07-05-2025
Springfield City Council debates money going to economic development group after complaints over earmarks
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — A relationship between the city of Springfield and coalition of business, education and medical leaders came under fire at Tuesday night's city council meeting.
Every year since 2019, the city sends $250,000 to the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance. The group's sole goal is to help bring new businesses and other economic drivers to the city. The county also contributes $250,000 to the alliance, as well.
This year, however, some city council members looked to add certain earmarks to the money. A subcommittee approved the typical $250,000, but required that over a fifth of that money be used specifically for economic development in certain parts of the city, including on the city's east side. The east side of Springfield has been the victim of disinvestment for decades.
In a letter to the city council, which was read by Alderman Ralph Hanauer, the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance said they did not get proper notification about the stipulations.
'SGA cannot accept unilateral contract amendments presented in this manner,' Hanauer read from the letter, which was not given to aldermen prior to the meeting. 'We intend to work with the city on an agreement that is mutually beneficial to both organizations and benefits the people of Springfield in a productive and efficient way.'
Hanauer brought an amendment that would effectively get rid of the requirements for the money, drawing criticism from other aldermen.
'It just seems so underhanded to me,' Ward 3 Alderman Roy Williams said.
The amendment was ultimately tabled, but it inspired a spirited discussion at the city council meeting about how the alliance conducts business, and the oversight that the city has over it.
Several aldermen acknowledged the importance of the commission, but called for more transparency on exactly how these dollars are spent.
The Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance website has archived documents that feature highlights from the past five years, and they typically give an annual report to the city council, but Alderman Shawn Gregory, who represents much of the city's east side felt that wasn't good enough.
In response to Hanauer's attempted amendment, Gregory looked to put even more stipulations in place on the board. he wanted to make all funding given to the Alliance by the city contingent on 25 percent of the leadership positions within the group going to racial or ethnic minorities that live in the poorest areas of the city.
'The truth of the matter is that there's somebody somewhere that just does not want to work with the people on the east side,' Gregory said.
The additional stipulations drew a lot of support from members of public in the crowd. Many showed up after Alderman Gregory called for public support for the plan on social media leading up to the meeting.
In the letter read by Hanauer, the board for the Sangamon County Growth Alliance indicated that this would be discussed at their next board meeting. From there, more conversations could come in front of the city council. Hanauer warned that he was worried that the Alliance could ultimately end it's partnership with the city.
'My concern is that the Growth Alliance walks away from the city of Springfield,' Hanauer said. 'Then we have nobody. We do not have that extra expertise to help market the city of Springfield.'
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