TRY SOMETHING NEW
How many times are you going to rehash the huge vacancy of downtown offices (“A plan to save downtown,” June 5)?
This city government has been talking about repairing the downtown since the 1970s. Remember Time – not Illinois Times, but the major Time magazine – had our Hilton hotel towering over the state Capitol on the front page of its nationally known publication.
The city and state government should work together to bring in businesses, instead of being business poison to major corporations and mom-and-pop businesses. The taxes are so tight and extreme here, nobody can afford to paint their homes or repair and beautify their gardens, let alone buy proper food for their families.
Why don’t you bring in IKEA downtown; we could use a blockbuster company like that, even if it’s just three-quarters of a normal store. Where are the law offices and accounting offices, instead of bars, bars, bars? Maybe another Sam’s or Costco?
Also, why don’t we have a Kindermart Christmas downtown during the holidays like they do in Europe? Downtown would be a pretty good place to have one, or maybe in front of the Governor’s Mansion.
The story about redoing the downtown is like Hollywood is constantly trying to fix the same thing. When you take the people surrounding the area and disenfranchise them, they don’t want to be a part of it.
Jayne D. Cates
Springfield
BRING BACK STATE WORKERS
If people truly want to save our downtown, force all the state workers who are currently sitting home in their pajamas to come back into the office. This will put more people back into buildings and more money back into our local economy, making our city thrive again.
Steve Hartman
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
SAVE THE WYNDHAM
There has been another mention by the powers that be about the possibility of tearing down the former Forum 30 tower (now the Wyndham hotel), something that I had referred to in a previous letter to the editor.
Save the architecturally unique building from the wrecking ball in order to make room for another hotel in conjunction with the proposed BOS Center. It’s been an iconic Springfield landmark for more than 50 years that can be seen from miles around, and it stands out on the city’s skyline – along with the venerable Capitol, of course. Few cities the size of this one can boast of having such a tall, modern-looking structure. Build the new one somewhere else. There are plenty of empty spaces downtown.
Mike Shepherd
New Berlin
GET CONTROL OF WYNDHAM
Figure out a settlement agreement with the Wyndham owner so the county has site control or ownership of that space. It is more valuable to the developers and the final designs for the BOS Center expansion.
Aaron McEvoy
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
NO KINGS
As we approach July 4, I reread the Declaration of Independence. It accused King George of “repeated injuries” and establishing “an absolute Tyranny.” Specifically, “He has refused his Assent to Laws,” proceeded without “Representation in the Legislature,” “endeavoured to prevent the population of these States [by] obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners,” “obstructed the Administration of Justice,” “made Judges dependent on his Will alone,” maintained “among us in times of peace, Standing Armies,” “render[ed] the Military …superior to the Civil power,” “cut…off our Trade with all parts of the world,” “impos[ed] Taxes on us without our Consent,” “transport[ed] us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences,” “destroyed the lives of our people” and “excited domestic insurrections among us.” The American Revolution showed the King that he should not have done this to his subjects. And a people who won the revolution and won the right to govern themselves should not do this to each other.
Jim Lewis
Albuquerque, New Mexico