Dominic Watson is intimately familiar with the disparities that exist in Springfield and Sangamon County.
Growing up, he would travel from the north side of town to the east side to attend St. Patrick s Catholic School near the corner of MLK Drive and South Grand Avenue. Driving from the north side to the east side, or from the west side to the east side, you can see how things change,” said Watson, 37, who is president and chief executive officer of the Springfield Black Chamber of Commerce. “You transition. It s like a whole different world.
In Sangamon County, the median household income for a Black family is $27,003, while it is $66,648 for their white counterparts, according to five-year estimates from the 2019 American Community Survey, the most recent available. The survey shows that 39.2% of the county’s Black residents live in poverty while 10.3% of white residents live below the poverty line. Of the 13 Illinois counties with Black populations of 15,000 or mo
Red Wheelbarrows rolls into Buzz Bomb Brewing Company on Adams Street this Saturday night. Oh, how I do love the month of May, with may-puns, may-days, maybes and may I s all flowing together into a regular, delightful mayhem of merry-making, set up for weather-adjusted times of fun in the sun. Our live music scene is bursting at the seams, making up for last year s loss by piling on the good vibes now. Let s start by welcoming back a few old friends to in-person performances. We can first head to lovely downtown Springfield in front of Buzz Bomb Brewing Company at what has become known as the Adams Family area in the last few years. From what I understand, Adams from Fourth to Fifth streets get blocked off over the weekend when traffic is lessened, transforming the area into a righteous outdoor venue space. This week s four-day music stretch starts with Jess Cloyd hosting a Thursday evening open mic, rolls into the Pentagram Stri
Gun violence across Springfield was on the increase in the first three months of the year. The city recorded 153 shootings,l according to a State Journal-Register analysis based on ShotSpotter, the city s gunshot detection system. Sixty-nine shootings were confirmed, with 20 people hit and three killed.
By comparison, over the same period of 2020, there were 52 confirmed shootings and seven people hit by gunfire, Springfield Police Department records show.
Shootings have happened throughout Springfield with most on the city’s east side inside a box between Ninth Street and Dirksen Parkway and between Clear Lake Avenue and Laurel Street. Other clusters appear near Springfield Southeast High School, Bunn Park, Kiwanis Park and apartment complexes along Westchester Boulevard and Seven Pines Road.
Springfield’s west side officially has its first recreational marijuana dispensary.
On Thursday, Maribis held a grand opening for its new location at 3025 Lindbergh Blvd., which had been home to AMC Parkway Pointe 8 for more than 25 years.
The 27,000-square-foot movie theater closed its doors in March 2020, in response to the pandemic, and never reopened after initially opening in 1994. We re really happy with the location,” said Maribis General Manager Dan Linn of his new dispensary located near Target, Walmart and an abundance of stores and restaurants on the city’s west side. “It s in a very high visibility spot.
Pink and turquoise lights line parts of the ceiling when customers enter what was previously the concession stand area of the theater, and is now the Maribis sales floor. Currently, the site takes up about two movie theaters. But Linn looks forward to seeing the evolution of the dispensary, which is already significantly larger than the company’s Gran