Talk:Springfield, Illinois

Wrapping up? Nope - outstanding issues
Kranar wants to wrap this collaboration up, I think he may have moved on. But before this article makes it to GAC there are a number of open issues that still have not been satisfactorily addressed. They are listed below. Cross them off as they are done, then we can archive this, the peer review and go for GA.


 * 1) ❌Should submit to League of Copyeditors once all other concerns are addressed.
 * 2) ✅Geography section is still basically about Lake Springfield.
 * 3) ✅Looks like the consensus on tornadoes was keep as is, just as a note. IvoShandor 23:13, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
 * 4) ❌The Government of Springfield article should be written and Sister cities of Springfield, Illinois should be merged with it per the Detroit, Michigan FA model.
 * 5) ❌The history section is still being worked on, I still need to look at it too, so its partially my fault as well.
 * 6) ✅ and ❌The pertinent points in David's table above should all be adequately referenced in both the main history article and here.
 * 7) ✅Lead needs to conform to WP:LEAD and should not contain inline cites. In addition the lead should be a summary of the article and any points (barring outstanding and extraordinary claims) can be cited where they appear in the body of the article, and they should all appear in the body of the article.
 * 8) ✅Refs needed for films and a few other statements in the culture section, IMDB doesn't count as reliable.
 * 9) ✅ and ❌Sports section needs to be expanded to at least mention past team names, another sentence or two on current teams wouldn't hurt. We need to make sure we have accounted for all activity here.
 * 10) ❌A couple of the subsections under Culture are pretty short, could use some expansion if possible.
 * 11) ❌The References issue above is still mostly outstanding.
 * 12) ❌The cityscape section is about a sentence and would greatly benefit from someone who knows the town and has the cites to back it up.
 * 13) ❌The media section needs to mention all major outlets.
 * 14) ❌No crime section yet.
 * 15) ❌Could use a good further reading section filled with some good books, and some peer reviewed academic articles that we don't use as references.

This is what I see for now. I have also added some images back into the article as well as created a good gallery on Commons and linked it in the see also. IvoShandor 06:19, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Reworking intro, original with cites below:

Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. Officially founded as a temporary county seat on April 10, 1821, it had its seat made permanent on March 18, 1825. It was incorporated as a town on April 2, 1832 and was granted a city charter on April 6, 1840. Springfield became the capital of Illinois on February 28, 1837, and the Legislature convened there for the first time on December 9, 1839. Its population was 111,454 as of the 2000 census, and, as of 2005 census estimates, the city population had grown to 115,668.

Springfield played prominently in the careers of two U.S. presidents. Abraham Lincoln began his political career in the city and Ulysses S. Grant began his career as an officer in the Civil War in Springfield. Abraham Lincoln, being a prominent past citizen, is affiliated with several local historic sites and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Springfield is also home to the University of Illinois at Springfield, a campus of the University of Illinois system. Springfield has also experienced difficulties, including race riots and at least two tornado outbreaks with touchdowns. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by IvoShandor (talk • contribs) 23:15, 6 April 2007 (UTC). IvoShandor 23:15, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I put up my new intro, if any of hte info above can be worked into it after the history section is done I will. IvoShandor 03:17, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
 * That is a pretty good intro. I say post it!--Kranar drogin 02:23, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
 * While the issues above do need to be sorted out, its not as if we used a bunch of unreliable sources, there are just better ones. I am nominating for GA now, to see where it goes. I think it meets the criteria. I will copy edit again as it waits for review. IvoShandor 11:03, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Many of the issues above would be more applicable to an FAC than a GAC, as is I believe this probably passes the good article criteria. And I am pretty harsh reviewer, just ask User:Bbik. : ) IvoShandor 11:11, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Most of the article falls into GAC, with some expansion going into FAC. I agree that it is ready, and am eager to see what others have to say. To see what this was originally to what it is now is a VAST improvement.--Kranar drogin 11:22, 10 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I am going to do a few minor tweaks, add some refs and I should have it ready to go by tonite. Also some of the sites you listed below have articles, I mean some of the red linked ones, under different names, for instance Dana-Thomas House. IvoShandor 11:40, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Locator map
I've replaced the first map with an auto locator map of Illinois that places the locator dot automatically based on the coordinates in the infobox. Both myself and Kranar drogin think the new map looks better. I like that it matches the color scheme of the 2nd map, making for a much more unified appearance to the infobox. Does anyone have any comments? VerruckteDan 20:02, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Yeah, it makes it look 100Xs better. I am going to let the people over at the Illinois Project know too, get their opinions.--Kranar drogin 21:04, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
 * It looks good. I like it better now, and one day I am going to finish this article, lately I have been caught up with this article. IvoShandor
 * Great work! I had thought about doing this myself, but became distracted with non-Wikipedia matters. It looks much better than what I would have created anyway. David H. Flint 16:06, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

List of Places
Later on, I think some of these will need articles for Springfield. I found most of them on my Google Earth program. Forgot to sign.--Kranar drogin 04:04, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Henson Robinson Zoo Museum
 * Henson Robinson Zoo - http://www.hensonrobinsonzoo.org/
 * Nelson Center Arena
 * The Pearson Museum
 * Illinois Preservation Agency Museum
 * Vachel Lindsay House Museum
 * Dana-Thomas House
 * Springfield Art Museum
 * Chinquapin Bridge (historical)
 * Coal Bank Bridge
 * Mowery Bend
 * Roby West Oil Field
 * Glasser Bridge
 * Sugar Creek Covered Bridge
 * Lindsey Bridge
 * Horseshoe Lake (Illinois) (historical)
 * Halfmoon Lake (Illinois)
 * Wiggins Slough
 * Cow Pond (historical)
 * Clear Lake
 * Shaft Pond
 * Mud Lake (Illinois)
 * Sangchris Lake
 * Leisure Lakes
 * Weingardt Pond

Passed GA
Very well referenced, I like the article, was a good read. Here's some automated peer review suggestions. The following suggestions were generated by a semi-automatic javascript program, and might not be applicable for the article in question. You may wish to browse through User:AndyZ/Suggestions for further ideas. Good job.  Dooms Day349  22:31, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Per Wikipedia:Context and Wikipedia:Manual of Style (dates), months and days of the week generally should not be linked. Years, decades, and centuries can be linked if they provide context for the article.[?]
 * See if possible if there is a free use image that can go on the top right corner of this article.[?]
 * Per Wikipedia:Manual of Style (numbers), there should be a non-breaking space -  between a number and the unit of measurement. For example, instead of 564 feet, use 564 feet, which when you are editing the page, should look like: 564&amp;nbsp;feet.[?]
 * Per Wikipedia:Manual of Style (numbers), when doing conversions, please use standard abbreviations: for example, miles -> mi, kilometers squared -> km2, and pounds -> lb.[?]
 * Per Wikipedia:Context and Build the web, years with full dates should be linked; for example, link January 15, 2006.[?]
 * There are a few sections that are too short and that should be either expanded or merged.
 * Avoid using contractions like (outside of quotations): didn't.
 * Please ensure that the article has gone through a thorough copyediting so that it exemplifies some of Wikipedia's best work. See also User:Tony1/How to satisfy Criterion 1a.[?]

Ursuline Academy
Should we remove Ursuline from the high school list since they closed after the 2007 school year?Tinkleheimer 20:54, 14 August 2007 (UTC)
 * We can, or we can just note that it closed in the article, whatever seems good and right. IvoShandor 20:58, 14 August 2007 (UTC)
 * The article says that Springfield is home to "at least eight high schools". As far as I know it is home to only six - Springfield High, Southeast, and Lanphier are public, Sacred Heart-Griffin, Calvary Academy and Lutheran High are private.  There are a number of other schools in the area, but those six are the only high schools in Springfield proper. JAM Junior (talk) 03:16, 26 October 2008 (UTC)
 * In that case doesn't the question come up of how to deal with a high school like Glenwood? Meaning, a large number of Glenwood's students are actually Springfield city residents -- so does Glenwood end up being "one of the eight" or something altogether different? That said, does Riverton High pull from part of the north/northeast side of Springfield too, or not? JasonDUIUC (talk) 06:28, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Major Parks
It is such I nice article, I didn't want to just change it without comment. However, Washington and Lincoln are the city's two major parks, not Washington and Carpenter. The current section says that Washington and Carpenter are the two best known which is NPOV problem (best known by who?) but it is relatively indisputable that Washington and Lincoln are the two major parks. Washington has the Carillon and the Botanical Gardens. Lincoln has Nelson Center.ColinBlair 23:21, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
 * What I can say is Colin, those of us who do not live there, do not know this. So what you are going to have to do is provide a source. That entire section is going to have to be rewritten I believe with sources. So is there a park district website? I see that Carpenter Park, Springfield, Illinois was created about the park, so I will have to say provide me with sources and we can see about correcting this if this is a problem.--Kranar drogin 23:31, 11 September 2007 (UTC)
 * It is hard to justify with sources that Washington and Lincoln are the two primary parks, you can look through the park distict website at www.springfieldparks.org and see that links to information on both parks are on each page. However, nothing is really conclusive. One thing I did find is a refrence at http://www.illinoistimes.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A3250 that states conclusively that Washington park is the flagship park of the city. Since that is the only thing that can be backed by third party reference, maybe that is where it should be left. The problem with Carpenter Park is that it isn't in Springfield itself, it is north of Springfield and is really a nature preseve with trails and no infrastructure other than a stone-and-log shelter and two port-a-potties. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.135.58.157 (talk) 02:08, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

History section
Nothing happened in the city after 1908? Hard to believe. Rmhermen (talk) 16:50, 13 February 2008 (UTC) I just now added a single sentence noting that Barack Obama announced his presidential candidacy from the grounds of the Old State Capitol. Given the history of the city (the 1908 race riot and the subsequent formation of the NAACP), I think it's historically significant enough to note, regardless of whether he eventually becomes president. Wally Hartshorn (talk) 03:49, 21 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I came to this talk page to note the same problem. There is currently nothing in the history section between 1908 and 2006. While there's already perhaps too much focus on race, the city was the site of a famous KKK rally in 1994, for example. It'd be worth a short sentence in a normal history section, but it'd be too much in the deficient section we have now.   Will Beback    talk    21:48, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Southeast High School
In the "education" section, it says that Southeast High School replaced Feitshans in 1974. Southeast actually opened in the fall of 1967. The last high school graduating class at Feitshans wss in the spring of 1967. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.82.78.55 (talk) 04:29, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

Sports section could be expanded...
Sports I like it so far, but it could use some work... we need to mention the Springfield_(IL)_Cardinals and our hockey teams... the Kings, the Junior Blues. I'm willing to work on it myself, but I'm brand new... nice job on the football teams. I only recently heard of the Foxes myself, and I live here... — Preceding unsigned comment added by Angryvoid (talk • contribs) 11:11, 27 May 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110706203009/http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/ to http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20060919000000/http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/normrain.html to http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/normrain.html
 * Added archive https://archive.is/20160602200744/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2015/SUB-EST2015.html to http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2015/SUB-EST2015.html
 * Added archive http://www.webcitation.org/69hd5KAIE?url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html to http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20071024235521/http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/irad/sangamon.html to http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/irad/sangamon.html

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External links modified
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Fair use rationale for File:Seal of Springfield, IL.PNG
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-- Marchjuly (talk) 00:47, 8 May 2019 (UTC)

Lake Springfield = damming of Sugar Creek, not Lick Creek.
Not comfortable editing but noted this erroneous info. The lake is formed by the damming of Sugar Creek at the southeast edge of Springfield. Lick Creek makes up a small part of the lake but is a tributary of Sugar Creek, entering the lake from the west and well upstream of the dam.

98.215.239.196 (talk) 14:49, 29 August 2020 (UTC)

History
What happened in Springfield prior to European settlement? 2604:3D09:CD7A:1E0:A564:DCA9:B4A5:EE00 (talk) 13:24, 30 January 2022 (UTC)

Ummm...so Springfield City Council positions are nonpartisan...
...if Springfield City Council positions are nonpartisan, then why is the current sitting mayor marked as a Republican. To my recollection as an Illinois resident, Springfield HAS NEVER held partisan primaries for any of the city council positions, including mayor, clerk, and treasurer.

Point of reference being the election results from the April 4, 2023 consolidated election: https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/IL/Sangamon/117728/web.307039/#/summary

My point is proven through the past four election cycles:

2019: https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/IL/Sangamon/94957/Web02.228981/#/

2015: https://sccdata.net/results/April-7-2015-Consolidated/cumm.htm#spi

2011: https://sccdata.net/results/April-5-2011-Consolidated/cumm.htm#spi

2007: https://sccdata.net/results/April%2017,%202007%20Consolidated/cumm.htm#CITYOFSPRINGFIELD

In order words, the mayor should be listed as nonpartisan (NP) or independent (I) Himnmedia2017 (talk) 10:42, 3 April 2024 (UTC)