City Council - Regular Meeting

We're all doing it.

That would be an interesting phone call.

That didn't work out.

Chancellor.

The chairman hereby opens the meeting of the City Council of September 1st, 2016. Would you please stand up for the loyal pledge?

I swear loyalty to the flag of the United States of America and the Republic, for which it stands, a nation under God, indivisible, with freedom and justice for all.

Editor-in-Chief Redpath, could you please leave the list of attendees?

That grad Coe. That grad Gregory. That grad Williams. That grad Rockford. That grad Dean Purchase. That grad Dean Nazianianu. That grad Karls. That grad Dean Conley. That grad Donlan. That grad Hannah. Volkermeister Busch. Volkermeister Eber.

Danke, Schriftführer. Heute Abend gibt es keine Proklamationen oder Präsentationen. Der Vorsitz nimmt jetzt einen Antrag entgegen, die reguläre Stadtratssitzung zu unterbrechen, um eine nicht öffentliche Sitzung gemäß 2C11 wegen eines drohenden Rechtsstreits abzuhalten, wegen eines drohenden Rechtsstreits abzuhalten. Wir haben einen Antrag und einen Unterschritt. Gibt es Diskussionsbedarf?

Da dies nicht der Fall ist, bitte ich alle Befürworter um. Wir gehen in die nicht öffentliche Sitzung.

Thank you very much.

The chairman takes a motion to end the non-governmental session and resume the regular session.

We have an application and support. Is there any need for discussion? Since this is not the case, I ask all representatives to agree.

The majority is for it. The chairman takes an application against the reading of the protocol of the regular city council meeting of August 25, 2026, to renounce and accept the protocol. Application accepted. Application and support. Is there any need for discussion? Since this is not the case, I ask all representatives to agree. The majority is for it. The chairman takes an application against the first reading of the ordinance in the protocol of this meeting, which took place before the council meeting.

Approved. Second.

Application and support. Is there any discussion?

Since this is not the case, I ask all representatives of the application to sign. Opposition, no. The majority is for it. The next point on the agenda is the list of approvals. The chairman takes an application against the reading of the list of approvals in the protocol of this session, which took place before the council meeting. Member of Parliament.

Yes.

An application for support. Is there any discussion? Since this is not the case, I ask all representatives of the application to sign. Opposition, no. The majority is for it. The chairman asks for an application to sign the consensus agenda for final voting.

Second.

My application for support. Is there any discussion? Since this is not the case, the voting is now open. Anyone who votes for the application, anyone who is against it, please vote. The application has been adopted with 10 yeses and no votes against it. The next item on the agenda is 2026.208 for the approval of a three-year contract extension NB 24 cc about a service agreement with Sound Thinking, Inc. for ShotSpotter recognition technologies in the amount of 1,112 dollars for the Springfield Police Department. The chairman asks for a motion to make a final decision on article 2026.23.1989. Mr. Mayor, I propose to withdraw this motion.

I understand that there is still some clarification regarding ShotSpotter and that... We have a motion and a second support to withdraw the motion or the point of discussion.

I know you can all report if you need to discuss, but only for information. We are working with Shotspotter on some updates to the contract so that it can be submitted to you in a new order. Are there any further discussions? Since this is not the case, everyone who is for the withdrawal please say yes. Those who are against it say no. The majority is for it. Are there any new businesses to be introduced to the city council? Da dies nicht der Fall ist, kommen wir zu den alten Geschäften. Gibt es alte Geschäfte, die dem Stadtrat vorzulegen sind? Da dies nicht der Fall ist, Schriftführer, kommen wir zu den Bürgern, die sich im Voraus angemeldet haben, um vor dem Rat zu sprechen.

Well, thank you, guys. Maybe we can make it to the county on time. Maybe I don't have to jog once. That would be nice.

You know, I have to talk about the idea of financing that we are running. I'm not going to go into the problems that we see elsewhere in the city regarding the infrastructure, but I think we've all seen the news. I think we all understand that investments in infrastructure in our community are very important. I was at the doors of some of the candidates who will take part in the next municipal election. And I have to say, the one thing I often hear is the lack of what our citizens see, what they believe in our city in relation to progress and what they have from the urban services. Whether it's just about their streets, the lack of waste disposal with illegal garbage dumps, as we see on the east side and in other areas, or simply about the general reactivity of the city itself. And I don't disagree with that. Personally, it's easier for me to deal with certain areas of the city. I would like to believe that everyone will be treated like that. But I think we all know that you get a little more room to play with a microphone than others, simply because you are louder. And I think that's a point where many of the voices I'm hearing at the moment have the feeling that the city is not taking care of themselves anymore. Be it that someone has to fight for 16 months to carry out a simple repair to his house that was caused by a urban contractor, be it that local business owners are suffering from problems with the urban infrastructure, or be it the people who worry about the rental register, because that will be said goodbye. It will become reality. And it will end up with most of you. I am sure that some of you will change your mind at the time of the elections when you see what the community holds from the rental register. At least I hope so. But this referendum did not come about because the government coalition somehow turned its arm. Ask the people about it. When you collected signatures, you didn't have to explain much to the people. You live under these conditions. We lived in this rental apartment. We lived in these houses. They had these renters. You notice that it is a threat, because you have just seen how the chairman of the rental association appeared to destroy the reputation of a program that is not even written yet. How can you reject something that you haven't read anything about other than ideas? This is a really strange way to approach the possibility of a change that was initiated by a campaign of signatures by our own citizens. You don't have to dislike the idea of a renter's register. Maybe they even have the feeling as a renter that they are a bit aggressive and oppressive. Bad luck. The citizens have reported loud enough to bring it to a referendum. And I sincerely hope that they all do the preliminary work before this referendum is adjourned. I wouldn't bet that it won't work out, folks. Public polls show that Republicans and Democrats have 80% approval. Do you know why? Because we all have lived in unequal, bad, unfair and dangerous living conditions at some point. If you have fallen below a certain level of income. Or had the bad luck to have a landlord who didn't care about the property or the well-being of the residents. And I find that frustrating, but it had to come to this point because you had the opportunity to do so. You had the opportunity to have a long, detailed and thoughtful discussion about it. I myself have had numerous city council members and people in the municipal offices come to me with links and information to give them ideas on how to get ahead. And now it's in front of your door again. And I think that says a lot about the ideas and problems that are presented to you. Because, to be honest, things always come back. They have the unpleasant way to do it. Especially when you think, who's it going to be, it's back again. And I think that's the thing you have to understand. This city is just like that. It is an old city with old infrastructure, old problems and old men who are in the way of progress. Maybe think about whether you are one of them. Maybe think about whether you belong to the people at the next election, who you can easily chase out of office. Because all we really have to do is go around and see if your voters know you at all, know you at all, have heard from you, have the feeling that you listen to their concerns and take care of your well-being. People suffer in a way that I believe that some of you may not even notice.

For example, when I went to Walmart a few days ago, someone asked me to buy him a chocolate bar.

Here I have all my bills and bills.

And I said, man, I'm in a hurry. And he said, brother, aren't we all like that these days? That's not the usual answer.

That's not what I usually hear from people. But we are all in desperate circumstances these days, whether you realize it or not. Whether you are aware that you are only three months away from joining the people on the street and learning how it is to live in a city whose infrastructure now and then has an extra quarter of a million dollars left for you. It's a shame, man. What I hear from the people is disappointment. It's the fear of the future. It's anxiety. It's unrest. It's confusion. Sie verstehen nicht, warum Ihre Anführer Sie im Stich lassen oder auf die Ideen des großen Geldes reagieren, anstatt sich um die Menschen vor Ort zu kümmern.

Toni Nudel.

Guten Abend zusammen.

Guten Abend.

Ich möchte Ihnen allen für die Arbeit danken, die Sie leisten. Ich weiß, es ist nicht einfach. Es ist kein leichter Job. People take their work for granted and don't know how to appreciate it. I understand. I know you and the hard work you all do. Whatever it is, I will just read my speech. I wrote it this morning. I think it's good. I will read it as it is written. My name is Toni Nuno. I am the current president of the Springfield Area Landlord Association and I am proud of it. My name and my position Let me repeat myself, so everyone knows who I am. My name is Tony Nudo, the current president of the Springfield Area Landlord Association, also known as, uh, Sala.

Uh, does anyone want me to spell it?

The reason why I call my name in this list is that last week someone I don't even know called my name three times. I am proud of my name. I am proud of what I am doing. I have worked hard to get here and I will continue. I am here to respond to the very emotional and passionate comments that were directed at me here last week regarding my statements to the council week before. I guess I should have expressed myself more clearly. Because I found it amusing regarding the rental licensing, registration and the obligatory inspection plans that are currently being promoted. Ein Teil der Gruppen, die darauf drängen, sind die örtlichen Nachbarschaftsvereinigungen. Einige der Hausbesitzer in diesen Gruppen mögen keine Mieter in ihrer Nachbarschaft und wollen die Wohnungsanbieter und Mieter nur bestrafen, um sie fernzuhalten. Es amüsiert mich, dass einige der Leute, die darauf drängen, selbst nicht die Sondersteuer für die Vermietung eines Hauses zahlen müssen. Sie müssen keine Inspektion ihres Hauses über sich ergehen lassen. Sie müssen nicht von der Arbeit freinehmen und Fremde in ihr Haus lassen, nur weil sie zur Miete wohnen. Genau das wird passieren. Bekündigt, wenn dieses Ding verabschiedet wird, ist das genau das, was passieren wird. Die Gründe, die Sie nennen, warum wir eine Vermieterregistrierung und Lizenzierung brauchen, sind, dass man wissen müsse, wer die Eigentümer sind. Die Stadt weiß es. Man muss noch einen Brief an die Adresse schicken, an die die aktuelle Steuerrechnung geht. We will reach the owner or the representative of the owner. The people say they have to be drawn to the evidence. We have a lot of building regulations addressing housing problems and some of them are very strict. There is a legal procedure that the government must adhere to. I cannot express myself to the specific problems of the Lincoln House regarding the administrator or owner, but it seems as if the city were in contact with them through the prescribed legal procedure. The argument for a renter registration is criminal and discriminatory and comes from people who simply do not like renters of rental objects. The discrimination of rental objects is a discrimination of the renters. They should not pay taxes or have to be allowed to intervene in their private sphere only because they live on rent. The Springfield Area Landlord Association, whose current president I am. My name is Tony Nudo. is a non-profit educational organization that is committed to supporting real estate owners and the distribution of local regulations in Springfield. Let me repeat that. A non-profit educational organization was... Okay. The only control we have over our membership is who can participate if they want to. I can't prescribe anyone who should be appointed. So they can't try to embarrass me for the actions of others. As far as I know, no one is a member of the Lincoln Towers of the Sala, whose current president I am, Toni Nudo. We provide resources and tools for landlords to manage real estate responsibly and at the same time address the concerns of the community regarding safety and cleanliness. Although we are a rental education association, we promote the collaboration between owners, tenants and the city to report problems and maintain standards. The hall aims to protect responsible tenants from unnecessary regulations and at the same time to promote a healthy living environment for all residents. Thank you very much.

City Councilor Williams?

Mr. Nullo, please. You know, I thank you for coming and sharing your views, because that is the missing piece. We have to listen to all sides. This is not aimed at landlords. This is not aimed at tenants. People come together here to solve a problem in Springfield. And no matter how you look at it, it is a problem with many aspects, in which landlords are part of it. The only thing I want to ask you to be careful about is what you represent as facts, if nothing else exists. The meetings have not yet begun. The rental and rental meetings, in which the text is developed, which should be presented to the city council. They will put it together and they are invited to do so, just like the tenants that we already have and also the tenants can come. Because that is in no way party. This serves as the solution to some problems. People are fed up with the abandoned houses. You have it, Satya. We know the argument with the tax register that the opposite leads. But the fact is that our directors can't find all of them. Just because a GmbH is held, it doesn't mean anything. We have to make precautions so that we have really good communication. So we're trying to work together. And I just want you to know that your group, together with the other nine groups that celebrated last night, can all come together and help develop the formulation that we will use. But at the moment, my Lord, no word has been heard, approved or discussed, because the meetings have not yet begun. We will have moderators at these meetings, who will listen to the landlords and the tenants and together they will write the statements. So we don't know anything about a bond structure. We don't know anything about the removal or transfer or how we should deal with anything. Because that's what we're going to do. A community project in which we work together. And I just want you to know that this is not meant in a split way. It's supposed to be a collaboration with the Dürgern from Springfield, after they have expressed themselves, to convey it to the council and say, that's what we want. And then it will be your own word of mouth. Yes, we will have models from Kansas City, from Peoria and from many other municipalities who have done this, but we will create our own. Something that fits to Springfield, Illinois. And I just want you to know that this should not be split. It should be used to work together. I hope we can change our attitude a little bit and all come together and influence how it will look. We want to be fair. We have managers who manage LLCs. Do you know real estate for LLCs in our group? We have tenants in our group. And of course we have a lot of tenants in our group. And I always told the group, people are destroying your houses. You know, tenants, I know a lot of tenants who leave the house in a bad condition. But tenants let a family leave in the evening. And the next morning a new family is there and the same mold is still there. Who moved the first family to the exit. Or the hole in the wall is still there that caused the first one.

So we're just trying to correct some of these things and come together.

That's all I want to tell you.

Danke. Nun darf ich zu dem Stellung nehmen, was Sie gesagt haben.

Ähm... Sie haben Ihre fünf Minuten verbraucht. Es tut mir leid. Okay, das ist in Ordnung.

Wir waren schon einmal hier.

Sie können nächste Woche wiederkommen, wenn Sie möchten.

Ich möchte kein Stammgast werden. Danke.

Gary Tyler. Gary Tyler.

Douglas.

Douglas. Sunshine Clemens. As much as I hate coming here and would rather be at home to watch online, I thought it was important to be here for two reasons. First, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the police of Springfield to create a transparency dashboard. It is urgently necessary and the efforts are appreciated. It contains an interactive dashboard that displays data and statistics on police interactions throughout the city of Springfield. And we received a preview on the website before the start in July. During this preview, we now pointed out the existence of a race category under the register card of gun victims. While the existence of a race category in other categories on the page, including the register card of traffic controls, did not exist. This is especially important because blacks are held by the police to an unparalleled extent. And our community has talked about it in detail. During our conversation with the SPD, we offered solutions to this problem, which included either the complete removal of the race category or the addition of a link to available government or ACLU information about the race in other categories in the same way and data reporting on the entire website. The SPD agreed that this could be done and that it seemed like a simple solution. We were therefore disappointed to find that none of these solutions were implemented and that there was nothing in the press release of this concern in the publication or afterwards. We have received our thoughts on this issue again on the 17th of August via e-mail, both from the chief of police and the mayor, and have received an answer from neither of the two parties until today. We regularly meet with the police and the mayor's office, because we consider the ongoing dialogue to be decisive, but we have found that the gap in understanding under the current leadership seems to be increasing. Wir sind nicht so eingebildet zu glauben, dass jede Lösung, die wir anbieten, sofort umgesetzt werden muss. Aber wenn wir eine Lösung anbieten, die zum Vorteil der Abteilung ist und besagte Abteilung anzeigt, dass es eine einfache Lösung ist und sie bereit ist, dies zu tun, es dann aber nicht getan wird und wir keine Antwort auf unsere Kontaktaufnahme erhalten, sind wir schlau genug zu wissen, dass hier ein Mangel an Respekt im Spiel ist. I publicly demand an update of the Transparency page, a statement on the implementation of all applicable action requirements of the Massive Commission, as well as a progress report on the Springfield United for Change measures, which were signed by the SPD and the mayor on July 28, 2025. A measure established in this document was the creation of a training course on the history of police work in the USA and in Springfield, in cooperation with a local historian or the African American History Museum. In response, we were told that this measure was currently being fulfilled by officials visiting the museum and discussing the exhibitions. Even though the learning of general black history is always a big step, a visit to a museum does not necessarily meet the criteria of a training about the origins and the history of police work. Since the intention of this action step is not achieved in this way, I demand an update on each point agreed in this document that is presented at a public civil assembly and uploaded on the transparency page of the SPD. The second point I want to briefly address tonight is the shocking behavior of the city of Springfield in dealing with Ms. Tia Lee. That a citizen cannot live in her home for almost one and a half years and is addressed and treated like this by exactly the people who should take responsibility for the situation, I find it repulsive. Sie sollte nicht gegen diejenigen kämpfen müssen, die sich eigentlich für sie einsetzen sollten. Ich finde die Haltung und das Auftreten des Ratsmitglieds für Ward 7, Brad Carlson, am Abend ihrer ersten Präsentation besonders abstoßend. Die Haltung, das Auftreten und die Versuche, ihren öffentlichen Kommentar zu beenden, sehe ich als Zeichen ihres Mangels an Fürsorge und Besorgnis für die Gemeinschaft, der sie dienen. Obwohl es nicht überrascht ist, ist es erschütternd und ich bitte Sie, sich mehr darum zu bemühen, mit Empathie zu führen. Danke, Stadträtin Notriano, dass Sie versucht haben, Ihre Zeit per Antrag zu verlängern und danke an alle Stadträte, die ihr an jenem Abend Menschlichkeit entgegengebracht haben. Ha! Danke! Miss Clemens, wenn Sie bitte warten. Stadtrat Gregory?

Ganz gut. Also, wissen Sie, ich stimme Ihnen zu und ich spreche jetzt nur für den Transparenzteil. Ähm, ich zieh meinen Hut auch vor Chief Bill, dass er das alles zusammengestellt hat. Amen. There was a lot of work. I know, he spoke months ago about how hard he worked on it and that it kept him awake at night. I am grateful for that. I agree. When I went through the numbers and things, you know, one of the things I noticed is that the murder rate has gone down. And I also read your email that you sent us because of either none or all demographic data and the problem with only one group. And I agree with you. However, I want to. And that's more intended for our council. I think that's because we often try to prove, hey, we have shootings in these districts. These are the victims and similar things. But that's one reason why I wanted to introduce the change for ShotSpotter, because these data are so important to us, aren't they? If we introduce these initiatives, if I talk to the groups here, who really work in our community, they say, we need more mentors, we have good programs, we help, we do something. Sometimes, you know, even with the best programs that everyone goes to, you sometimes lose some of these children. Some of these children come out, go back in. Or young people. I'm older now. But, and I just want us to know, if we keep going, we have to make sure that the money we receive makes a real difference in this area. Or if we want to highlight that, then I would rather see all demographic data so that we can just recognize it. But with the knowledge that we are trying to prove a point here, and I understand the point, I am a young black man. I am blessed to have reached the age of 42. And that's what I want to get ahead of. So you know, I don't want to get any information and statistics from this transparency side without getting ahead of it and doing something else. And ensure that we take care of many young people, no matter if they are under 18 or young men, and lead them on the right path. So that these statistics can't even come about. And the same applies to ShotSpotter. If we have this instrument, then I want to use the data to ensure that we take care of these communities and areas and make them safer. And you know, there are other things I could talk about, but these are conversations on the street that I have with James and some of the other brothers. But you know, to add something, James, as often as he comes up here, And things that we might not have liked. We had a fight outside, but he was right there with us. Do you remember when David Alexander came up here? He couldn't become an electrician. James Johnson stayed on his side. Stayed with him. Stayed with him. Now he's a fireman. He loves his job. And you know, I recently saw the picture of us at this mission when we really gave everything. And now we have a black woman with us. You know, Wir haben einige Hilfsmittel und ich möchte uns dazu ermutigen, egal ob es James Johnson ist oder Hollywood hier hinten. Das sind Leute aus unserer Gemeinde, die diese jungen Männer kennen. Und wir müssen sie einsetzen. Ich weiß nicht, er sitzt da hinten. Sie kommen jeden Dienstag und so weiter. Sie sollten hier draußen arbeiten. Sie müssen Teil unseres Teams sein. Um uns wirklich beim Wachstum zu helfen. Damit wir diese Statistiken, die wir sehen, über die polizeilichen Methoden hinaus senken können. Richtig. I prefer that you sit in the back, relax in your cars and chill. That's why I guess you sent this honest assessment. I thank the boss for the hard work and we will use this data to get better.

Thank you for that. Thank you. Thank you, city council. I had 45 seconds left when I stopped. Can I use them? Oh no, that's good. I'm fat. But I wanted to ask if I can use my remaining time to tell him something.

Data viewing time. Can you give me a second? Or on your cell phone.

Ich wollte nur klarstellen und sagen, dass ich Ihnen zustimme. Die Lösung war. It's not that there should be no data at all, but if you can't do it right at the start, then you should remove everything until you can implement it correctly. So I agree with you, and I haven't expressed that clearly enough before. So I want to say that I support your words and make it clear that we really want the data. We just want it to be distributed correctly. And if you have to wait until you can prepare everything correctly, that's okay. Is that okay? Thank you. Thank you, sir. James Johnson.

In this season of the bride and groom, I would like to congratulate all the bride and groom for their birthday. If you know what to do, you know what to do. I'm going to get to the bottom of this, but I'm coming here and I'm going to stand up for everyone. Right now. We are in a fight. And this is not a fight between blue and red. This is a fight between good and evil. Because at the moment there is an attack on blacks and browns all over the country. And last week I talked about the fact that Decatur News is the best news station in Central Illinois. I think I have a new job for you if you give it up here as news director at the news station here in the city. Sie können Ihre Familie mit einbinden, wissen Sie, und einfach dort weitermachen. Aber wir brauchen, und ich werde anfangen, hierher zu kommen und über nationale Dinge zu sprechen, über die unsere lokalen Nachrichten nicht berichten wollen. Decatur hat es angesprochen und einige andere Nachrichten auch. Aber ich habe hier eine Liste und meine letzten drei Minuten. Dieses 20. Juni. in the United States. A list of 1 to 10. Trey Reed from Mississippi to Demetrius Fleming from North Carolina. There are 1, 2, 3, 4 people in North Carolina. Two in Mississippi, one in Georgia, Nicole Miller in Florida.

But I want to talk about a person in the remaining time. Gerald J. Jackson was found in Michigan.

He hangs up. Gerald is from Illinois. And I want his family and everyone else to know that we black men in this country were calm and patient. From the oldest to the aunts and nephews. Nephews. We were patient and did not react. And over the years we have not reacted, but we are so short ahead. And Mr. Mayor, I come here and try to tell you what you have to do and what you should not do. The setting up of the cameras will bring everything to a boil. Well, don't let me tell you something. What does that have to do with it? The question is only, in which state of state and in which neighborhood? History began right here. So if it goes wrong... And the rest of these officials? Do not switch on the cameras. So that we can see what is really happening, the switch is switched on. Many people would not come here to talk because they are tired. That's why this place is now empty. No one is here and I'm tired too. But I have to keep going, because it's about a bigger thing. But I'll tell you one thing now. I told you that the fleas are coming. Did you pay attention to what's going on all over the country? I think the last two times you've been here, you've mentioned Marseille. You don't like the evil. We just want you to be transparent. And let me say this again. Black men, black people, black and brown people, we don't hang ourselves. Wir klettern nicht auf Bäume und tun so etwas. Wenn ihr uns nicht mögt, ist das in Ordnung. Wenn ihr Teil dieser Hassgruppe seid, dann dürft ihr das sein. Aber zieht uns nicht mit hinein.

Denn unsere Geduld ist am Ende.

Und wenn wir loslegen, dann legen wir los. Und es wird nicht so sein, wie ihr denkt. Ich werde also Teil dieser Mission bleiben, bei der ich versuche, den Frieden zu wahren. But I tell you now, if we start, then it will start everywhere in the country. And that will not be a nice sight.

Writer.

Sharon Hayes. Hey. Hi. That's it.

I ask for a motion.

Motion to approve.

All for it. Who is against it? Against it. The majority has agreed. We are approved.