May 5 inauguration set for city officials at Bank of Springfield Center

The inauguration of Mayor-Elect Misty Buscher and other Springfield elected officials will be held at the Bank of Springfield Center lower level at 2 p.m. on May 5.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White will perform the swearing-in duties.

The day's activities will begin with a prayer service at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 9 a.m. and conclude with a celebration gala at the Crowne Plaza at 6:30 p.m.

More: Worried 'the other shoe would drop,' Misty Buscher now steadies her course

All events are open to the public.

Buscher, the city's two-term treasurer, defeated incumbent Mayor Jim Langfelder by 773 votes with 26,455 votes cast in the April 4 election.

Several officials will be taking city office for the first time.

Colleen Redpath Feger will succeed Buscher as treasurer. The deputy treasurer easily outdistanced Bill McCarty and Lisa Badger to win the seat.

Larry Rockford in Ward 4, Jennifer Notariano in Ward 6 and Brad Carlson in Ward 7 are all newcomers to the city council. Rockford defeated Jason Ratts and David Yankee. Notariano won out over Alyssa Haaker and Carlson topped John Houlihan.

Also being sworn in on May 5 are Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath Sr.; Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory; Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams Jr.; Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Purchase; Ward 8 Ald. Erin Conley; Ward 9 Ald. Jim Donelan; Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer and clerk Frank Lesko.

Williams defeated Bill Eddington in Ward 3. Purchase won over Sam Cahnman and write-in candidate Calvin Pitts. Both Williams and Purchase were incumbents appointed to their seats.

The prayer service will be led by the Rev. John Titus, a Catholic priest who is currently the pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Mattoon and St. Columcille parish in Sullivan. That has a personal touch for Buscher. Titus presided over her marriage to Michael Buscher at St. Aloysius Church in 2000.

"I really, really wanted him to be here," Buscher said of Titus. "These are big, monumental things in my life, and he was always there."

Buscher said earlier this week she continues to work on her transition team and interview the current directors of city offices.

"I want to make sure they're the right people in the right places, so there might be some interim directors as well," she said.

Buscher confirmed she has interviewed both Police Chief Ken Scarlette and Fire Chief Brandon Blough.

Scarlette is on medical leave for the next several weeks after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Scarlette had his prostate removed during a procedure in St. Louis on April 12.

"Chief Scarlette has my full support. I just want him to be healthy and I want him to take care of himself and his family," Buscher said. "That is my focus for Chief Scarlette. We're not going to touch his position.

"Chief Blough and I have been in discussions, so we've been talking."

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Details set for the May 5 inauguration of Springfield IL officials