The decisions being made today that have the greatest impact on you and your family’s quality of life are those being made, not in Washington DC or state government, but by ten of your next-door neighbors.
Do you know who these neighbors are? Have you talked to them? Have you ever seen them at work, discussing and sometimes arguing over what they say are “your” problems? Do you know whether they are really as concerned about the value of your home and the safety of your neighborhood as you are?
We didn’t know these 10 people either – until we started asking them questions four years ago. They are our elected City Council Aldermen. We don’t want you to feel bad if you answered “no” to these questions – we want you to do something about it. Now you can be “in the know” and prepared to cast an informed vote on Election Day.
On Monday, January 26th, Springfield ICON (Inner City Older Neighborhoods), a coalition of neighborhood leaders, and partner organizations will be hosting the 2015 aldermanic candidates in a public forum. You’ll get to meet with candidates from all ten wards. You’ll have a chance to see how they react to a series of questions posed by representatives from a variety of organizations. We’ll cover issues related to blighted property, garbage collection, infrastructure, zoning variances, city planning, transportation, and neighborhood revitalization.
The forum will be held in the Dove Center at the Prairie Heart Institute on Mason Street between North 6th and 7th Streets, and it starts at 6:30 pm. Members and partners of ICON will be there to begin to get to know the new candidates, as we have come to know the current ten aldermen. You need to be there, too!
Join us Monday night as we continue the process of finding six votes to improve the quality of life in Springfield. Find out more, including notes from our conversations with mayoral candidates, at www.SpringfieldICON.org.
Carol Kneedler, Chair, Springfield ICON (Inner City Older Neighborhoods)
Read the letter to the editor on the SJ-R.com…
Visit our Election 2015 page… (aldermanic candidate bios coming soon)