Mayor Tim Davlin died today. No speculation about why or how here. He was the most green Mayor Springfield has ever known. His accomplishments included expanding recycling in Springfield, the consolidation of green energy services into the CWLP’s Energy Services Department, the building of a new power plant, the signing of a wind power purchasing agreement , signing the Cool Cities Agreement, creating a Cool Cities Advisory Council, creating a Bike Advisory Council and much much more. He will be missed.

http://www.springfield.il.us/mayor/Bio.htm

Mayor Timothy J. Davlin

Tim Davlin has held the office of Mayor of Springfield since April 2003. Since taking office he has overseen great change in downtown Springfield, including the opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Tourism efforts have accelerated to the point that Springfield has hosted nearly a dozen auto shows, the Cadillac of which is the highly successful Route 66 Mother Road Festival.

Improvements to the city’s infrastructure have been accomplished along with expansion of programs to help small businesses grow and prosper. Mayor Davlin has instituted inner city redevelopment known as the Old South Towne Redevelopment project, revitalizing a neighborhood retail center.

Mayor Davlin has worked closely with all schools in Springfield by creating the position of Education Liaison. Through it, the city has helped stimulate education programs and worked with community leaders to find solutions to eliminate the learning gap. Davlin regularly spends time in classrooms under his “Talks and Tours” program. It has become a major source of information because it gives students opportunities to ask the mayor questions.

Mayor Davlin has instituted the mayor’s Book Club, a program which highlights selected books for reading and group discussions. The program, which is gathering sponsorship across the community, is in its second year.

Recycling efforts have gotten a shot in the arm when Mayor Davlin sponsored a student driven recycling program within the city’s schools. The pilot program kept hundreds of tons of recyclable materials out of area landfills, instead, making them available for reuse through recycling.

Recognizing the plight of the homeless, Mayor Davlin formed the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness, which is continuously working on a 10-year plan to assist the homeless and put an end to chronic homelessness. He began a feeding program called “Springfield Restaurants United Against Hunger.”

One of Mayor Davlin’s most successful programs is “Springfield Green,” a city wide environmental improvement program which not only promotes planting trees, flowers and greenery, but also stimulates cleanliness through an Adopt-a-Street program. When two tornadoes struck Springfield on March 12, 2006, Mayor Davlin marshaled hundreds of workers and thousands of volunteers to get the community back on its feet. Within a week nearly every home and business had power restored, all streets were opened and everyone was nearly back to normal.

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More tomorrow.

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