Citizens Club of Springfield

The Citizens Club of Springfield met in December 2024 to host a program called "Summer Learning in Springfield: Bridging Opportunity Gaps." The panel for the event included Molly Berendt, CEO of Compass for Kids, Jennifer Gill, Superintendent of Springfield Public School District 186, and Terrance Jordan, Director of School Leadership & Family and Community Engagement of Springfield Public School District 186. The discussion was moderated by John Kelker, former president of The United Way of Central Illinois. The program explained existing learning gaps and its' effect on students, how programs like Compass for Kids help bridge summer learning gaps, and the need for solutions to finance the future of summer learning in Springfield. To learn more about Compass for Kids click here.

The Citizens Club of Springfield met in summer 2024 to hear from SING: Shifting Into New Gear, a nonprofit charitable organization based in Springfield, Illinois, providing mentoring and resource navigation services to formerly incarcerated citizens returning to community and family life. SING’s founder/CEO and formerly incarcerated individual, Lynard Joiner was joined by David Risley, retired Federal Prosecutor along with Becky Gabany, capacity-building consultant as the moderator. Joiner discusses his experience with incarceration, the creation of SING, and the unlikely partnership and collaboration between Risley and himself. To learn more about SING click here.

The Citizens Club of Springfield convened in November with a panel of political reporters to discuss the 2024 election and what it means. The panel featured retired reporter and columnist for The State Journal-Register Bernie Schoenburg, Illinois Times reporter Scott Reeder and Peter Hancock from Capitol News Illinois. The discussion was moderated by Kent Redfield, professor emeritus from the University of Illinois Springfield.

A panel of journalists will discuss the results and what's ahead.

The Citizens Club of Springfield met in September to hear from the Independent Coalition for our Neighborhoods (ICON), a non-profit organization which advocates for cleaner, safer and healthier neighborhoods throughout Springfield. President of the group Mark Mahoney spoke to the crowd to explain how the organization advocates for improved city policy and procedures. He also shared video messages from ICON Board Members Polly Poskin and Jill Steiner.

Gray, who came to Springfield in 1966, helped launched the club in 2005.

The Citizens Club of Springfield held a meeting on Aug. 23, which featured CEO of the YMCA of Springfield Angie Sowle. Sowle shared her personal history with the YMCA, how the organization reaches out to the community, and how the YMCA of Springfield will celebrate 150 years in the community.

The Citizens Club of Springfield held a presentation in April titled “Artificial intelligence: How AI Impacts Our Community.” The discussion was moderated by Rob Kerr, Executive Director of Innovation and Opportunity at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS), and featured Dr. Neetu Singh, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems at UIS, and Josh Smith, Software Engineer and Computer Science Faculty Member at UIS. They discussed what AI is, how AI is trained, bias in AI and the future of education.

The January Citizens Club of Springfield meeting examined the impact of the pending health professional shortage on the Springfield Community. The discussion featured Dr. Jerry Kruse, Dean and Provost of Southern Illinois University’s School of Medicine and the CEO of SIU medicine. The conversation was moderated by Dr. Stephen Stone, professor emeritus at SIU school of medicine.

Doris Turner, Illinois State Senator; and Mike Coffey, Illinois State Representative discuss how legislative work impacts the capital and central Illinois in their appearance before the Citizens Club of Springfield.