Welcome to the neighborhood, Rauners

GUESTWORK | Phil Bradley

I remember seeing Gov. Adlai Stevenson when I was a kid. I was in a car that passed his on the way up to New Salem to see the play Forever This Land. He looked out the window and waved to me.

Actually seeing him around town was not an unusual experience. Some evenings he would stroll from the Executive Mansion out to our neighborhood to visit his friend, Edna Orndorf Macpherson.

And occasionally the town would be alerted that the governor’s dog, Archie, a beautiful Dalmatian, had left the mansion grounds and needed to be found and returned.

Before Stevenson’s time my mother used to play bridge at the mansion with Gov. Dwight Green.

In fact, Springfield used to see a lot of its first families. Otto Kerner had friends in our neighborhood too. You would see his big Lincoln parked in front of their house sometimes around the dinner hour.

Bill Stratton presided over the Beaux Arts Ball, as did Kerner.

Jim Edgar could be seen on the streets of the west side riding his bike. The Edgars were active members of a local church.

And Thompson? Thompson was the gold standard in community involvement. He was at the Y. He was at the gym. He ran in Washington Park.

When I was appointed director under Thompson I was asked on the phone by the chief of staff if I would take the job. It was late enough in his service that announcing a new director was not a big deal. I even wondered if he really knew who I was.

Two nights later my wife and I were going in to a movie at the Esquire Theater and Gov. Thompson and his wife were coming out. No security, just the two of them. I went away after a nice conversation with the feeling not that I had just talked to my new boss, but that we had had a chat with our neighbors.

I write this, of course, because Illinois has a new first family. Governor-elect Bruce Rauner has pledged to run state government from Springfield. That is a very good thing.

Not only will it be good for the spirit and economy of the city, but it will have a tonic effect on the management of government. Otto Kerner used to drop in unannounced to state offices. Things run better when the boss may walk in any time.

Jim Thompson used to give great Christmas parties for the children of staffers.

And his parties at the close of the legislative session were legendary.

The point is that these men were visible in the community. They worked here.

Now if I owned several homes, as Rauner does, I would not spend all my time in Springfield. Chicago has many attractions, as do Florida and Montana.

But we hope he will be here enough to be part of this community and part of this town.

And if one of the things he does for this place is restore and use the governor’s mansion as Mayor Bloomberg restored Gracie Mansion, he will have made a significant contribution to Springfield.

So, welcome, Bruce and Diana. Maybe we will see you around, at HyVee, or the Chilli Parlor or on the North End at the Fairview.

Wherever you show up, Springfield says, “Welcome.”

Phil Bradley of Springfield relishes the arrival of a new resident. He thinks it will be good for his hometown.