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The Illinois state capital, Springfield, Illinois, spreads out from a neat, leafy downtown grid, 320 kilometers south of Chicago. Abraham Lincoln honed his legal and political skills here, and tourists flock to his old homes, haunts and final resting place. What they find is neither tacky nor pompous. The sites portray the life of the sixteenth president of the USA and, as well, the uncertainty and turmoil of a nation on the brink of civil war.


Springfield, Illinois, UCAS (as of 2070)
Population: 1,185,842
Humans: 60%
Elves: 17%
Dwarves: 2%
Orks: 18%
Trolls: 2%
Other: 1%
Size: 1,401/km 2
Population Density: 846/km2
Per Capita Income: 39,000¥
Below Poverty Level: 50%
On Fortune's Active Traders List: 1%
Corporate-Affiliated: 75%
Felonious Crime Rate: 16 per 1,000 per annum
Education:
Less Than 12 Years: {{{ed_less12}}}
High School Equivalency: 31%
College Degrees: 30%
Advanced Degrees: 25%
Hospitals: 50
Local Telecomm Grid Access No: Regional Telecomm Grid Access: NA/UCAS-WE/IL-CE/ SPR-1217, 4217, 6217, 10217


Springfield is the capital of the U.C.A.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. The city's population of 1,185,840 as of the 2050 U.C.A.S. Census makes it the state's sixth most populous city. It is the largest city in central Illinois, which includes Sangamon County and the adjacent Menard County. Surrounding Counties consist of Springfield’s suburban communities, occupying parts of Logan, Macon, Christian, Montgomery, Macoupin, Morgan, and Cass. If included, these areas would bring the area’s population up to 2,145,555, adding about 990,000 additional residents.

Present-day Springfield was settled by European Americans in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state. The most famous historic resident was Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield from 1837 until 1861, when he went to the White House as President. Major tourist attractions include multiple sites connected with Lincoln including his presidential library and museum, his home, and his tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery.

The capital is centrally located within the state. The city lies in a valley and plain near the Sangamon River. Lake Springfield, a large 1,700 hectacre artificial lake owned by the City Water, Light & Power company (CWLP), which is itself owned by Gaeatronics, supplies the city with recreation and drinking water. It attracts approximately 3,182,000 visitors annually and its 92 kilometers of shoreline is home to over 3,000 luxurious lakeside residences and eight public parks.

Weather is fairly typical for middle latitude locations, with hot summers and cold winters. Spring and summer weather is like that of most Midwestern cities; severe thunderstorms may occur. Tornadoes hit the Springfield area in 1957, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2029, and 2038. The event in 2013 consisted of 25 tornadoes in Macon County, all but destroying the city of Decatur. That city never recovered and is to this day known as the Decatur Barrens.

The city has a mayor–council form of government and governs the Capital City. The government of the state of Illinois is based in Springfield. State government entities include the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor of Illinois. There are 24 public and 29 private high schools in Springfield. Transys Neuronet America operates public schools in Springfield. Government jobs, plus the related lobbyists and firms that deal with the state and county governments and justice system, as well as health care and medicine (owned by Yamatetsu Corporation) dominate Springfield’s economy.

GETTIG IN[]

By Car[]

I-55 approaches from the north from the Chicago Sprawl and south from the Saint Louis Sprawl. US-36 and I-72 approach from the east and west. Downtown has readily available curbside metered parking as well as an underground garage beneath the Old State Capital. Most attractions have ample parking in adjacent lots or garages.

By Plane[]

Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport is located on the northwest side of the city. There are regular flights to and from Chicago O'Hare International Airport into Springfield. From the airport, you will need to rent a car or take a taxi to get into the city. Many of the hotels also have courtesy shuttles. There is no bus service available.

By Train[]

Amtrak, Inc. runs daily 06:00-23:00. The station is located within walking distance of downtown and several local bus routes. Taxi service is usually available outside the station. Springfield is located on the line between Chicago and St. Louis. About five trains arrive per day from both Chicago and St. Louis. Some of the services regularly run behind schedule, so call ahead to check arrival and departure times.

By Bus[]

Greyhound, at 2351 S Dirksen Pkwy is open Monday through Friday 08:00-19:00, Saturday and Sunday 08:00 to 16:00. The bus station is located on the east edge of town. Note that the station does not have an attendant. If leaving from Springfield, make sure to buy your ticket from the ticketing LTG because the station is technically closed (buses still stop there but there is no Greyhound rep onsite). You can also bring corporate scrip or a credstick. The bus driver will allow you to board and purchase a ticket in the next town. You will need to arrange an autocab or someone you trust to pick you up when you arrive at this station. There is limited local electric transit service to and from the station with the nearest frequent bus stop east on Ash Street at Taylor Avenue (Route 11).

Getting Around[]

Local Transit[]

SMTD, 928 S Ninth St, open Monday through Saturday from 06:00 to 00:00. The Springfield Mass Transit District operates local mass transit as well as paratransit, Access Springfield, six days per week, Monday-Saturday, except major holidays. 17 fixed routes cover the city. After 18:00, Routes 901-905 cover the city on an hourly basis. Currently the system is seeing major changes, so watch the website for daily changes and fares. 2 nuyen.

History[]

Politics[]

Geography[]

The city is at an elevation of 170 meters above sea level. Located within the central section of Illinois, Springfield is 130 kilometers northeast of the St. Louis Sprawl and the UCAS/CAS border. Chambana is 145 kilometers to the east, Peoria is 121 kilometers to the north, and Bloomington–Normal is 105 kilometers to the northeast. The slums and abandoned zones of Decatur are 64 kilometers due east.

Springfield proper is greatly based on a grid street system, with numbered streets starting with the longitudinal First Street which leads to the Illinois State Capitol and leading to 32nd Street in the far eastern part of the city. Previously the city had four distinct boundary streets: North, South, East, and West Grand Avenues. Since the initial expansion, West Grand Avenue became MacArthur Boulevard and East Grand became 19th Street on the north side and 18th Street on the south side. 18th Street has since been renamed after Martin Luther King Jr. North and South Grand Avenues (which run east–west) have remained important corridors in the city. At South Grand and Eleventh Street, the old "South Town District" lies, with the City of Springfield undertaking a significant redevelopment project there.

Latitudinal streets range from names of presidents in the downtown area to names of notable people in Springfield and Illinois to names of institutions of higher education, especially in the Harvard Park neighborhood.

Springfield has at least twenty separately designated neighborhoods, though not all are incorporated with associations.

Thirty-two kilometers northwest of downtown Springfield on Hwy-97, Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site marks where the future president first came to live in this area in 1831. In this backwoods clearing he clerked in a store, volunteered for the Black Hawk War, served as postmaster and failed in business before taking up legal studies and moving to Springfield, Illinois to pursue his political career. Today the authentically re-created village features simple homes, workshops, a store and a tavern. The visitor center hosts a worthwhile exhibit on pioneer lifestyles (March–Oct daily 0900–1700; Nov–Feb daily 0800–1600). On summer weekends the park presents Abraham!, a musical that dramatizes Lincoln's New Salem years.

Pick up tickets at the Lincoln Home Visitor Center, at Eighth and Jackson in downtown Springfield itself, for a narrated tour of the only house Lincoln ever owned, which he shared with his wife Mary from 1844 to 1861. Though tours are free (daily 0830–1700, though often later; LTG 1217 [23-0222]), you can expect to wait. Various displays and a brief film at the visitor center are good ways to pass time.

In the restored Greek Revival Old State Capitol, three blocks away at Sixth and Adams (March–Oct daily 0900–1700; Nov–Feb daily 0900–1600; free; LTG 1217 [85-7960]), Lincoln attended at least 240 Supreme Court hearings, and proclaimed in 1858, "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently, half slave and half free." Objects, busts and papers relating to Lincoln and the Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, whom he debated in the 1858 US Senate election (Douglas won that election) and whom he defeated in the 1860 presidential election, can be found throughout the building. At the tastefully renovated Lincoln Depot on Tenth and Monroe (April–Aug daily 1000–1600; free), the newly elected president said goodbye to Springfield in February 1861 and boarded a train for his inauguration in Washington, DC (a virtual reality presentation illustrates the twelve-day journey, Matrix connections are available for those with datajacks). The next time he returned was in his funeral train. Lincoln's Tomb stands in Oak Ridge Cemetery on the north side of town. The vault, adorned with busts and statuettes, is no longer open to the public. The Illinois State National Guard have been stationed here since a shedim tried to make off with Mr. Lincoln's corpse.

At the current Illinois State Capitol, in majestic limestone at Second and Capitol, tour highlights include the chambers of the state Senate and House of Representatives, in striking red and blue, respectively (Mon–Fri 0800–1600; free; LTG 1217 [82-2099]). The Illinois State Museum, on Spring and Edwards, is crammed with natural history and Native American and contemporary art exhibits, along with the interactive "At Home in the Heartland" display tracing Illinois family life from 1700 to The Night of Rage in 2039 (Mon–Sat 0830–1700, Sun 1200–1700; free). The Dana–Thomas House, 301 E Lawrence Ave, completed in 1904, survives as the best-preserved and most completely furnished example of Frank Lloyd Wright's early Prairie house, with more than four hundred pieces of glasswork, original art and light fixtures (tours Wed–Sun 0900–1600; u$15). Just north of town, Tyler Shea proudly displays 120 years' worth of road signs, gas pumps, recharge jacks, and Route 66 memorabilia at Shea's Gas Station Museum, carrying on an old family business (Tues–Fri 0900–1600, Sat 0900–1200; free).

Climate[]

Springfield has a humid continental climate and experiences typical mid-latitude weather. Hot, humid summers and cold, rather snowy winters are the norm. Springfield is located in Tornado Alley and experiences large numbers of tornadoes. From 2022 to 2050 the city of Springfield averaged only 251 millimeters of precipitation per year. During that same period the average yearly temperature was 54 °F (12.2 °C), with a summer maximum of 81 °F (27.2 °C) in July and a winter minimum of 27.1 °F (−2.7 °C) in January.

On June 14, 1957, a tornado hit Springfield, killing two people. On March 12, 2006, the city was struck by two F2 tornadoes. The storm system which brought the two tornadoes hit the city around 8:30pm; no one died as a result of the weather. Springfield received a federal grant in February 2005 to help improve its tornado warning systems and new sirens were put in place in November 2006 after eight of the sirens failed during an April 2006 test, shortly after the tornadoes hit. The cost of the new sirens totaled $983,000. Although tornadoes are not uncommon in central Illinois, the March 12 tornadoes were the first to hit the actual city since the 1957 storm. The 2006 tornadoes followed nearly identical paths to that of the 1957 tornado.

The 32 F2’s in 2008, 2013 two F2s, 7 F4s in 2017, the 85 F3s in 2029, and the 5 F0s in 2038 caused significant damage and common belief was that the increase in tornado activity was a direct result of the Great ghost Dance. 2029 saw the most fatalities at 830 fatalities. Though the 2 tornadoes that hit Springfield in 2013 were F2’s, the event in 2013 also consisted of 25 F5 tornadoes in Macon County, all but destroying the city of Decatur. That city never recovered and is to this day known as the Decatur Barrens.

Demographics[]

According to the 2050 UCAS Census, 60% of the population was human. The largest metahuman minority were orks and trolls, at a fifth of the population, followed by elves at just under a fifth of the total population. The smallest minority are dwarfs.

At the 2050 Census, 85% of the population was White, 13% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1% Asian, and 3% of two or more races. 1% of Springfield's population was of Hispanic or Latino origin (they may be of any culture). Non-Hispanic Whites were 75% of the population in 2050.

The city has made extensive efforts to accommodate the larger metahumans after Goblinization swept the globe in 2039. Still, the orks and trolls were treated more like the embarrassing open family secret rather than normal citizens just like everyone else. Their neighborhoods soon degraded into crumbling ghettos, notorious for crime and poverty, drug abuse, gangs, violence, and unemployment. They were far from the bright lights of the State Capitol District.

Among the ork and troll community are a small but influential number of Irish/Celtic-descended Fomori who have been mildly influential in making the plight of the ork and troll families in their Districts known to the city and state governments.

White: 85%
Black: 13%
Asian: 1%
Hispanic: 1%
Amerind: <1%

DISTRICTS[]

DOWNTOWN: AAA/AA[]

Enos Park: AAA
Mather and Wells: B
Medical District: AAA
Old Aristocracy Hill: A
Pillsbury District: AA
Shalom: AAA
Vinegar Hill: B

SOUTHEAST: AA[]

Berry: B
Breckenridge: AAA
Bunn Park: C
Edinburg: AAA
Eastview: AA
Glen Aire: AAA
Lake Pointe: B
Laketown: AA
New City: A
Rochester: C
Sharpsburg: D
Springfield Lakeshore: AA
Springfield South Corridor East: AAA
The Cabbage Patch: AA
Toronto: AA
UIS Campus: AA
Victoria Lake: B

SOUTHWEST: E[]

Archer: Z
Country Club: Z
Harvard Park: B
Hawthorne Place: Z
Historic West Side: D
Jerome: C
Koke Mill East: Z
Leland Grove: D
Mill Creek: E
Near South: Z
Oaks: E
Southern View: D
Springfield South Corridor West: C
Vinegar Hill: D
West Grand Place: D
West Koke Mill: E
West Side Koke Mill: D
Westchester: Z

NORTHWEST: C[]

Andrew: C
Benedictine District: B
Bradfordton: D
Grand Valley Village: A
Lincoln Park: A
Oak Ridge: C
State Fairgrounds: B
Val-E-Vue: B

NORTHEAST: C[]

Devereaux Heights: A
Grandview: Z
Northgate: E
Riverton: Z
Sherman: Z
Spaulding: A
Twin Lakes: E

Economy[]

References[]

External Links[]

Springfield, Illinois at Wikipedia

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