The Johnson Blog

The local readers are sure to be aware of the survey at SJ-R where 96% of pollees said they’d rather live somewhere other than Springfield.  There’s another poll being taken by Just Two Guys before they make a documentary on the subject; so, if you’re a resident, go fill it out. 

In the spirit of Mr. Shoo, I’ll fill mine out publicly.

I’ll start out by saying that it’s easy to say the grass is greener in a 2 second response to an online poll, but if people were forced to actually think about it some more, those numbers surely would be different.  So please, go fill out this poll folks…  I’m curious to see the results.  Now, that’s not to say Springfield doesn’t have heaps of things that could be improved..

I have lived in Springfield all of my life with the exception of a 4.5 year stint in Urbana-Champaign going to school (yes, 4.5 – I was one of the slower ones and had to take an extra semester to get my learnin’ in).

Here we go…

Many people say there is nothing to do in Springfield. Do you agree with this statement? Please explain your answer.

Yes and No, with a leaning toward Yes.

No, there’s not nothing to do.  There are places to ride a bike, fish, catch movies and plays, visit museums, periodic annual events, etc.

Yes, there’s nothing to do.  Once you’re all Lincolned out and gone to the local museums – then what? (I haven’t been to any Lincoln things for YEARS, partly because I don’t want to hit the “then what?”… this includes the new museum, I have driven by it)  There are a bunch of small local things going on, but they always seem to be very niche activities. 

Yes, we have the annual Art Fair downtown.  Annual? What if you’re in the mood to peruse this sort of thing in, say, mid-November?  You’re kinda screwed.  (Ana and I do usually go to the Art fair, but missed it this year because of our day trip to St. Louis for our anniversary).

It would be great if there were some fun things to do after 5pm during the week, too. 

Is Springfield headed in the right direction? (yes or no)

You need a magnifying glass, but I think there might be some movement in the right direction.  I think, or maybe that was just me moving the magnifying glass a little bit… 

In your opinion, has Springfield gotten better in the last 10-20 years or has it gotten worse? Please explain your answer with some examples.

Well since I’m only 28, I dont’ have much to say about what it was like 20 years ago.  But I will say that in the past 5-10 years, it does seem that things have gotten better, whatever “things” are.  But what really irks me is that as it always seems Springfield has to be dragged, kicking and screaming into the right direction.  There’s always 49.5% of the population bitching and moaning every step of the way.  Springfield has a LOT of intertia, so the first few steps are a doosey.

Some examples – living on the far east end of town I don’t have to drive to the west end for absoulutely everything anymore.   The focus on the Medical District downtown is sure to attract more businesses, good jobs, interest and money into the area.   Downtown is looking less and less like a ghost town.  There’s finally some serious talk about actually improving the schools (both the phsyical buildings and the educations received in them).  Bike paths and other recreational opportunities exist now that didn’t 20 years ago.  Good stuff.