from Springfield High School.
The State Journal-Register is the major daily journal for Springfield, and its encircling area.
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.
NOAA Weather Radio station WXJ75 transmits from Mechanicsburg and is licensed to NOAA's National Weather Service Central Illinois Weather Forecast Office at Lincoln, transmitting on a recurrence of 162.400 m - Hz (channel 1 on most newer weather radios, and most SAME weather radios).
Many of the jobs in the town/city center around state government, headquartered in Springfield.
As of 2002, the State of Illinois is both the town/city and county's biggest employer, employing 17,000 citizens athwart Sangamon County. As of February 2007, government jobs, including local, state and county, account for about 30,000 of the city's non-agricultural jobs. Trade, transit and utilities, and the community care industries each furnish between 17,000 and 18,000 jobs to the city. The biggest private zone employer in 2002 was Memorial Health System.
3,400 citizens worked for that company. According to estimates from the "Living Wage Calculator", maintained by Pennsylvania State University, the living wage for the town/city of Springfield is $7.89 per hour for one adult, approximately $15,780 working 2,000 hours per year.
4 Springfield Public Schools 2,095 7 City of Springfield 1,467 10 University of Illinois at Springfield 926 See also: List of Springfield town/city departments; Sister metros/cities of Springfield; and List of mayors of Springfield, Illinois Springfield town/city government is structured under the mayor-council form of government.
Elected officials in the city, mayor, aldermen, town/city clerk, and treasurer, serve four-year terms. The elections are not staggered. The council members are propel from ten districts throughout the town/city while the mayor, town/city clerk and town/city treasurer are propel on an at-large basis. The council, as a body, consists of the ten aldermen and the mayor, though the mayor is generally a non-voting member who only participates in the discussion. There are a several instances where the mayor does vote on ordinances or resolutions: if there is a tie vote, if more than half of the aldermen support the motion, whether there is a tie or not, and where a vote greater than the majority is required by the municipal code. As the state capital, Springfield, is home to the three chapters 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 home, 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 of Illinois agencycrats work in offices in Springfield, and it is the regular meeting place of the Illinois General Assembly. All persons propel in a statewide manner in Illinois are required to have at least one residence in Springfield, and the state government funds these residents. As of 2014 none of the primary constitutional officers in the State of Illinois designated Springfield as their major residence; most cabinet officers and all primary constitutional officers instead primarily do their company in Chicago.
A former director of the Southern Illinois University Paul Simon Institute for Public Affairs, Mike Lawrence, stated that many of the propel officials in Illinois "spend so little time in Springfield". In 2012 St.
Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Pat Gauen argued that because primary state politicians such as the Governor of Illinois, as well as the Attorney General, Speaker of the House, the minority prestige of the House, President of the Senate, the minority prestige of the Senate, the Comptroller, and the Treasurer, all live in the Chicago area; because they work from the James R.
Thompson Center in Chicago and that "Everybody who's anybody in Illinois government has an office in Chicago"; and because in March 2011 Governor Pat Quinn only spent a 68-day, 40 evening reconstructionin Springfield as per his official schedule, "in the reality of Illinois politics, [Springfield] shares de facto capital status with Chicago." University of Illinois researcher and former member of the Illinois council Jim Nowlan stated "It's almost like Chicago is becoming the shadow capital of Illinois" and that "Springfield is almost turn into a hinterland outpost." Lawrence criticized the fact that state officials spent little time in Springfield since it estranged them from and devalued Illinois state employees based in that city. Outline of the Township region and the City of Springfield in Sangamon County The Capital Township formed from Springfield Township on July 1, 1877, and was established and titled by the Sangamon County Board on March 6, 1878, and the limits of the township and City of Springfield were made co-extensive on February 17, 1892 to better serve the citizens .
One thing that makes the Capital township unique is that the township never has to raise taxes for road work, since the roads are maintained by the Springfield Department of Public Works. Springfield is presently home to six enhance and private high schools.
The Springfield enhance school precinct is District No.
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 town/city Catholic high school. Other region high schools include Calvary Academy and Lutheran High School. Ursuline Academy was a second Catholic high school established in 1857, first as an all-girls school, and converted to co-ed in 1981.
One is the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS, formerly Sangamon State University), which is positioned on the southeast side of the city.
The second is Benedictine University at Springfield positioned on North Fifth Street (formerly known as Springfield College in Illinois), and the third is Robert Morris University (Illinois), positioned on Montvale, just off Wabash.
Springfield is also home to a junior college Lincoln Land Community College, positioned just south of UIS.
The town/city is home to the Springfield ground of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, which includes a Cancer Institute in Springfield's Medical District. A third hospital, titled Doctor's Hospital directed 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 is now directed by Vibra under the name Vibra Hospital of Springfield. John's Hospital is home to the Prairie Heart Institute, which performs more cardiovascular procedures than any other hospital in Illinois. The dominant community care providers in the region are SIU Health - Care and Springfield Clinic.
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 adjoining to some of Springfield's most beautiful and architecturally interesting homes.
Lincoln Park, positioned next to Oak Ridge Cemetery where President Lincoln's tomb is located, is home to the Nelson Recreation Center, which boasts a enhance swimming pool, tennis courts, and the city's only enhance ice rink, home of the Springfield Jr.
Centennial Park, which rests on the outskirts of Springfield's southwest limits, holds the city's only enhance skatepark, as well as a several ball fields, tennis courts, and a manmade hill for cardio exercises and sledding in winter months.
In addition to the public-sector parks directed by the Springfield Park District, two momentous privately directed tree plant nurseries/arboretums operate inside town/city limits: the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden on Lake Springfield south of the city, and the Adams Wildlife Sanctuary on Springfield's east side.
The owner of Lake Springfield, City Water, Light & Power, supplies electric power generated from the Dallman Power Plants for the town/city of Springfield and eight encircling communities, the business also provides the metros/cities and suburbs with water from the lake.
Interstate 55 runs from north to south past Springfield, while I-72, which is concurrent with US 36 from the Missouri state line to Decatur, runs from east to west.
The Sangamon Mass Transit District (SMTD) operates Springfield's bus system. The town/city also lies along historic Route 66.
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 turn into 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.
Springfield and the encircling urbane region has constructed bike trails and bike lanes on a number of streets.
Currently four chief trails exist; two momentous paved trails, the Interurban Trail and the Lost Bridge Trail, serve Springfield and its suburbs of Chatham, Illinois and Rochester, Illinois in the order given.
Louis, Peoria and North Western Railway barns line as a trail that will extend from Girard, Illinois, to Athens, Illinois.
Main article: List of citizens from Springfield, Illinois Springfield, Illinois, USA has five sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, they include the following places: Illinois Old State Capitol (Springfield) University of Illinois at Springfield a b c d e "Springfield (city), Illinois".
Springfield Online Retrieved on April 13, 2007 Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: City of Springfield Springfield history Retrieved on February 21, 2007 a b c Springfield, Illinois, archived from the initial on 2012-04-01, retrieved 2017-03-07 a b c d A Brief Sketch of Springfield, Illinois, archived from the initial on 2012-03-05, retrieved 2017-03-07 a b c d "Springfield, Illinois".
Winkle, "The Voters of Lincoln's Springfield: Migration and Political Participation in an Antebellum City." Roger Howard Dallmann, "Springfield Seminary." a b c d e f "Springfield Tornadoes of March 12, 2006".
94, Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, Illinois.
Lake Springfield, City Water, Light & Power, City of Springfield.
About CWLP, City Water, Light & Power, City of Springfield.
Lake Water Levels, City Water, Light & Power, City of Springfield.
"IL Springfield Capital AP".
New City Tornado Sirens are Fully Operational, Press Release, City of Springfield.
Springfield and Quincy Fire Department Awarded $146,646 in Homeland Security Grants, Press Release, Office of Congressman Ray Lahood, February 23, 2005.
Minutes of the Springfield City Council April 4, 2006, (PDF), City of Springfield, City Clerk.
"Illinois - Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Enumeration to 1990".
Neighborhood Associations, Office of Planning & Economic Development, City of Springfield.
Lewis House, Historic Sites Commission of Springfield, Illinois.
Illinois Authors on the Illinois State Library https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/library/about/illinois_authors.html Accessed 8/30/13 "Capital City Chilli", Illinois Times, January 30, 2003, Retrieved February 23, 2007 a b About the City, Springfield, Illinois Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Dana-Thomas House, State Historic Sites, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
Andre Iguodala to Donate $19,000 to Assist Tornado Relief Efforts in Springfield, Ill., Press Release, Philadelphia 76ers, April 4, 2006.
Springfield Illinois news media.
Major Springfield Employers, Office of Planning and Economic Development, City of Springfield.
"Springfield, IL Economy at a Glance".
"Living Wage Calculation for Springfield city, Sangamon County, Illinois".
"City of Springfield CAFR 2015" (PDF).
Code of Ordinances, City of Springfield, Title III: Chapter 32: Article I Executive Branch.
Code of Ordinances, City of Springfield, Title I: Chapter 30: General Provisions.
Code of Ordinances, City of Springfield, Title III: Chapter 31: Legislative.
Article IV Section 4, Jurisdiction, The Judiciary, Constitution of the State of Illinois, Illinois General Assembly.
Article IV Section 1, Legislature Power and Structure, The Legislature, Constitution of the State of Illinois, Illinois General Assembly.
Sangamon County Fact Sheet, Illinois State Archives.
Schools, Springfield Public School District 186.
Office of Student Affairs, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
New Simmons - Cooper Cancer Institute Building, Simmons - Cooper Cancer Institute, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
Springfield, Illinois.
Springfield profile, Office of Planning & Economic Development, City of Springfield.
"Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI) - Springfield, IL".
History of Sangamon County, Illinois: Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Townships ...
"Here I have lived": A history of Lincoln's Springfield, 1821 1865 (1935, 1971) The Springfield Survey: Study of Social Conditions in an American City (1920), famous sociological study of the town/city vol 3 online Landmark Springfield: Architecture and Urbanism in the Capital City of Illinois.
The Sociogenesis of a Race Riot: Springfield, Illinois, in 1908.
"The Opportunity to Grow: Springfield, Illinois amid the 1850s." Wikimedia Commons has media related to Springfield, Illinois.
City of Springfield Springfield, Illinois at DMOZ Wikisource-logo.svg "Springfield, the capital of Illinois, U.S.A.".
Categories:
Springfield, Illinois - Cities in Springfield, Illinois, urbane region - Cities in Illinois - Cities in Sangamon County, Illinois - County seats in Illinois - Populated places established in 1819 - 1819 establishments in Illinois
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