Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin and City Water, Light and Power general manager Todd Renfrow talk about the power plant explosion the day after it happened. The explosion was Nov. 10, 2007; this news conference was convened Nov. 11, 2007.
Tag Archives: Tim Davlin
Gun buyback results unveiled
City officials show off the hundreds of firearms turned in during a gun-buyback program. Oct. 29, 2007.
CWLP plant explosion
I will never let my good friend and colleague Amanda Reavy forget how I filled in for her the night of Nov. 10, 2007.
It started out as a routine night in the newsroom. Mike Kienzler, who was the dayside Metro editor, was filling in for someone as well.
The first sign something was up: the lights flickered. Then came the 911 dispatcher’s voice over the police scanner — there’d been reports of an explosion at the City Water, Light and Power plant. I packed up my stuff and sped over to Stevenson Drive, calling my husband at home to tell him what was being reported and urging him to get out candles and matches just in case.
The first thing I saw near the power plant was lots of flashing emergency vehicle lights. But the thing I’ll always remember most vividly was what I heard. It sounded like a huge, loud jet engine was whining over the plant.
No one was injured in the explosion, thank goodness.
Explosion at CWLP / No injuries reported, but damage appears severe
Nov. 11, 2007City Water, Light and Power’s main power plant was severely damaged Saturday night by a series of explosions and a spectacular fire.
The blast – one large explosion followed by about a dozen smaller ones – occurred about 6:50 p.m. No one was injured, and the oil- and wind-fed fire was extinguished by 10 p.m.
“There is a lot of damage,” said Jay Bartlett, chief utilities engineer for CWLP. He estimated it will amount to “in the many millions of dollars.
“This was a very, very significant shockwave that came from this explosion,” Bartlett said.
However, he said, ” power plants are fixable. Our concern always is nobody’s hurt.”
“We’re lucky,” he said. “We’re blessed.”
The city late Saturday was operating with electricity produced by CWLP’s auxiliary generators and power purchased off the nationwide grid. Aside from brief and isolated outages early in the evening, officials said, customers should see no effects from the explosion and fire.
The explosion took place in a brick building that houses the Dallman 1, 2 and 3 generators, the city’s main sources of electricity,
Bartlett said the first and largest explosion was caused by an electrical failure in an undetermined component, apparently located between the Dallman 1 generator and a “stepup transformer” – a unit that converts electricity from 20,000 to 69,000 volts – that caught fire.
He ruled out coal dust as a cause, as some officials had speculated early in the evening, but said engineers remained unsure late Saturday exactly what sparked the original blast.
Springfield Fire Department spokesman Bob Reside said a large section of an exterior brick wall on the building’s fourth floor collapsed into the interior of the building during the fire.
“This just shows how dangerous this has gotten because of damage to the structure,” Reside said. “We have to expect further collapse.”
The fire was fueled by oil leaking from damaged and blazing power transformers and boosted by a 15-mph wind that gusted up to 24 mph.
“Transformers contain oil, and it is burning and has spilled out of the transformers,” Reside said at about 8:30 p.m.
Eleven employees were inside the plant when the explosions occurred, but all evacuated safely. Bartlett lauded the employees for protecting and removing equipment after the blast.
There was no danger to the public from chemical fumes, and the fire posed no threat to nearby businesses or residences, Reside said.
Witnesses reported one large explosion, followed by 10 to 15 smaller ones. The explosion was followed by a steam release from the power plant, which many who heard it compared to the sound made by a jet engine.
The Dallman 1 unit, which was operating when the explosion occurred, suffered the most damage. Dallman 3, CWLP’s single biggest unit, continued to operate for about 90 minutes after the explosion, until it was shut down to protect firefighters. Officials expect to know today when it can be restarted. Dallman 2 already was out of service for scheduled maintenance.
CWLP has a variety of other generators, but officials said late Saturday they will use whatever power is cheapest at any one point, whether it’s produced in Springfield or has to be purchased from elsewhere, until CWLP’s situation stabilizes.
The explosion will have no effect on construction of the city’s $500 million new power plant being built elsewhere on the CWLP complex at Lake Springfield, Bartlett said.
Several suburban fire departments were called to staff Springfield fire stations while city firefighters responded to the CWLP incident. The Sherman and Chatham departments sent aerial trucks to the power plant after a city truck experienced mechanical problems.
Reside called the jet-like sound of steam being released a normal process for the power plant.
“It’s still producing steam,” Reside said of the power plant during an 8:30 p.m. briefing. “Because it’s not being used for generation … it gets vented out so that the boiler doesn’t explode.”
The fire department had plans in place to handle an emergency at the plant, he said, and the response was “textbook.”
“Actually, it’s going very well, other than unforeseen breakdowns and so forth,” he said.
A hazardous materials team responded, as did the Citizens Emergency Response Team. The American Red Cross provided drinks and food for emergency workers.
Dozens of CWLP employees also came to the plant to help if needed.
Police detoured motorists away from the area of Dirksen Parkway, Taylor Avenue and Stevenson Drive during the incident, and interstate off-ramps were closed near CWLP.
While the damage was serious, Bartlett described the ultimate financial impact to CWLP as low.
“This plant’s insured,” he said. “We’ll certainly have some deductibles to pick up.”
Witnesses report large explosion, many smaller ones
Nov. 11, 2007Residents, restaurant diners, shoppers and hotel lodgers across Springfield’s southeast side were startled Saturday evening by a thunderous explosion, followed by about a dozen smaller blasts.
If that wasn’t enough, lights all over the city began flickering within moments. And then came the overpowering jet-like sound of steam being released from a stack at City Water, Light and Power’s electric generating station at Lake Springfield.
The odor of hot electricity mixed with coal dust as smoke from the fire inside the plant drifted for miles.
Micki Dickerson, who was at the nearby Capital City Shopping Center on Dirksen Parkway, said the first explosion “sounded like the loudest thunder you ever heard – it shook the windows and the building.”
“The first explosion was real loud and the second almost as loud. We went outside, and then it sounded like gunfire – boom, boom, boom. Then it stopped for a second and started right back up,” she said.
Then she started hearing the sound of the steam release.
“Now, it sounds like you’re standing too close to a jet,” she said shortly after the blast. “It’s still going on. You can’t hear the sirens for the sounds of the power plant.”
Tammy Brown, who lives on South 13th Street, e-mailed The State Journal-Register to say, “The entire back half of my house vibrated at ten ’til 7. It felt like something hit the house.”
“Then I heard a long series of what sounded like gunshots. At least a minute or so in length. I thought a house in my neighborhood was on fire or had been damaged,” she wrote.
Brown likewise reported a sound like “an airplane engine” as steam was released from the plant.
City officials did not brief reporters about what happened until 8:30 p.m., so speculation ran rampant on radio airwaves and among residents about what was going on.
Many people apparently were concerned about the possibility of toxic gases being released by the explosion, and others wanted to know if they should expect to lose power during the night.
Ozkan Dogan, manager of the Hampton Inn, 3185 S. Dirksen Parkway, a few blocks from the power plant, said everyone at the hotel felt the explosions. A short time later, he saw smoke drifting across the sky and heard ambulances and other emergency vehicles converging on the area.
“We tried to keep people calm,” he said, noting that some student groups were staying at the hotel.
He said employees checked The State Journal-Register’s Web site for updates, and he walked across the street to a hotel closer to the power plant to see if they needed a place to evacuate their guests. He said his main goal was to keep Hampton Inn guests abreast of what was happening.
“They just came down here, and we told them to be calm and we would inform them as we got information,” he said.
Dave and Sharon Painter of Springfield were eating at Smokey Bones Barbeque and Grill, 2600 S. Dirksen Parkway, shortly before 7 p.m.
“We heard and then felt a big explosion, then the lights flickered,” they said. “There was an electrical burning smell coming into the restaurant.”
Carl and Marge Wilson, who live on Saxony Road, walked over to the Capital City Shopping Center to watch the commotion from the parking lot and to wait for word about what happened.
“I was cooking and heard a big boom,” said Marge Wilson. “My husband looked out the door and said, ‘Wait ’til you see this …’”
Carl Wilson added: “It sounded like a bomb went off.”
Lake will remain closed / Saturday’s explosion at CWLP plant left asbestos-laden debris
Nov. 12, 2007Lake Springfield will be closed to boaters indefinitely while officials assess damage at the city’s power plant and start to clean up asbestos-laden debris around the site of Saturday night’s explosion.
Some oil was flushed onto the lake during the firefighting effort, and officials want to keep boats from disturbing the water while cleanup is under way, they said Sunday.
City Water, Light and Power officials said Environmental Protection Agency tests for finished water quality from Lake Springfield, taken Sunday, indicated the water is clean and safe to drink.
Environmental contractors have been at the blast site, isolating and removing oil in the dam area of Lake Springfield. Additional tests on finished water quality are scheduled for today.
The cause of the explosion, which rocked the city about 6:50 p.m. Saturday, remains under investigation. No one was injured.
Mayor Tim Davlin on Sunday said the cost to repair the Dallman generating facility, where the blast took place, will be in the tens of millions of dollars.
“Our new power plant (scheduled for completion in 2010) will probably be fully functional before even this is functional. That tells you the magnitude of what’s happened out there,” he said. “We’re basically going to start from scratch in a lot of different areas. This isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight, and it’s going to be one expensive proposition when we’re finished.”
Jay Bartlett, CWLP’s chief utilities engineer, said the damage is extensive. Several walls are missing. Shrapnel punctured the roof and structural steel in the building. The turbine generator housed in the building was destroyed, as was a step-up transformer on the outside of the building. The transformer that feeds the unit and a multitude of other electrical apparatus and wiring also were destroyed.
Davlin thanked other communities for coming to the assistance of Springfield during the ordeal and said the city is lucky no one was injured or killed in the accident.
There were 11 workers at the plant at the time of the explosion. Davlin said one man was 15 feet away and several others were seconds away from being seriously injured or killed.
“This is a magnitude that probably none of us are going to realize the real expense for quite some time. It’s unbelievable. On any other given day, had it been 7 in the morning or 3 in the afternoon, there probably could have been 20 people that would have been either injured or killed right where this happened,” he said.
Davlin said progress reports on the cleanup and the investigation will be spotty, though an update will be provided to aldermen at Wednesday evening’s city council utilities committee meeting.
Bartlett and CWLP general manager Todd Renfrow provided additional information about the explosion and about the cleanup efforts.
Officials have created an investigation team of CWLP engineers and firefighters to try to determine what caused the blast.
Davlin already has been asked to sign an emergency order releasing $3 million to $4 million to cover the early costs of cleanup and asbestos and oil removal and to secure the building.
As of 7 a.m. Sunday, structural engineers were at the plant assessing the damage to the building, and they determined the entire structure was not compromised. One major concern, however, is that some walls will have to be taken down, and there is a potential for frozen pipes.
“We have to get the walls that have been damaged down and then have some type of enclosure and be able to put heat in the building. There are many, many miles of lines in there, especially water lines,” Renfrow said.
CWLP on Sunday was generating 100 percent of the city’s electricity.
The Dallman 1 generator was severely damaged and will be out of commission for some time. Dallman 3 – the biggest generator CWLP owns – should be back in operation after some cleanup work, possibly in about a week, Bartlett said.
Dallman 2 is shut down for scheduled maintenance.
Because of the asbestos release, everyone going into the site must wear masks and protective clothing.
The oil that seeped into the lake was the result of firefighting efforts.
“(Saturday) night what was burning was oil. The fire department obviously was hitting it with a huge deluge of water and foam to get the fire under control,” Bartlett said. “That rinsed some oil. We have retaining systems that grab some of it, most of it, but a little bit unfortunately escaped just due to the volume of water that was out there. There’s no more oil leaking.”
Bartlett said there was no immediate indication whether human error or mechanical failure was to blame for the blast. He said the investigation should shed some light on that.
“I expect mechanical failure, but we are ruling out nothing,” he said.
Seeking answers after blast? ‘Tough,’ says mayor
Nov. 12, 2007“Tough.”
That was Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin’s response Sunday when pressed about why it took officials two hours Saturday to release information to the public about the power plant explosions and possible dangers to the community.
Tough?
“It’s the best we could do. Tough,” Davlin reiterated.
Davlin and other officials had little information themselves early in the incident, they said, and their top priorities were quelling the power plant fire and making sure City Water, Light and Power workers and firefighters were safe.
People all over the city felt the rumble of the explosions, saw their lights flicker, heard the jet-engine-like whine of steam being released from CWLP smokestacks, smelled the odor of coal and heat, and wondered about the clouds of smoke drifting over the town.
During that two-hour void of information, citizens were calling media outlets, looking for news about what happened. Tourists at hotels logged onto the Internet seeking details.
They wanted to know if there were toxins in the air, if they should expect to lose power to their homes and businesses, if they should worry about the noise of the steam release and if they needed to evacuate. They also wondered if anyone had been hurt and when could they expect to learn more.
No preliminary information – even a simple confirmation there had been an explosion at the power plant and that more information would be forthcoming – was communicated to newsrooms in the city, and no one in a position to know what had happened could be reached on cell phones. Reporters who tried to reach the power plant were shooed from location to location as they tried to find out what was going on.
The first information was provided by a Springfield Fire Department spokesman about 8:30 p.m. The Springfield Police Department also provided a little information at that time about its role, which mainly had to do with street closures.
City Water, Light and Power officials finally held a briefing at 9:30 p.m. The mayor’s office released no details at all.
Prior to those briefings, what information was available came mainly from conversations among police, fire and other emergency agencies broadcast on radio scanners. For instance, scanner traffic was the first source to reveal that no one had been killed or injured.
The State Journal-Register posted its first Web bulletin on www.sj-r.com about 15 minutes after the first blast. The Web site was updated about a half-dozen times between then and the first briefings. Most of the early updates were based on scanner traffic, along with telephoned or e-mailed reports from readers.
The newspaper Web site was updated several more times as the briefings took place, and the full story – the same account that appeared in Sunday’s newspaper – was posted shortly before midnight.
Davlin said the city’s first priority Saturday night was ensuring that power plant employees were unharmed and that firefighters were able to safely able to do their jobs.
However, the lack of information also led to rumors – in particular, reports disseminated mainly by callers to talk radio stations – that a cloud of toxic dust and gases was hovering over southeast Springfield.
“At the time when that was happening last night, I think the main thing that was out there was there was an explosion,” Davlin said. “No one knew what was going on. No one could have said whether it happened or whether anything was toxic or not.
“We didn’t think so, but to go and make statements like that. … Last night the most important thing was just making sure the fire got knocked down.
“I take all the responsibility for not having that out. Like after the tornado or anything else, it was just everyone had a job to do last night.”
City Water, Light and Power director Todd Renfrow and chief utilities engineer Jay Bartlett said they hope to do better in the future.
“There’s always room for improvement, but I’m going to tell you (that) last night 100 percent of my time was going into trying to keep, basically, firemen safe,” Bartlett said.
“I know it’s scary. My kids were scared. They were scared when I went. They wanted to know where I was, and they knew something was going on. We understand, but we were doing the best we could.”
The lack of information Saturday night was similar to what happened during a weeklong citywide mock disaster drill in July 2005 – which, coincidentally, included a power plant explosion scenario.
During the early part of the drill, which was meant to be as realistic as possible, officials were unprepared for media inquiries. Reporters who went to event “scenes” were told to move multiple times, no spokesmen were available, and city hall held a briefing more than five hours after the initial incidents. Officials began to provide hourly updates only after reporters complained.
The city has four spokespeople: one for the mayor’s office, one for CWLP, one for the fire department and one for the police department.
Broken life: Part 2
Part 1 of the “Victim of circumstance” series was about Jerry’s life now, what unfolded the night of the crash and Derek Brown’s history as a reckless driver and his brushes with the law.
Part 2 examined the relationship between Jerry and his fiancee and caretaker, Minnie Blue Bond, as well as the legal battle, Jerry’s injuries and his prospects for the future.
Spinal cord injury leaves Gaston with few options
Aug. 28, 2006
Snap a pencil in half, and you’re left with two pieces of wood with a lead core running through the center. Firmly bind the two pieces back together, and there’s a good chance you can continue using the pencil with no trouble.Now imagine your spinal column with the spinal cord running through the center – something like a pencil with a piece of licorice inside.
Had Jerry Gaston’s vertebrae simply fractured as a result of the crash in May 2002, he might have walked away. But in his case, three bones in his neck broke and dislocated from each other, stretching and pulling and putting pressure on his spinal cord.
Doctors rushed to stabilize the injury when Gaston got to the hospital. They used a device that applied traction and allowed them to realign the bone to prevent further damage to the cord. His surgeon, Dr. Stephen Pineda, then performed surgery to repair and stabilize the fracture with a series of plates, screws and rods.
Despite doctors’ efforts, the damage was permanent and irreversible. Gaston lost function of everything the spinal cord controls from his neck on down, including arm and leg movement, use of his chest and abdominal muscles, and control over his bowel, bladder and sexual functions.
If the injury had been higher, as in the case of deceased actor Christopher Reeve, Gaston also would not have been able to move his head and neck and would have been unable to breathe without a ventilator.
“It’s devastating. The spinal cord will not regenerate. It’s not like bone, which will regenerate,” Pineda said. “When you have a dislocated neck, we know that the spinal cord is undergoing continuous damage.”
Gaston was hospitalized for two months as he tried to recover from the injury and subsequent complications, such as persistent pneumonia. He underwent two weeks of physical therapy and rehabilitation at the hospital, then went home.
Initially, he could only shrug his shoulders. In September 2002, he regained some use of his lower extremities, so he returned to the hospital the following February for additional rehabilitation. He also regained some use of his upper extremities. He was sent home again later that month but continued therapy as an outpatient.
He has enough use of his right arm that he can operate his electric wheelchair, and he can sometimes feed himself. He is able to stand for a second or two with support, but that’s it.
“He has some nerves that are working, and that’s wonderful,” Pineda said. “But if there’s no functional outcome from it … scientifically, it gives a sense of hope, but what can you do with it?”
Gaston will require round-the-clock help for the rest of his life. It is unknown how much it will cost in the course of his lifetime for his family to care for him, keep him comfortable and stave off complications from the injury. Estimates by a rehabilitation consultant range between $4.7 million and $10.3 million.
That includes the costs of doctors’ visits and evaluations, visiting nurses, someone to make house repairs and care for the lawn, a van and van maintenance, home renovations, wheelchairs, wheelchair batteries, bedside toilets, catheters, gloves, tissues, cotton swabs, nebulizers to help him breathe, medicine for everything from pain and anxiety to allergies and indigestion, and dozens of other items for his physical, psychological, social and safety needs.
His medical expenses amounted to $414,287 from the time of the crash up to when a civil lawsuit he filed against the offending driver, the city of Springfield and two police officers went to trial.
Pineda said patients like Gaston often go through a variety of phases after they become paralyzed, from the “what do I do now?” phase to the “why me” and the “what if” phases.
“He was depressed. Anybody would be depressed. It’s quite a change,” he said. “Everything is different. Going to the bathroom – you can’t do it without getting somebody to help you. Making a phone call – you’ve got to get somebody to dial the phone, put it to your ear and when you’re done, hang it up for you.
“All the things that were simple before now are becoming an obstacle.”
Gaston’s recovery prospects are few. Advances in medical and computer technology, such as vans that can be driven by voice commands or spinal cord bypasses, could improve his life, but whether he’ll be able to take advantage of them remains to be seen.
He could be too old by the time they become available on the market.
“Right now, for a guy in his late 40s, the future is very limited, other than being an experimental person for the next generation to come,” Pineda said.
Gaston’s injury
Aug. 28, 2006Spinal cord injuries to the cervical nerves most often result in quadriplegia, paralysis from the neck down. Damage to the thoracic nerves and below, often result in paraplegia, meaning hand control is not affected. In Jerry Gaston’s case, spinal injury occurred in the cervical region, around vertebrae C2, C3 and C4, causing him initially to lose function of his arms, legs, chest and abdominal muscles. He has regained a limited amount of movement in his extremities.
- Skull
- Spinal cord
- Vertebral body
- Intervertebral disc
- Dura (thecal sac)
- Spinous process
- Conus medullaris
- Cauda equina
- Cervical nerves
- Head and neck
- Diaphram
- Deltoids, biceps
- Wrist extenders
- Triceps
- Hand
- Thoracic nerves
- Chest muscles
- Abdominal muscles
- Lumbar nerves
- Leg muscles
- Sacral nerves
- Bowel and bladder
- Sexual function
Gaston suffers defeat even with $24.5 million verdict
Aug. 28, 2006A Sangamon County jury in March agreed that Jerry Gaston, an innocent victim of a car crash, deserved compensation for his suffering and money to pay his medical bills.
Consequently, a lawsuit filed by Gaston against Derek Brown and two Springfield police officers who had been following Brown’s car the night of the crash came down to this:
The jury awarded Gaston $24.5 million – the largest verdict in Sangamon County Circuit Court history and enough money to take care of him and his family for the rest of his life.
But in a heart-wrenching twist for Gaston and his fiancee, Minnie Blue-Bond, the jury ruled that Brown alone was responsible for the crash and that only he was liable to pay Gaston the $24.5 million.
Brown had no driver’s license or auto insurance when the accident took place in 2002. He sits in jail, with no income and no assets and – if his driving and criminal records are any indication – few prospects of either in the future.
The city and the two officers were cleared of any liability.
Gaston and Blue-Bond sat in stunned disbelief after the verdict was read.
“I was shocked. I was crushed. I didn’t have any hope left, and I still don’t have any hope left,” Blue-Bond said.
They have never seen a dime of the award. Neither have Orrin Holman and Casey Joy, other crash victims who also were awarded compensation in the suit – $75,000 for Holman and $6,500 for Joy.
Trial arguments and the resulting verdict came down to one primary issue: Were the two Springfield police officers, Chris Stout and April Smiddy, pursuing Brown in violation of police department rules, and did they thereby cause the crash?
Had the jury found they violated the rules, city taxpayers could have been on the hook for millions of dollars.
According to the department’s general orders on vehicle pursuits, officers can initiate pursuits only when they think someone in the fleeing vehicle was involved in a forcible felony.
“Pursuits for traffic offenses, property crimes, whether felony or misdemeanor, or when the suspect flees for unknown reasons are prohibited,” the orders state. “In choosing whether to initiate a pursuit, or to allow its continuation, officers will consider the degree of risk to which the officer exposes himself and others in so doing.”
The officers said in depositions that they had no reason to believe Brown had committed any crime other than running a red light at 15th Street and South Grand Avenue.
Another point of contention was whether and when the officers activated their lights and sirens.
Ultimately, the jury determined that Brown, not the officers, was responsible for his actions and the resulting crash.
The city paid $255,000 to an outside law firm, Brown, Hay and Stephens, to represent it and the officers in the suit. Thomas Schanzle-Haskins of Brown, Hay and Stephens said after the verdict that, while Gaston’s injuries are a tragedy, they were not caused by the officers.
“These are two very fine Springfield Police Department officers who were doing a good job in what they were doing the night of the accident,” he said. “I’m happy to see them vindicated, and I believe the jury’s verdict put 100 percent of the blame where it belonged.”
Bruce Beeman, attorney for Gaston, Holman and Joy, on May 30 filed a notice to appeal the civil case. Oral arguments could take place as early as December.
While the money from the verdict would be a big help to those who were injured, Holman said, the case isn’t about money.
“The moral of that whole story is the police should have let Derek Brown go instead of endangering people,” he said. “Every time they’re on the east side and they see (Gaston), they got to live with that.”
The trial was the first time Casey Joy and Michael Perkins – both of whom also were injured in the crash and sued – had ever seen Gaston. They were shocked by his condition.
“I got really emotional when I saw him,” Perkins said, recalling how Gaston and Blue-Bond sat through every day of the trial and how she tended to his every need in the courtroom.
The proceedings were tough on Joy, too. Each day after court adjourned, he said, he rode the bus to his church on Jackson Street, went inside the silent building and sat alone.
“I was sad – not for me, because I’m all right. I was sad for the man in the wheelchair and to see his face when they said it was 100 percent Derek Brown’s fault,” he said. “If I didn’t get anything, I think they at least should have given that man in the wheelchair something.”
Of all the people who attended parts of the eight-day trial, the two Gaston and Blue-Bond most wanted to hear from disappointed them.
Mayor Tim Davlin cleared his entire schedule and sat in on every day of the trial to show how important the case was to the city.
“I knew in my heart that we were innocent of that, and I felt like they were suing for the wrong reasons,” Davlin said. “If you’re suing for sympathy and suing someone with the deep pockets, we just don’t have it. We do not have that kind of money.
“So I felt like sitting there, it would send a message that they’re not suing a big corporation, they’re suing me, and I take it personally. I thought it was the right thing to do to show I had interest in this case.”
Blue-Bond said the mayor did not speak to her and Gaston, other than to say good morning each day, until after the verdict was read and the high-fives among attorneys in the courtroom were over. She said the mayor reached for Gaston’s hand and said, “I’m sorry it didn’t go the way you wanted it to.”
It wasn’t the apology they’d hoped for.
“It was one of the saddest things. It was everything I could do to keep the tears back when I walked over to him after the trial was over,” Davlin said.
“I couldn’t talk to them during the trial, other than to say ‘hi’ every day. We lived together for a week and a half. You feel terrible because the guy was wronged by a thug. … Unfortunately, the city of Springfield wasn’t the responsible party.”
No one from the police department ever apologized to the couple, either.
“A verbal apology wouldn’t mean anything to me at this point,” Blue-Bond said. “I’m very bitter.”
Brown, the couple said, never uttered a word to them during either the civil trial or during his criminal trial for the crash, not even when they all found themselves riding together in an elevator at the county building.
Brown’s behavior during the trial shocked many of those who witnessed it. He’d served three years in prison for the crash and did not have an attorney represent him in the civil case. He repeatedly defied the judge’s orders to testify in the lawsuit. One such exchange went like this:
Beeman: Did you ever say in your deposition that you knew from the time that you went – the police went through the stoplight …
Brown: Why do we keep going through this, man?
Circuit Judge Patrick Kelley: Just bear with us, Mr. Brown.
Brown: I’m saying I done did three years for this thing. Ain’t nothing else to talk about.
Judge: Well, hopefully, this will put an end to it for you. Answer the question.
Brown: There is nothing to talk about, Your Honor. Nothing.
Judge: There’s a lot to talk about, Mr. Brown. Answer Mr. Beeman’s questions.
Brown: I ain’t going to answer. Then we’re just going to sit here. I got nothing but time. We can sit here.
Gaston said it doesn’t bother him anymore that Brown behaved the way he did at the trial and that he never apologized about the crash. If he had a chance, though, he’d ask Brown where he was trying to go that night.
“If he talked to me, I’d talk to him. But he doesn’t, so I’m not going to say anything,” Gaston said.
Damages awarded to …
Aug. 28, 2006Jerry Gaston
- $3,000,000 for pain and suffering
- $414,287.44 for past medical
- expenses
- $10,362,863 for present cash value of all future medical expenses
- $10,362,863 for loss of a normal life
- $100,000 for disfigurement resulting
- from the injury
- $233,272 for projected lost earnings
Total: $24,473,285.44
Orrin Holman
- $63,308.77 for pain and suffering
- $3,816.23 for past medical expenses
- $7,815.00 for lost earnings
Total: $74,940
Casey M. Joy
- $2,443.78 for pain and suffering
- $2,443.77 for disfigurement resulting
- from injury
- $1,612.45 for past medical expenses
Total: $6,500
Daily struggle / Accident destroys more than just Gaston’s life
Aug. 28, 2006
Minnie Blue-Bond’s heart went cold when she got the phone call from doctors in Springfield.Her fiance, Jerry Gaston, was hanging on to life by a thread after being badly injured in a car crash caused by a man fleeing from police.
Minnie was 700 miles away, visiting family in Mississippi.
“He’s stable, but it’s shaky,” she heard the doctor say. “Touch and go.”
“Do I need to fly?” she asked. He said no, that it wasn’t necessary but that she should hurry.
Minnie told Jerry’s 8-month-pregnant daughter, his brother and his mother what had happened. A caravan of family left at 11 p.m. that Sunday to get to Springfield the next day.
Jerry was in a coma when they arrived. He hadn’t shown much response to doctors and nurses caring for him. That changed when Minnie walked into the room.
“I called his name, and he did open his eyes. The doctors were freaking out,” she recalled. “Jerry just looked at me. He couldn’t do anything else.
“And when his mom walked up to the bed and she touched his forehead and called his name, he opened his eyes again. So the doctor knew he was actually responding to us.”
Jerry was fighting. Minnie looked at him in that hospital room, hooked up to machines and monitors. Surrounding his head was a halo, a medical device used to stabilize the neck vertebrae.
The more details she gleaned from doctors, the more she understood that Jerry was going to be a quadriplegic and that being his partner would take on a whole new meaning.
***
It’s not really surprising that Jerry opened his eyes when Minnie spoke his name. The story of their love goes all the way back to Calhoun, Miss., where they grew up.
They went to grade school together, and Minnie remembers Jerry as being a somewhat naughty kid.
“Oh, I was pretty terrible,” he admitted. “You name it, I would do it, you know?”
They lost track of each other in the 1960s, when schools in the area began integrating. Life went on, and each got married and had children. Minnie divorced twice and eventually moved to Springfield. She worked for the Illinois Department of Public Aid for 15 years. Jerry divorced and remarried.
Although she didn’t realize it right away, her cousin lived next to Jerry in Calhoun. She and Jerry rekindled their friendship as adults during one of her visits to Mississippi about 1996. They talked on the phone, and she would go to Mississippi when she had the chance. After a year of dating, Jerry made a trip to St. Louis to visit his sister.
“He came up to her house, and he called me and said, ‘I’m in St. Louis – do you want to come down and spend the day with us?’ I did, and one thing led to another,” Minnie recalled with a laugh. “He went back home, called me back and said, ‘I’m moving up there.’ He asked me if he could move, and I told him yeah.”
Jerry clearly remembers what attracted him to Minnie.
“The way she was lookin’ and the way she was talkin’,” he said with a grin.
His personality is what caused Minnie to take a second look at him.
“I watched him with his nieces and nephews, and I knew I had kids and stuff. I was already a foster parent and a day-care provider,” she said. “I was basically looking for someone that had the outgoing personality that could mix with children and the parents. And someone that I could feel safe with and have around my children.”
Their brick ranch-style house on Paul Street is bursting with children. Minnie has three adopted children, ages 13, 7 and 6; three foster children, 15, 14 and 12; and an 18-month-old boy who was born to the oldest foster child. The younger kids share a bedroom on the main floor, and the older ones sleep in the basement, where there are two bedrooms and a bathroom.
Minnie also baby-sits for family and friends, and other foster children she’s raised regularly stream in and out of the house to visit her and help take care of Jerry.
Minnie, 50, also has three adult children, all of whom live in Springfield, and Jerry has three adult children in Mississippi.
The couple talked about getting married in June 2002. Jerry never legally divorced from his second wife, who lives in Mississippi and whom he hasn’t been with in 11 years. He hired a lawyer and planned to get a quick divorce while he and Minnie were there visiting family that year. Then they would get married.
But the crash happened, and their lives screeched to a halt. He and his wife have never divorced, and he and Minnie have never married.
***
Yet Minnie remains firmly planted at Jerry’s side.
She has no legal obligation to stay. They barely scrape by financially. She must care for the seven youngsters as well as tend to Jerry. Lifting, bathing, changing, feeding, grooming, medicating – it’s an endless round-the-clock commitment that a weaker woman would have abandoned by now.
“As far as I’m concerned, we’re married, because when we moved in together we kind of took a vow that that was what we were going to do further down the road when we could,” she said. “Now, there’s no way I could marry him because I can’t financially take care of him.”
Minnie vowed early on that she would never put Jerry in a nursing home. She believes he needs his family and that she is the only one who can provide the one-on-one care he deserves. Her son, Carlos, goes to the house every day to help Minnie get Jerry up in the morning and help with some light housekeeping.
Minnie says she couldn’t do it without Carlos’ help.
“I take care of him because I want to, not because I have to,” Minnie said. “I don’t want to see him go to a nursing home because I’ve worked in nursing homes, and I know what they’re like.”
She has her own health problems to contend with: lupus, congestive heart failure, arthritis and back pain. She often is exhausted, and depression sometimes sets in. Some days she can’t bear to get out of bed.
In many ways, she was a victim of the car crash, too.
When she feels overwhelmed, she goes to her basement laundry room where she can listen to gospel music tapes, wash and fold clothes, and pray. She doesn’t go far because, as she says, her life is there in the house with Jerry.
Does leaving ever cross her mind?
“Yeah, it has,” she said quietly. “Especially if I’m here and the kids are here and I’m still pushing to go and do and trying to make a life for him, it gets really complicated. It gets congested a lot.
“Especially when every chance you make, something is falling through. Nothing is actually ever bright for you. You get depressed.”
She copes with the help of God and her family.
“God, that’s my strength,” Minnie said. “Every time I get to a point where I feel like I can’t do this, I can’t make it anymore, he’ll send someone along to help me or send someone along to show me I’m not the only one having burdens.
“Immediately, I’ll recognize what he’s doing, and I’ll go, ‘I’m going to shut up. I’m sorry. I’m going to do better. I’m going to stop complaining.’”
Minnie’s relationship with Jerry has changed, though their love for each other has not.
They sleep in the same bed, discuss child-rearing and family, pray and eat meals together.
“I still love him, and I think he still loves me,” Minnie said, turning to look at Jerry dozing in his wheelchair. “It’s a lot more kind of yak-yak at each other than it used to be. It used to be like that maybe every so often. Now it’s like every other day.
“But we kind of … he goes to his corner or his room, and I’ll go to the other part of the house and do something or play on the computer.”
There are good days. The children bring joy into their lives, and there are family gatherings, occasional trips to Mississippi and a brief summer vacation to Six Flags in St. Louis. Friends regularly drop in and out of the house.
One thought continues to trouble Minnie, though.
“Right now,” she said, “I am his everything. I’m his caretaker. What happens to him when I can no longer do it?”
Black and blue: The history of black Springfield police officers
My editor in 2005 asked me to research and write about the history of black officers in the Springfield Police Department. The assignment stemmed from ongoing claims of racial discrimination and bias within the department and the civil lawsuits stemming from those allegations.
I spent no less than six months researching the topic. I pored through reels of microfilm of old city newspapers, picked up books on the history of the city, spent hours at the Sangamon Valley Collection and interviewed several retired and current black officers.
Black and Blue / African-American officers struggling with racial divisions in the Springfield Police Department is nothing new.
Sept. 4, 2005Ask Harry Draper about his 25 years with the Springfield Police Department, and he’ll regale you for hours with tales of solved murder cases, department politics and officer shenanigans.
He’ll reach into his front pants pocket and show you the badge he still carries around, even though he’s been retired since 1981.
His eyes get a little misty when he recalls the day in 1963 when he was the only black officer chosen to guard Martin Luther King Jr., who spoke at an AFL-CIO convention at the Illinois State Armory.
But not all of Draper’s memories are fond ones. When he joined the police force, even though the modern civil rights movement was gaining momentum, racism was overt and accepted among Springfield officers. Many black officers agree that the discrimination they experienced was far worse among their colleagues than anything they came across in the community.
At one time, black officers patrolled only in black areas of town and on the old “Levee,” the city’s red-light district downtown, and they did so on foot. Black detectives worked only on cases involving black suspects or victims. Promotions were few and far between.
City refuses to disclose hiring data
In 2004, the city of Springfield claimed to be making strides in hiring more minority employees; however, it refused to provide the documentation to back up the claim, even though it was submitted to a governmental agency.
When the city did finally release the reports, they were heavily redacted — in spite of a state attorney general’s directive that the reports are considered public record. I wrote a series of stories about the issue and attempts to obtain the documents through FOIA.
City declines to reveal gender, racial data / County judge to decide if reasoning is right
Sept. 3, 2004The city of Springfield has declined to make public data it compiles every other year for the federal government about the gender and racial makeup of the city workforce, saying it amounts to confidential personnel information.
It will be up to a Sangamon County judge to decide if that reasoning is right.
City attorney Jenifer Johnson and Mayor Tim Davlin refused to disclose the data, which was requested Aug. 23 by the legal assistant to Benton attorney Courtney Cox, who represents black police officers suing the city for racial discrimination.
The assistant, Judy Carson, filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking “copies of all documents in the possession of the City of Springfield which reflect the race, gender and/or national origin of current and/or past employees … including all EEO reports, Labor Force Analysis and EEO Utilization Analysis for each period for which such records have been kept.”
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission oversees a variety of employer surveys. Cities with more than 100 employees are required to submit on odd numbered years information about workforce composition, including a breakout of gender, race and ethnicity.
The data is plugged into each of several occupational categories, including officials and administrators, professionals, technicians, protective service, paraprofessional, administrative support, skilled/craft and service/maintenance. Every employee has to be counted in one of those categories. The EEOC then compiles that information into different reports that it distributes.
Johnson declined Carson’s request on Aug. 25, citing 5ILCS140/7(1)(b)(ii) of the state FOIA regulations. That particular section exempts “personnel files and personal information maintained with respect to employees, appointees or elected officials of any public body or applicants for those positions.”
Carson appealed the denial to Davlin a day later. The FOIA indicates appeals must be submitted to the head of the public body that denied the request – in this case, the mayor.
Davlin sent a letter to Carson Wednesday, denying the appeal.
“Your request was denied because it pertained to personnel information with respect to current or past employees of the city. A public body has the right to deny a FOIA request for this reason, and it appears the statute was properly followed in denying your request,” the letter reads.
Cox has responded by filing suit in Sangamon County Circuit Court, which is the next step in the appeals process. The suit asks for the city to supply the documents requested, as well as reimbursement for costs and attorney’s fees.
Johnson was unavailable for comment Thursday. City spokesman Ernie Slottag, contacted at home Thursday evening, explained the reasoning behind declining to release the data.
“The information that makes up the EEO reports comes from personnel records, and because the personnel records are confidential and exempt, our legal counsel has determined that reports generated from these exempt records are also exempt,” he said, adding that he believes there is case law supporting the city.
Cox said he would not have filed the suit if he didn’t feel the data was public information.
“Clearly, if I was asking for a person’s private personnel records, those would definitely be excluded. These are not personnel records by any stretch of the imagination. They are documents filed with the federal government, and that other communities release without any question,” he said.
Jennifer Kaplan, an EEOC spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said the commission does not release cities’ reports. Whether a municipality is required to make its reports public would be up to local sunshine laws, she said.
Cox apparently is not the only one seeking the data. Members of the mayor’s Race Relations Task Force had requested it previously and also were denied.
However, at a special meeting Thursday, the city did provide the information to the task force. Reporters from The State Journal-Register and the Illinois Times, as well as a citizen attending the meeting, were asked to leave the room so the task force could be given the information.
The panel cited discussion of personnel matters in closing the meeting to the public, but two of its members expressed concern about how the matter was being handled.
“I’m intrigued because for years now we have discussed numbers relative to the police and fire departments. If those are OK, then why are the other numbers not?” asked task force member Dan Stout.
Another member, Bob Blackwell, indicated the group would try not to close the meeting any longer than necessary “because we are not real comfortable with having to ask you all to leave.”
City will release data on work force / Race, gender figures have been withheld
Sept. 16, 2004Previously withheld data about the race and gender makeup of Springfield’s city work force will be released by the end of the week, city attorney Jenifer Johnson said Wednesday.
The city is releasing the information compiled for the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at the direction of aldermen, not because of pressure from the news media or a lawsuit filed by an attorney who represents Springfield’s black police officers, she added.
Assistant Illinois attorney general Terry Mutchler contacted Johnson on Wednesday to say the agency considers the EEOC data public record and to discuss a northern Illinois appellate court ruling Johnson has cited in declining to release it.
Johnson has argued that making the information public could violate some employees’ right to privacy.
According to a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, Mutchler sent the city a letter saying that the EEOC filings should be released and noting that the city had agreed to do that. The letter was faxed and mailed to the city Wednesday.
The city, however, will release the data in a repackaged format; an employee breakdown by job category will not be included so as not to reveal any personal information. Johnson said she will create a form that contains the data, which is based on the city’s most recent EEOC filing.
She said the form she will release is consistent with what the city’s position has been all along. She said she and Mutchler agreed that what the city intends to release is OK.
“That’s all along why the city has objected to releasing the document in whole, because there is personally identifiable information. I understand no one has asked for names – the document doesn’t have names – but based on the breakdown by job category, it’s easy to personally identify employees,” Johnson said, adding that she is comfortable with the legal advice she and her assistants have rendered on the issue.
“The city certainly has no objection to releasing the general statistical information. Our concern all along has been protecting the privacy of our employees, which the case law indicates we should do.”
Johnson and Mayor Tim Davlin have declined to release the actual EEOC filing, saying it reveals personal information about city employees, particularly those who work in one-person offices.
Melissa Merz, spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, confirmed Wednesday that the agency considers release of the EEOC report a matter of public information.
“It is our view that the information being sought in this instance is public record. The FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request sought gender and racial statistics that the city is required to keep. It is not an invasion of personal privacy to release that statistical information,” she said.
“It could be an invasion of personal privacy to release personal identifiers, such as name and race together; however, the report is public record, and the statistical information should be released.”
The State Journal-Register, after learning earlier this month that city officials did not intend to release the data, contacted the attorney general’s office to find out whether the EEOC filing is considered public information. The newspaper has filed a Freedom of Information request for the data.
A legal assistant to Courtney Cox, the southern Illinois attorney who is representing a group of black police officers who are suing the city for racial discrimination, also asked for the information in a FOI request.
Johnson denied the request. It was appealed to Davlin, who also denied it. Cox then filed suit in Sangamon County Circuit Court. The case is pending.
Cox could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
Johnson, in declining to release the data, cited a 1990 ruling, known as CBS v. Cecil Partee. The ruling noted that providing the names and races together of governmental employees could constitute an invasion of privacy. CBS had sought information including names and races of all Cook County assistant state’s attorneys, as well as names, positions, dates of hire and salaries for a host of other employees.
The ruling does not preclude municipalities from releasing EEOC filings, only race and names together. In some cases, officials legally can release the forms and black out any sensitive information.
At the Sept. 7 Springfield City Council meeting, aldermen asked that the information be released.
The attorney general oversees enforcement of the state’s Freedom of Information Act, which requires certain types of public records be accessible to provide “full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those representing them.”
The act allows for some exemptions, such as personnel files, personal information, documents revealing the identity of people who file complaints, information that deprives a person of a fair trial or impartial hearing and records that could endanger the safety of police officers.
Hiring report to be heavily edited / State AG’s office tells city it’s all public information
Sept. 17, 2004The city of Springfield plans to release two documents today regarding the race and gender makeup of its work force – a heavily edited copy of its most recent EEOC report and a summary of its contents.
An attorney who requested the data isn’t satisfied, though, saying he’d rather see the entire report “than what they want to create to pass out.”
Releasing the 33-page federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filing, even with much of the information blacked out, marks the second change in two days in the city’s position that it would not make the report public. Officials have said it contains confidential personnel information.
The Illinois attorney general’s office, which oversees enforcement of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, maintains the document is public information and urged the city to release it, according to a letter assistant attorney general Terry Mutchler sent the city on Wednesday.
The report includes a breakdown of the city’s work force by job category, salary range, race and gender. It contains only aggregate data, not employees’ names or other identifiers.
However, city attorney Jenifer Johnson said Thursday that releasing the complete EEOC report would allow someone to cross-reference it with other information the city makes public and potentially identify the race of some employees. According to the Freedom of Information Act, the names, positions, salaries and dates of hire of governmental employees are public information.
Allowing the public to see the structure of the document will enable people to understand the specific nature of the information the city is required to provide, as well as why it could potentially violate employees’ privacy, Johnson said.
She created a summary of the race and gender information contained in the report, and that will accompany the EEOC filing when it is released today. The summary will not include an employee breakdown by job category.
“The fact that this (EEOC) document doesn’t have names specifically attached to it to me is really irrelevant considering how substantially these categories are broken down, because anyone who cared would be able to match that up in many, many cases,” Johnson said.
State law does not require the city to create a summary of the information, but Johnson said she did it to satisfy questions about the race and gender makeup of the city’s work force. Aldermen at the Sept. 7 city council meeting requested that such a summary be prepared.
The EEOC information became an issue recently after Johnson and Mayor Tim Davlin declined to release it to the attorney representing Springfield’s black police officers in a discrimination lawsuit against the city.
The attorney, Courtney Cox, filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the documents, but Johnson and Davlin rejected it.
Cox has since filed suit against the city, and that case is pending. The State Journal-Register also has filed a FOI request for the information.
Johnson cited a 1990 Illinois appellate court case as support for her decision to deny release of the EEOC reports. In that case, known as CBS v. Cecil Partee, the court said that providing the names and races together of governmental employees could constitute an invasion of privacy. CBS had sought information, including names and races of all Cook County assistant state’s attorneys, as well as names, positions, dates of hire and salaries for a host of other employees.
However, the ruling indicates the state’s attorney’s office did release its EEOC filings to CBS, and the court took no exception to that.
Neither Cox nor the newspaper has asked the city to reveal names of city employees together with their races.
The State Journal-Register, after learning earlier this month that city officials did not intend to release the data, asked the attorney general’s office whether the EEOC filing is public information.
Mutchler’s letter to the city says that “aggregate numbers without containing personal identifying information for each employee generally would not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Moreover, a public body is required under the Act to separate the exempt from the non-exempt information and disclose the non-exempt information, in this case, names, if they are specifically coupled with race identifiers.”
The letter also indicates the Cook County case is not applicable in this situation.
Mutchler said Johnson called her Thursday to ask for additional advice regarding whether the original EEOC document needed to be provided with the summary. Johnson later sent Mutchler a letter indicating the city’s 2003 EEOC document contains personally identifying information and that under her reading of the Cook County case, the information is exempt from disclosure. It also says the city will release the report after redacting all identifying information, “which unfortunately is almost the entire document.”
Davlin has said he feared that an employee might sue the city for releasing the report and that he hoped someone would take the city to court so a judge could say definitively whether the filings should be made public.
Cox said Thursday that he believes the city is still hiding information.
“Instead of turning (the EEOC report) over, now they want to create their own forms,” he said. “I think it’s more reliable to see what they’ve turned in and told the federal government than what they want to create to pass out. I want to look at what they’re going to present, but I doubt it will persuade me not to pursue the Freedom of Information suit to obtain the actual original documents.”
Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards, who has pushed for the report’s release, said he, too, is disappointed with the Davlin administration.
“They said we were going to do things different and we were going to be open and we were going to be this and we were going to be that. It looks like the same old deal to me,” he said. “The people of the community have the right to know what their government is doing. These behind-closed-doors, backroom dealings – no wonder we’re getting sued all the time.”
7.1% minorities in city jobs / Compared with 20% of Springfield’s population
Sept. 18, 2004
Minorities are underrepresented in the city of Springfield’s work force, according to data released Friday.
Non-whites make up 7.1 percent of the overall work force, while they account for about 20 percent of Springfield’s population, according to 2000 Census figures.
The head of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called the numbers “an embarrassment,” while the chairman of the mayor’s own race relations task force criticized the city for its lack of openness in the matter.
After initially refusing to release the information, the city provided The State Journal-Register with a summary of its 2003 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEO-4 filing, along with a heavily edited copy of the actual report.
The newspaper asked for the data in a Freedom of Information Act request on Sept. 7, the same day aldermen requested that it be made public.
The summary, put together by city attorney Jenifer Johnson, is a spreadsheet of repackaged information from the report. It includes EEOC “job functions” but gives no indication of the departments employees work in; the number of employees in each job function; and a breakout of the number of white men and women, black men and women and men and women from “other” ethnic groups who work in each job function.
The 33-page EEOC report, which the city must file every other year, was based on employees of the city between July 2002 and June 2003. Mayor Tim Davlin took office in April 2003.
Johnson said she blacked out any information on the report she believed would allow the public to identify individual employees. In refusing to release the entire contents, city officials said doing so could violate workers’ right to privacy, because anyone who viewed it might be able to determine a particular employee’s race.
But not only does the EEOC filing not include names for the city’s 1,586 employees, there is no explanation of the racial categories jobs into which jobs are slotted. The report identifies workers by general “job categories” – administration, professionals, technicians, protective services, paraprofessional, administrative support, skilled craft and service/maintenance. It includes eight salary ranges within each category and then lists the number of men or women in racial categories identified only as “B” through “K.”
Minorities are concentrated in relatively few jobs, based on the city’s data. The highest percentage, 30.9, work in “public welfare” jobs.
City officials, contacted through a spokeswoman late Friday afternoon, just after the report was released, refused to provide further explanation of what is considered a “public welfare” job, saying that could violate employees’ privacy. The city has no public welfare department.
The city’s data shows 15.4 percent of minorities work in “financial administration” positions, 14.3 work in “other” jobs, and 11.5 work in jobs pertaining to “streets and highways.”
Baker Siddiquee, chairman of the Mayor’s Task Force on Race Relations, said the committee has been asking the city for the EEOC data for about six months. At the group’s Sept. 2 meeting, they were allowed to view a summary of the data, broken down by department, but were not allowed to keep it, make notes or copy it.
He said the group has become increasingly frustrated by the city’s reluctance to share the information. Members sought the data so they could begin talking to various departments with good minority-hire numbers to find out what they are doing to diversify and share that information with other departments.
“Our group openly expressed they are not happy (with the lack of information from the city),” Siddiquee said. “I think that for us, we’re puzzled because we’re already discussing the low representation in two departments – police and fire – so what difference does it make if there are two or three other departments on the same list?…
“Openness is critical. If we are to have any impact as the mayor’s task force, the first thing is information and openness. We are advisory to the mayor. If we cannot reach the administration and provide our advice, then what is the role of this so-called task force?”
Rudy Davenport, president of the Springfield branch of the NAACP, described the city’s minority employment numbers as “dismal.”
“The black total is only 6.8 percent in the entire city (work force). Actually, we are at about 13 percent of the population, so you can see the city really hasn’t made a great deal of progress. They haven’t made any, really,” said Davenport, who noted that he and the NAACP have never had access to racial and gender data for all city employees.
“Certainly, I can see why they would not want it released. It’s an embarrassment to the city. It’s an embarrassment that we allow things to get to the state where this is reflected as such. It really does not bode well, I would think, for the city as far as being the land of Lincoln and the image we want to project.”
Davenport said NAACP members have discussed the city’s reluctance to release the data and believe it reflects poorly on the administration, especially once the Illinois attorney general’s office confirmed the data could be released. He said members became suspicious of the city’s motives.
Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards said the numbers indicate the city has too few minority employees. He asked why other city departments have not been pressed to hire minorities, while a great deal of emphasis has been placed on police and fire department hiring.
“All these politicians and all these people who’ve been pushing the numbers on the police and fire department, I think they’ve got a lot to explain because all these exempt jobs and all these other jobs that are non-testing positions haven’t been filled with minorities and women,” he said.
“I’ve always said our (fire) department should reflect he makeup of our community. I think that should hold true for all departments at the city.”
According to the city’s summary, the “fire” job function – presumably firefighters – has the least number of minorities at 2.2 percent.
Courtney Cox, the attorney representing several black police officers in a discrimination lawsuit against the city, sought the EEOC data in a FOIA request that was rejected by the city. He has since filed suit for the information. He said Thursday he didn’t believe the city’s summary would be adequate for his purposes and said he would rather see the entire unedited EEOC report “than what they want to create to pass out.”
The Illinois attorney general’s office, which oversees enforcement of the state FOI Act, maintains the EEOC filings are public information and urged the city to release them, according to a letter assistant attorney general Terry Mutchler sent the city earlier this week.
Davlin has said he fears an employee might sue the city for releasing the report and that he hopes someone will take the city to court so a judge can rule whether the filings should be made public.
In a statement the city released Friday afternoon, Johnson reiterated the data was being released only because aldermen requested it.
“This in no way changes our position that requests for a specific breakdown of positions not be allowed under FOIA,” she said. “We stand by our earlier determination and are anxiously awaiting further clarification from the courts.”
Davlin mum on number of minority hires / Mayor fears threat of lawsuit
Sept. 22, 2004Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin was unable to say how many minorities he’s hired since taking office last year, but he believes his numbers are considerably higher than those of previous administrations.
Davlin, following Tuesday’s Springfield City Council meeting, indicated he was reluctant to put in writing how many non-whites he has hired out of fear of being sued.
“That’s my only concern,” he said, “not to please the press, but to make sure the city of Springfield does not have a lawsuit where we pay out a monetary claim to anyone, because we do not have the money.”
The Davlin administration on Friday – after being prodded by the press, aldermen and others – released a summary that shows the city has a 7.1 percent minority hire rate. The summary was based on information compiled for a mandatory federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission report the city filed in 2003.
Davlin said the minority hire numbers should be compared to the number of non-whites in Springfield’s work force, not the city’s minority population as a whole.
City officials and local leaders in the past have talked about having the city government’s work force reflect the makeup of the community, which is 20 percent minorities, according to 2000 Census data.
Davlin instead cited a 2004 report compiled by the Illinois Department of Labor that shows Springfield’s “total civilian work force” in 2002 included 7,809 minorities. That’s 7.2 percent of the available labor force, according to the report.
He said comparing the city’s minority hire numbers to the labor report data is more appropriate than comparing the numbers to the city’s total minority population.
“To say that our goal is 20 percent because that’s the population, that would far exceed anything that the labor statistics would ever say is possible,” he said, adding that removing police and fire positions from the equation shows the city has an 8.6 percent minority hire rate.
The mayor said he met Monday with representatives of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to make sure “they understood the numbers and make sure that we know how to compare things.”
“It just shows that when you release raw numbers, it doesn’t mean anything. You’ve got to be able to understand what those numbers are,” he said.
The 33-page EEOC report, which the city must file every other year, was based on employees of the city between July 2002 and June 2003. Davlin took office in April 2003.
He said his administration is working hard to recruit more minorities to work for the city.
“I think we’re doing things that have never been done previously. We’re committing police officers to be full-time recruiters, taking someone off the streets where we now have to make up for that in other ways,” he said. “The recruiting we’re doing at the fire department and everything we’ve done in conjunction with the NAACP and the Urban League … I think it’s important to note that we’re doing everything we possibly can and things that have never been done in previous administrations.”
Davlin also deflected the notion that some community members believe his administration has something to hide, given its reluctance to release the minority data.
“So far, to date, I’ve never had one person complain to me that we’re trying to hide anything. I think what I hear are positive things, that what I’m trying to do is protect the city of Springfield from future lawsuits,” he said. “My job is to protect the city of Springfield, and sometimes you’ve just got to take a little heat in doing that.”
Davlin also took a swipe at Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards, who has criticized him for not hiring enough minorities. Davlin called Edwards’ statements “hypocritical,” saying he hired 20 white male firefighters during his tenure as fire chief between March 2001 and October 2002.
“He’s the one who’s actually responsible for these low numbers … and never doing anything at all, never putting a firefighter out recruiting and putting resources in a different area. Yet he’s the hypocrite saying we’re doing such a bad thing,” Davlin said.
“I inherited those numbers under this administration. But how hypocritical can you be when the numbers are his responsibility?”
Edwards said he was the first fire chief to put together a recruitment team made up of minorities, women and white firefighters and that he put the current fire department recruiter, Mark Dyment, in that position. He said he took several other steps to recruit minority firefighter candidates to the department, and noted that the fire chief does not hire firefighters, it’s human resources and the mayor who do.
“I think, as usual, the mayor’s talking out of one side of his mouth politically and doesn’t know what he’s talking about out the other side of his mouth,” Edwards said.
“If the mayor really wants to talk about his record, let’s talk about who he has hired and who he has let go. If you just look at the small cadre of people he’s hired, you’ll find a great disparity,”
In other business Tuesday, aldermen approved spending $2,000 for the public health department to rent the Prairie Capital Convention Center on Oct. 23 for a “drive-through flu shot clinic.”
Anyone seeking a flu vaccination will be able to drive through the center and receive a shot without leaving their vehicle. The clinic will take place between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and health department officials expect to give out at least 500 vaccinations. Health department director Ray Cooke said he has never heard of another public health department conducting such a clinic.
The council also OK’d several appointments to the city’s Historic Sites Commission. Davlin reappointed Nancy Evans, Patricia Doyle and Ron Ladley to the commission, along with new appointees Stephen D. Myers, Robert J. Barker and Thomas J. Cullen.
Mayor Tim Davlin reflects on first year in office
In early 2004 I profiled Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin for an article about his first year in office.
SPRINGFIELD’S MAYOR REFLECTS: Davlin’s first year
April 4, 2004Tim Davlin is obsessed with money.
The city’s money, that is.
Approaching the anniversary of his April 16 inauguration as mayor of the capital city, Davlin admits he has spent much of his first year consumed by financial matters – the budget, in particular, took over his life, he said.
“I really feel like about three or four Wednesdays ago, the day after the city council meeting where we passed the sales tax increase, I felt like that following day was my first day on the job,” he said Thursday.
“I felt like … literally, 10 months, 11 months into the job, I’m just starting. I’ve got a list of things I think we have accomplished along the way, but every day, it was two or three hours every day, Monday through Friday and a lot of times on Saturdays, where we just dealt with the budget.”
Davlin, a Democrat and an insurance and investment broker who previously held no political office, was elected mayor of Springfield a year ago April 1 in a come-from-behind win over Republican stalwart Tony Libri. His win was part of a statewide shift of political control from Republicans to Democrats.
The mayor and city council are officially nonpartisan.
“For the most part, he was unproven politically. He’d never been in office, never ran for any office. That was part of what the attraction was to Tim Davlin,” said Sangamon County Democratic chairman Tim Timoney.
“It was a popular name in town, a big Catholic family from Blessed Sacrament, popular in the political and business community. That made him attractive. He had a little touch of politics, but for the most part, he brought a business approach to politics. I think that’s what helped him win.”
He has faced numerous challenges his first year in office. Chief among them were healing race relations in the city and plugging a budget deficit.
Davlin, 46, earns $94,132 as mayor of Springfield. The job is pretty much what he’d anticipated when he decided to run for election, “but then just even a little more hectic, to just a little more higher power than maybe what I’d anticipated,” he said.
“The surprises that come are usually small. A lot of times you don’t anticipate things. There are little problems, and then some are bigger problems that happen. But for the most part when I took over, we knew.”
Davlin’s key advisers have included his brother, Kevin Davlin, who is treasurer of the mayor’s campaign fund, as well as Todd Renfrow, whom the mayor named to head City Water, Light and Power. Renfrow, a former Democratic county chairman and former head of the city’s public works department, worked on Davlin’s campaign.
Davlin tried to push a plan early on that would have placed control of both CWLP and the public works department under Renfrow, but aldermen resisted that idea.
One of the big surprises, Davlin said, was learning that what he thought coming in was a $1 million budget deficit actually was actually much larger.
“I believe I understand the budget more than probably anybody else in the whole world understands it – where money’s coming in and where it’s going,” he said. “I watch sales tax revenues every day. But I constantly have to be on the lookout for ways to save money.”
One of his campaign promises was that he would run the city like a business, and he claims he has stuck to that promise, eliminating what he saw as unnecessary or redundant jobs, proposing unpopular cuts to city services when faced with a budget deficit, reorganizing the structure of offices and jobs and settling a costly federal discrimination lawsuit against the city.
But he has taken some heat for his approach to running the city, particularly when in January he announced a plan to eliminate 20 police and 13 firefighter jobs, as well as some city services, to balance the city’s budget. Some accused him of presenting a sky-is-falling plan as a political maneuver designed to force aldermen to propose a tax increase so he wouldn’t have to.
“It was the end of the line. The sky was falling and it absolutely was as real as could be,” Davlin said. “I had no idea when I took over a year ago how bad the situation was. It was very real. I can argue with anybody all day long, but until they sit in this chair, they wouldn’t know how real it is.”
Aldermen, in a party-line vote, voted in early March to increase the city’s sales tax from 1 percent to 1.5 percent. However, it will only be in effect for two years, at which point aldermen can vote to “sunset” the tax or keep it in place.
Davlin, who already is anticipating a deficit of at least $3.9 million for fiscal year 2007, said he is not convinced the city will be able to sunset the tax, pointing to needed capital improvements such as replacing police cars and firetrucks, as well as building a new public works garage at an estimated cost of at least $2.5 million.
“Do we sunset it, or do we want to spend any money on capital (improvements)? That’s what it’s going to come down to. It’s going to be interesting because it’s going to come at a time right before the next election,” he said.
Despite the months he spent reorganizing the city and engaging in budget talks, Davlin can tick off numerous things he and his staff have accomplished: Negotiating a contract with city police officers who’d been without one for more than two years; naming an educational liaison to bridge services between the local government and city schools; taking steps to build an east-side community center; starting a task force on homelessness; making the north branch of Lincoln Library accessible to the disabled; and distributing thousands of dollars in grant money to agencies for housing and services for low-income residents.
Last week, he announced a citywide beautification plan called Springfield Gateway Green.
And he decided to distribute $700,000 in surplus downtown TIF (tax increment financing) money to local taxing bodies, including the Springfield School District, which is experiencing budget problems of its own.
Also last week, he announced an out-of-court settlement with former police officer Renatta Frazier, who sued the city in federal court charging racial discrimination and a hostile work environment. Davlin said he handled 100 percent of the negotiations on the city’s behalf.
Courtney Cox, Frazier’s Benton attorney, told The State Journal-Register on Tuesday that he does not believe the Davlin administration is committed to resolving racial issues within city government.
Cox also represents six black officers – five current and one recently retired – who have filed a discrimination lawsuit against the city. He said what has happened to the black officers is symptomatic of a larger problem.
“Unfortunately, at this point, it looks like (city officials) do not want to resolve the larger problem and continue to fight to preserve the status quo, which is unacceptable,” Cox said.
Davlin pointed out he has assembled a recruitment committee made up of employees from the police and fire departments, city legal staffers and the NAACP. The Black Guardians, which represents most black police officers, also was invited to join the committee but has not responded to the offer, Davlin said.
“My gosh, it would be so great if all of a sudden the next class of police or fire came in here and we were able to hire 20 or 25 percent (minorities). You’ve got to have the numbers come first. You have 150 people and if you have four or five minorities come in, what are the chances?” he said.
In addition to the pending lawsuit over racial issues at the police department, Davlin’s administration has been criticized for not being aggressive enough in hiring minorities for other city jobs. Expectations were high that minority issues such as east-side projects would be a priority after Davlin received critical minority support in his election bid.
Davlin hired Ken Crutcher, who is black, as the city’s budget director – a position the mayor said he considers the city’s No. 2 job.
He also hired a black woman, Letitia Dewith-Anderson, to be chief of staff, only to later rename the position “executive assistant.” The move was criticized by many in the black community, who saw it as a demotion and a breach of trust. Dewith-Anderson quit the job in January but declined at the time to say why.
Davlin said he and Dewith-Anderson still talk and she has offered advice to different departments since leaving.
“I think it was made a lot bigger than what it was. She left on her own accord, and I can’t put a gun to her head and say, ‘Letitia, you need to stay.’ You can’t do that,” he said, noting that he never intended Dewith-Anderson to have the same role as former chief of staff Brian McFadden, who worked for former mayor Karen Hasara.
“My management skill is nothing like those two. Chief of staff is chief of staff, and I made the mistake from the beginning of calling it that when in essence it never was,” he said.
Davlin said he is working to rebuild trust between the city and the black community. He also said he is committed to Hasara’s goal of achieving 15 percent minority staffing on the police and fire departments.
“I campaigned on it. I talk about it. And don’t think I’m not reminded every day by the community that a certain segment of this society has not had its fair share of city employees,” he said.
Some aldermen also have been critical of the mayor, saying he does not keep them informed about the things he’s working on or major developments in city government.
Ward 5 Ald. Joe Bartolomucci said he would like to see better communication between Davlin and the rest of the aldermen.
“I don’t think it’s right when you’re sitting on one of the committees and you have to read about something that happens that directly deals with your committee in the press or get word of it on the radio or television. That’s happened more than once,” said Bartolomucci, who, like the mayor, was elected last April.
Bartolomucci, a Republican, also said he believes Davlin has succumbed to political pressure too many times.
“He made some mistakes, I thought, in the first three to six months. I thought I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I’m a freshman alderman and he’s a brand new mayor with no public office experience. I thought he’d really sharpen his skills as the leader of this community,” he said.
“It seems like he’s more worried about re-election in three years than being a leader. I think we’ve seen that in the budget process where instead of coming out front and really putting together an innovative, problem-solving budget, he came out with a very simplistic budget and really threw it in the laps of the aldermen and said, ‘Here, you fix it.’ ”
County Democratic chairman Timoney said the aldermen sometimes force the mayor to be more political than he would like to be.
“He’s tried to have a business approach to running city government, but sometimes it comes down to a five-to-five vote just based on politics, not on what’s best for the city. The Republicans are going to try to force him to cast the tie-breaking vote on a number of controversial issues just so they can use it against him in three years, such as the sales tax,” he said.
Timoney said Davlin is largely responsible for revitalizing the local Democratic Party.
“The Republicans aren’t used to the Democrats having some power in Sangamon County. Pretty much now we’re at a level playing field; they’ve been used to having an unlevel playing field where they’ve had all the power and control,” he said.
“I think his only weakness is possibly the political side of it because he’s not a politician. Some things he might look at from more of a business approach than a political approach. … Sometimes the business approach is better than the political approach; sometimes it’s not.”
Davlin said he has two priorities for his second year in office: city beautification and economic development.
“Number 1, I want to clean this town up. This town is dirty, in my opinion. I want it to look like downtown Chicago. Beautification to me is so important,” he said, noting that he is working to put a stop to fly dumping.
“I think everything is on the drawing board, from giving (garbage pickup) to one company to sectoring the city, put it on our tax bill, put it on our property tax, put it on our utility bill. Everything’s open.”
Economic development plans include establishing a new industrial park, getting the medical district going, retaining the 183rd Fighter Wing Air National Guard base and attracting new companies to the city.
“I want to make it so we’re more business friendly so that people want to come in and develop and they’re going to look at us as opposed to going to Chatham,” he said.
Prairie State Games: A bad investment?
In 2004, I started covering Springfield city government for The State Journal-Register. A plan pushed by the mayor and Convention and Visitors Bureau called for spending $215,000 to land “hosting rights” for an amateur sporting event known as the Prairie State Games.
I decided to investigate further and learned the Prairie State Games organization had some financial issues in the past. I wrote a series of stories about the organization, and eventually the mayor withdrew an ordinance approving the expenditure to lure the games here.
City to compete for sports festival / Prairie State Games could bring profit
May 11, 2004The city is considering paying $215,000 to ensure Springfield is host to the Prairie State Games in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Springfield is competing with five other Illinois cities in its bid to attract the amateur athletic competition and its estimated $12 million economic impact.
The Springfield City Council’s public affairs and safety committee will discuss an ordinance authorizing the bid at its meeting Monday. It could go before the full council the next day.
The $215,000 represents “host city fees” for three years: $70,000 for 2005 and 2006, and $75,000 for 2007.
The Prairie State Games, run by the not-for-profit Illinois Health and Sports Foundation, is the state’s largest amateur sports festival, according to the event’s Web site. Athletes from across the state compete in 28 Olympic-style events. The Web site indicates 7,000 athletes competed in 2003 and 13,000 people participated as coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators.
Interested cities requested bid packages from festival officials, and those bids are due June 1. The cities submitting the top two proposals will be looked at by a site selection committee, which will make a final determination by June 25.
The identities of the other bidders were not available.
The committee will consider the quality of the venues in each community and the local organizing committees, as well as the commitment of civic and corporate leaders, according to Maureen Moore, president of the Prairie State Games.
“We think that if Springfield would be the city that would get it, there are a lot of positives,” she said Monday, noting that the tourist sites of the state capital could serve as an added draw for athletes’ families and that it would bring people to town during a time when legislators and schoolchildren are not visiting.
“If Springfield would be the city, we’d be pleased because Springfield does have some good venues and a pretty strong commitment from the community and the convention and visitors bureau already,” Moore said.
This year’s games will take place June 25-27 in the Metro East. Fairview Heights has been the host city since 1995.
However, the city council _there decided in recent months that Fairview Heights was not receiving an adequate return on its investment, said Ald. Lydia Cruez. Fairview Heights paid more than $500,000 to host the games between 1995 and 2003.
Cruez said only three athletic events actually took place in Fairview Heights, along with opening ceremonies, a VIP reception and athlete check-in; the rest were in other nearby cities such as Belleville, O’Fallon and Edwardsville.
“When we have to bear the brunt of the cost, it doesn’t make good fiscal management in my opinion. That’s why I said something has to change here,” she said.
Prairie State Games organizers earlier this year asked Fairview Heights to come up with $290,000 over the next four years, or an average of $72,500 annually, to maintain its host city status. Aldermen denied the request, along with subsequent proposals to pay $60,000 and $50,000 a year. The city eventually agreed to pay $20,000 annually to keep the games in Fairview Heights, but organizers turned it down.
Moore said the games had a $1.67 million economic impact on Fairview Heights and a $4.17 million impact on the region. It accounted for 8,470 hotel room nights being sold last year, and athletes from 94 of the state’s 102 counties participated, she said.
In 1994, Peoria hosted the Prairie State Games for only one year of a three-year contract. The sports foundation and local organizers mutually agreed to drop the pact for a variety of reasons. About 3,900 athletes competed in the games that year, and local officials at the time estimated the games’ departure would mean a $750,000 to $1 million loss to the area.
The foundation that year began seeking bids from other cities to host the games.
Prior to that, they took place in Champaign-Urbana, where the event had been since its first year, 1984.
The state under Gov. Jim Thompson originally provided a majority of the Prairie State Games’ funding, but Gov. Jim Edgar eliminated the state’s support in the early 1990s. The games are financed through civic, corporate and private sponsorships as well as athletic fees.
City may find it easy to score / Competition for Prairie State Games apparently not great
May 14, 2004Springfield’s competition for landing the Prairie State Games is not as stiff as originally thought.
Representatives in four cities rumored to be going after the amateur sports festival – the Quad Cities, Carbondale, Champaign and Peoria – all said this week they are not going to bid and have not heard of any other groups in their communities considering a bid.
Rockford is still trying to determine if it will make a formal offer to host the annual event, as is Bloomington-Normal.
Maureen Moore, president of the Prairie State Games, declined Thursday to identify which cities have expressed interest.
“The only reason I don’t want to do it is it isn’t fair to the cities. We’re trying to keep them on a level playing field,” she said.
The Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau in April submitted to Prairie State Games officials $5,000 and a letter of intent to bid, as required by the bid package. The $5,000 is refundable should the city not be selected.
The event has taken place in Fairview Heights since 1995, but officials there will no longer host it, citing budget constraints and a weak return on their investment.
One alderman there said she had no problem with the games or how they are managed. But, she said, Fairview Heights put up more than a half-million dollars since 1995 only to have many of the events take place in other nearby cities.
Next week, Springfield aldermen will consider a request from the convention bureau to offer a required $215,000 – $70,000 for 2005 and 2006 and $75,000 for 2007 – to be named the host city for the games. An ordinance authorizing the expenditure could go to the city council Tuesday.
Site selection is based on additional factors, including facilities, commitment, volunteer quality and corporate sponsorships.
Bids are due June 1, and the selected city will be notified by June 25.
Prairie State Games organizers estimate the festival could have a $12 million economic impact on Springfield for the three years, based on the thousands of participants, spectators and others involved.
That figure comes from Southwestern Illinois Tourism Bureau estimates of the games’ impact on the Fairview Heights area.
The games take place the final full weekend in June. This year, they are scheduled for June 25-27 at various venues in the Fairview Heights region.
Wendy Perks Fisher, president and CEO of the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said her organization submitted a letter of intent and the bid fee but is still assessing an actual bid. Crystal Howard, director of the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said her organization also is considering a bid.
Oney Emory, executive director of the convention bureau in Champaign County, said his group is not seeking the games.
“It might be one of the park districts, but they certainly haven’t contacted us for any support,” he said.
Linda Wright, an administrative assistant in the Carbondale convention bureau, said her agency had not considered a bid.
The Quad Cities also apparently is not going after the event.
“Our budget would simply not allow coverage of the out-of-pocket expenses that would be required,” said Joe Taylor, president and CEO of the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Debbie Ritschel, general manager of the Peoria Civic Center, said she was not aware of anyone in Peoria bidding for the games.
According to the Prairie State Games bid package, which stipulates exactly how much money and what kind of facilities the host city must provide, Springfield would need a number of facilities for 28 Olympic-style sporting events.
For instance, the host city must be able to provide three sheets of ice, a paintball park, shooting ranges, a bowling center with 50 lanes, an archery range, diving and swimming facilities, a golf course, a horseshoe park, various gymnasiums and arenas, a weight room or health club, baseball fields, tennis courts and a track and field location.
In addition to the initial $215,000, the host city will be responsible for financing opening ceremonies and a VIP reception for 200. The opening ceremonies cost about $20,000 a year, according to the document, and includes choreographed fireworks, a keynote speaker, big-screen videos and sound system, “sky divers or like entertainment” and an official torch lighting.
Obtaining corporate sponsorships is a big part of the host city’s obligation, and commitments must be locked in beforehand, Moore said. The bid package indicates $15,000 in corporate sponsorships for 2005 must be paid prior to Nov. 1, 2004, and $55,000 in contracts must be signed by Dec. 15, 2004, with payment due by Feb. 1, 2005.
Similar rules regarding corporate sponsorships are outlined for 2006 and 2007.
According to the Prairie State Games’ Web site, national corporate sponsors include Nike and Gatorade. Moore declined Thursday to say what the companies supply.
“A lot of our sponsors are national ones who are staying with us wherever we go,” she said.
Tim Farley, executive director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the Springfield Hotel Motel Association is eager to help land the Prairie State Games. Part of its commitment is to host the opening ceremonies, but Farley declined to elaborate.
“That’s the first time ever that we’ve gotten a commitment. That’s why this is unique,” he said.
“Anytime we have anything this big, we would have to go to them. We have to make sure the rooms are available. The weekend (the Prairie State Games) are coming on was a very flat weekend, meaning we didn’t have a lot of business. That makes this even more valuable.”
Farley said tourism officials have confirmed with Lincoln Land Community College, the University of Illinois at Springfield and District 186 that their facilities would be available.
He also said Springfield’s bid will include some additional incentives but declined to say what those were so as to not tip the city’s hand to its competitors.
“There’s been so much community support and interest in this. It’s not just about the convention and visitors bureau. When the hotel community comes and backs you up and says this is something we need to go for. …” he said. “If they’d said they weren’t interested, we probably wouldn’t have pursued this.”
Organizers criticized over the years
May 14, 2004Organizers of the Prairie State Games have faced criticism through the years – from funding and paperwork disputes to allegations the events are poorly run. But supporters say longevity is proof that something is being done right.
“You’re always going to have some problems with an event of this size. You’re going to have people who aren’t happy with the situation, but I’ll bet if you canvassed the majority of the people, they would say it’s a good, fair competition,” said Charlie Merker of Freeburg, who has volunteered with the Prairie State Games since its early years in Champaign.
His daughter competed in volleyball at the festival and went on to land a college scholarship.
“It’s just a great melting pot of kids getting to meet each other and playing in a real fair, honest, level field,” he said, adding that he intends to continue volunteering regardless of where the games move to in 2005.
The Prairie State Games, touted as the state’s largest amateur sporting festival, is composed of 28 events: archery, baseball, basketball, baton twirling, bowling, diving, figure skating, golf, gymnastics, hockey, a hoops fest, horseshoes, judo, karate, paintball, power lifting, shooting, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, a volley fest, weightlifting, wrestling, 5K run, badminton, tae kwon do and water polo.
It is open to all Illinoisans. According to the festival’s Web site, more than 7,000 amateur athletes competed in 2003, and 13,000 people served as coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators.
More than 40 states have their own versions, including the Show-Me State Games in Missouri and the Sunflower State Games in Kansas. Winners in each state can go on to compete in the State Games of America.
The Prairie State Games are operated by the nonprofit Illinois Health and Sports Foundation, which also oversees the Southwestern Illinois Senior Olympic Games, the Midwest Salute to the Masters Fine Arts Festival and a new health program called Lighten Up Illinois.
The Prairie State Games started in 1984 under Gov. Jim Thompson and the Governor’s Council on Health and Physical Fitness. It was subsidized by the state until the early 1990s, when Gov. Jim Edgar eliminated the council and funding, according to Maureen Moore, president of the Prairie State Games. She has been with the organization since 1987.
A 1992 state audit alleged mismanagement of funds, but Moore on Thursday disputed there was any wrongdoing and described the audit as a “political witch hunt.”
“There are a lot of people whose reputations were damaged by it,” she said.
Since then, the games have been financed by civic, corporate and private sponsorships as well as athletic fees.
The festival took place in Champaign-Urbana, primarily on the University of Illinois campus, between 1984 and 1993.
It moved to Peoria in 1994 for a three-year stint, but the contract ended after only one year. The games failed to pay some of its bills to the Peoria Civic Center and other businesses, and there were charges of disorganization. City leaders balked at coming up with additional funding.
Moore said there were numerous problems in Peoria, such as charges for air conditioning at the civic center and the city’s sports commission not providing the backing it had promised.
“We couldn’t pay our bills because we hadn’t gotten the money from the city,” she said. “It just did not work. A lot of it, I think, is that they were too new in the sports business and it was easier to make us the scapegoat. … I think they learned a lot from it. I know we did.”
In 1999, the Prairie State Games’ accounts were frozen because organizers failed to file required financial records for 1996, 1997 and 1998. The problem had to do with delays in records being transferred to the Illinois Health and Sports Foundation from the Illinois Health and Physical Fitness Foundation, which previously had overseen the games, Moore said.
The Prairie State Games moved to Fairview Heights in 1995, where it has been ever since.
City officials there, many of whom said they have no problem with the games themselves, earlier this year refused to invest more than $20,000 annually, even though festival organizers were seeking $290,000 over the next four years.
Although Fairview Heights has contributed more than $500,000 to the games since 1995, one alderman described the city’s return in hotel and restaurant receipts as “nominal.”
Tim Farley, executive director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, said he had the reports of the past problems but feels it is a sound organization.
“We’ve looked at the numbers, we’ve talked to people who’ve worked with the games, and they feel it’s a well-run organization. There must be something to the games or there wouldn’t be (several) cities vying for them,” he said.
“We’re very positive about this, but we know it’s going to be a large undertaking. This is really not comparable to anything else we’ve done.”
The bureau is exploring the possibility of establishing a sports commission that would be charged with managing the Prairie State Games, should the festival move to Springfield, as well as attracting future sporting events. Anyone interested in volunteering can call the bureau at 789-2360 and ask for Jeff Berg.
Moore said she believes the Prairie State Games is a good, family-oriented event that has a positive influence on youth.
“We’ve been here 10 years, and we have been successful for 10 years,” she said of the event’s time in Fairview Heights. “We’d hold firm another 10 years except for the city being in bad shape. It’s just a tough time in Fairview Heights right now.”
Aldermen told four cities want Prairie State Games / Public Affairs panel sends issue to full city council without recommendation
May 18, 2004The director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau assured aldermen Monday that four other communities are vying for hosting rights to the Prairie State Games, based on information he had received from organizers of the amateur sporting festival.
A State Journal-Register survey of tourism officials in the cities rumored to be bidding on the games indicated last week that two – Rockford and Bloomington-Normal – had submitted letters of intent and were considering a bid, while four others – the Quad Cities, Carbondale, Champaign and Peoria – had no interest.
Maureen Moore, president of the Prairie State Games, has declined to confirm which cities are in the running.
Convention and visitors bureau director Tim Farley fielded questions about the games and the bidding process from aldermen for nearly 20 minutes at the Springfield City Council’s public affairs committee meeting Monday.
An ordinance authorizing the convention bureau to pay $215,000 in “host city fees” for a three-years period, 2005-07, is making its way through the council. The ordinance indicates “five other cities” are competing against Springfield.
The public affairs committee voted to forward the matter to the full council without a recommendation. Aldermen asked Farley to provide additional statistics and other festival information for them before tonight’s meeting.
Springfield has submitted a letter of intent and a refundable fee of $5,000 to organizers. Communities vying for the games sweeten their bids by offering additional incentives.
“Keep in mind that, first of all, if someone called me from Rockford and asked me if we were bidding on the Prairie State Games, I would probably say, ‘Well, we’re looking at it, but I’m not interested,’ because this is a competitive-bid situation,” Farley told aldermen.
“For a fact, there are four other cities that have paid their $5,000 as we did – three additional ones plus us – that have paid their $5,000 to bid on this, and one that we talked to today that still is just kind of on the fence.”
When an alderman asked Farley which cities have bid, he said he didn’t know.
“They won’t tell me that. That’s part of the competitive side of it. (Moore) doesn’t want everybody to know who’s bidding, either, because she doesn’t want everybody to start calling one another. That’s just their rules,” he said.
The Prairie State Games, hosted by Fairview Heights since 1995, is touted as the state’s largest amateur sporting event, featuring 28 Olympic-style competitions.
According to its Web site, it attracted 7,000 amateur athletes in 2003, along with 13,000 coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators. Tourism officials in southwestern Illinois estimate the 2003 festival had an economic impact of $4.17 million on the region. Prairie State Games organizers estimate it will have a similar effect on Springfield.
Organizers sought $290,000 and a four-year commitment from Fairview Heights earlier this year, but aldermen there instead offered $20,000 a year. Organizers declined and put the games out for bid.
The games took place in Peoria in 1994, and prior to that had been in Champaign since 1985, their first year.
Some Springfield aldermen were skeptical about the merits of spending $215,000 in tight budget times to bring the festival to Springfield. They also expressed concerns that the city could be on the hook for additional money down the road.
Ward 4 Ald. Chuck Redpath said he believes the games would be a positive event for Springfield, but he wants more information before voting.
“The bottom line is, yes, this absolutely is a good thing for the city of Springfield if we can put the package together, and in my opinion, it wasn’t together tonight. I honestly think the support is here for that, but we don’t want to get burned,” he said. “If they don’t provide us with some statistics and numbers and some hard facts, then it’s going to have a hard time making it (tonight).”
Ward 2 Ald. Frank McNeil said he would prefer to see the $215,000 scaled back to a more “reasonable” amount, with the option of re-examining the city’s investment in the future.
Ward 5 Ald. Joe Bartolomucci said Springfield has seen sporting events come and go, and they “just doesn’t seem to find a niche here.” He said he would prefer to see the city invest in events that already are established, such as the Route 66 Mother Road Festival, Taste of Downtown, the farmers’ market and the Old State Capitol art fair.
Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards said he intends to vote against the $215,000 bid regardless of what kind of statistics tourism officials provide.
“I think this … is not a time to just willy-nilly spend $215,000 of the taxpayers’ money,” he said, describing the games’ moving from city to city “akin to extortion.”
“Anytime you say, ‘Hey, you’re not going to give us anymore money, we’re going to take our baseball bats and go play somewhere else,’ what do you call it?” he asked.
Also at tonight’s meeting, aldermen are expected to discuss a proposed citizens police review commission that has been in the works for many months. A report outlining progress on the matter will be given to aldermen, according to Redpath.
Games won’t come here / Mayor withdraws ordinance
May 19, 2004An ordinance directing the city to put up $215,000 to bring an amateur sports festival to Springfield for three years didn’t even make it out of the starting blocks Tuesday.
Mayor Tim Davlin, citing a lack of support from aldermen and unfavorable media coverage of the Prairie State Games, withdrew the ordinance.
“I think there just was a lot of negative publicity; I think it got to all the aldermen,” Davlin said after Tuesday night’s Springfield City Council meeting.
“The aldermen, the ones that I had really polled, said they weren’t in favor of it, there were too many bad things about it. I don’t think we really got a chance to make our presentation, and by the time we did, they pretty much had made up their minds. You have to know when to pick and choose your battles, and folks weren’t there.”
Davlin said he had informed Tim Farley, director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, ahead of time that he planned to pull the ordinance. The mayor said he supported making the financial commitment to bring the Prairie State Games to Springfield.
Aldermen, in a voice vote, approved tabling the matter. Ward 4 Ald. Chuck Redpath, another who had expressed support for the games, voted “present.”
Bids to claim hosting rights to the Prairie State Games are due June 1. The convention and visitors bureau, which had obtained support for the event from local hotels and businesses, had already submitted a letter of intent to bid on the games, as well as a refundable $5,000 fee.
City officials are expected to proceed with plans to establish a commission aimed at bringing other athletic and sports-related events to Springfield. Several individuals and business representatives have indicated they are interested, Farley said last week.
Davlin said he, too, supports the idea of a city sports commission.
“We have a commission on every other thing … and quite frankly, I’m surprised we don’t have a sports commission. It’s not the kind of thing that just a convention and visitors bureau can do; I see this sports commission as something that can help do a lot of things to bring a lot of different venues to the city of Springfield,” he said.
“I think if we’d had this sports commission already on line two years ago, and we had the opportunity to come up today (with the sports festival bid), I think we would have had a much better chance of doing it.”
The Prairie State Games, Illinois’ largest amateur sports festival, has made its home in Fairview Heights in the Metro East since 1995. It was in Peoria in 1994 and in Champaign on the University of Illinois campus between 1985 and 1993.
Fairview Heights officials cut the festival loose in April – although it will still host the event this summer – citing a weak return on its investment.
Aldermen at Monday’s public affairs committee meeting said they were concerned the city could be on the hook for additional money in the future and had asked Farley to bring them more facts and figures about the festival and the city’s commitment.
“It would have had my full energy to make sure we didn’t do something that failed, and unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be,” Davlin said.