Aldermania!

A ward-by-ward look at the candidates and the issues, from potholes to garbage pickup, sidewalks to the city budget. Politics doesn’t get any more grass-roots than this.

POLITICS | IT staff

As Springfield heads to the polls April 5 for the general election, many voters will be focused on their choice for mayor. But just as important is the makeup of the city council, with 10 aldermen drawn from across the city. Together, their decisions will set the tone for Springfield’s future even after their four-year term is over. We’ve highlighted the six contested races citywide and provided some context that will hopefully make it easier to understand both the election and city

Ward 1: Young newcomer challenges a familiar face In 2008, Ward 1 got a Wal-Mart on South Sixth Street. Meanwhile, Mike Crews and Frank Edwards got an election issue. Both alderman candidates highlight the supercenter to explain their philosophies for representing their ward, the area anchored by Lake Springfield and the University of Illinois Springfield.

“There was a lot of pressure on me to keep that (development) from happening,” says 60year-old Edwards, who was finishing up his second term as alderman when the city council chose him in December to fill out the late Tim Davlin’s term as mayor. Now Edwards, who also owns Springfield Welding and Auto Body, is running for his old city council seat. “But I knew it was a good project for our ward and I helped push for it. … Now we have restaurants out there. There’s a medical facility built in there. So there are a lot of positive things that are good for the people of Ward 1.” He says it’s up to aldermen to research, ask questions, filter through emotions and know what’s best.

Crews, a 26-year-old teller at Marine Bank, says Edwards should have listened more to his constituents, many of whom feared the development would bring excess traffic. “I guess what the residents of Ward 1 wanted didn’t really matter,” he says of Edwards’ position. He says residents’ fears came true, and now more cars travel over roads, including the crumbling and flood-prone Hazel Dell Road. “I would have had town hall meetings and I would have been able to feel the pulse of the people who live in Ward 1 and if they didn’t want it, yes, I would have fought against hav ing it in Ward 1.”

Crews says Edwards is disconnected with Ward 1 residents and promises that if elected he’ll hold quarterly town hall meetings, attend neighborhood association meetings and continue knocking on doors. He wants to improve public transportation, find grants or enact a Tax Increment Finance district for Toronto Road economic development, conduct an in-depth study of fire department personnel needs and implement zero-based budgeting. He says he would “seriously consider” increasing parking fines, dining taxes and hotel-motel taxes. As for cuts, he says: “Without looking at that line-by-line audit it’s hard to determine what we need to cut.”

Edwards lists roads and property drainage as the biggest issues in Ward 1. Drainage problems that cause residents’ yards to flood, he says, come from continual building. “That’s really not an issue for the city to be involved in, that’s more of an issue for the homeowner and the person they bought the lot from or the developer,” he says, adding that new building regulations probably aren’t a good idea.

government thereafter.

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