Swearing in of Buscher as mayor, other city officials set for BoS Center Friday

Misty Buscher will be sworn in as Mayor of Springfield in an inauguration ceremony at the Bank of Springfield Center lower level at 2 p.m. on Friday.

Buscher becomes the second female to serve at Springfield's top spot. Karen Hasara, a recent Lincoln Laureate, was mayor from 1995 to 2003.

Buscher served the last eight years as city Treasurer. She is a former vice president of Marine Bank.

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Also being sworn in is Colleen Redpath Feger, who will succeed Buscher as Treasurer, and Frank Lesko, the city Clerk.

Larry Rockford in Ward 4, Jennifer Notariano in Ward 6 and Brad Carlson in Ward 7 are newcomers to the city council.

Also being sworn in on Friday 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 and Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer.

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.

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All events are open to the public and don't require tickets.

Buscher defeated incumbent Mayor Jim Langfelder by 773 votes with 26,455 votes cast in the April 4 election.

The prayer service will be led by the Rev. John Titus, a Catholic priest who is currently the pastor of churches in Mattoon and Sullivan. Titus presided at the Buschers' wedding at St. Aloysius Church in 2000.

Set to go

Rockford, Carlson and Notariano said they are all set to hit the ground running. The first full city council meeting is May 16.

Rockford said the day after the election he received a call from the association president to go out to Twin Lakes subdivision.

"They were having some culvert problems and I did this for a long time for the city," said Rockford, who retired from City Water, Light & Power as division chief at the property management center in 2022. "I know I'm going to be an asset for these people in the north end of town.

"Everybody said your phone's going to be ringing off the hook but it's nothing I haven't done in the past. It's not going to affect me one way or another."

Rockford said he talked to Ward 4 Ald. John Fulgenzi, who is retiring after eight years on the city council, when he called Rockford to congratulate him on his win.

Rockford said he has known the Mayor-Elect and her husband, Mike, for years.

"It was a tough election night, but you move on," said Rockford, who is Langfelder's brother-in-law. "Someone's going to win and someone's going to lose, but we have to live in this community. We have to work with one another and let's make the best of it. Let's put everything aside let's do what's best for the city and the people."

Carlson, who has long known Rockford, said he's also made a couple of house visits to constituents and has communicated several times with departing Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin. McMenamin beat Carlson in the 2019 race.

"I've done as best I can to call into the city to get some questions answered (for people)," Carlson said.

Carlson, a policy analyst with the issues staff of the Illinois Senate Republicans, has held a variety of jobs at the local, state and federal government levels over three-plus decades.

"Not everyone gets 100% of what they want," Carlson said. "There has to be some compromise. This was a nonpartisan race, and we all have to do what's best for Springfield. There has to be some communication and collaboration and that's my background and what I heard from the people in Ward 7."

Carlson will be stepping down as a Capital Township trustee. His term goes through 2025.

Notariano, a contract specialist with the Capital Development Board, lost to Buscher for Treasurer four years ago. She had the backing of Ald. Kristin DiCenso this time around in the Ward 6 race.

"It's been a whirlwind (since the election)," Notariano admitted. "Some information is getting thrown at me, but I think it's only a trickle of what I'm going to learn, so I'm really, really excited to get in there and see how things work, see how the city runs so I can better help my constituents connect with the services they need."

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

List of Springfield Mayors

• Benjamin S. Clements, 1840

• William L. May, 1841

• David B. Campbell, 1842

• Daniel B. Hill, 1843

• Andrew McCormick, 1843-1844

• James C. Conkling, 1845

• Eli Cook, 1846-1848

• John Calhoun, 1849-50

• William Lavely, 1852

• Josiah Francis, 1853

1854: Council composition changed to mayor and three aldermen from each of four wards.

• William H. Herndon, 1854

• John Cook, 1855

• John W. Priest, 1856-1858

• William Jayne, 1859

• Goyn A. Sutton, 1860

• George L. Huntington, 1861 -1862

• John W. Smith, 1863

• John S. Vredenburgh, 1864

• Thomas J. Dennis, 1865

• John S. Bradford, 1866

• Norman M. Broadwell, 1867

• William E. Shutt, 1868

• Norman M. Broadwell, 1869

• John W. Priest, 1870

• John W. Smith, 1871-1872

• Charles E. Hay, 1873

1874: Fifth and Sixth wards created.

• Obed Lewis, 1874

• Charles E. Hay, 1875

• William Jayne, 1876-1877

• John A. Vincent, 1878

• R. L. McGuire, 1879

• Horace C. Irwin, 1880

• John McCreery, 1881

1882: Seventh Ward created, with two aldermen elected from each ward.

• A.N.J. Crook, 1882

• John McCreery, 1883-84

• James M. Garland, 1885-86

• Charles E. Hay, 1887-90

• Rheuna D. Lawrence, 1891-92

• Frank Kramer, 1893-94

• Marion U. Woodruff, 1895-96

• Loren E. Wheeler, 1897-1900

• John L. Phillips, 1901-02

• Harry H. Devereux, 1903-07

• David S. Griffiths, 1907 (died in office)

• Roy R. Reece, 1907-08

1911: City adopts commission government; city council consists of mayor and four commissioners.

• John S. Schnepp, 1909-15

• Charles T. Baumann, 1915-23

• Samuel Bullard, 1923-26 (died in office)

• J. Emil Smith, 1926-30

• Hal M. Smith, 1930-31

• John W. Kapp, Jr., 1931-47

• Harry Eielson, 1947-51

• John E. MacWherter, 1951-55

• Nelson O. Howarth, 1955-59

• Lester E. Collins, 1959-63

• Nelson O. Howarth, 1963-71

• William Telford, 1971-79

• J. Michael Houston, 1979-87

1987: City returns to aldermanic government with mayor and 10 aldermen; directors remain in charge of public safety, public works and public utilities for four-year transition period.

1991: Transition completed to aldermanic government with 10 aldermen, one per ward, and mayor elected at-large.

• Ossie Langfelder, 1987-95

• Karen Hasara, 1995-2003

• Timothy Davlin, 2003-Dec., 14, 2010 (died in office)

• Frank Kunz (pro tem), Dec., 14, 2010-Dec. 28, 2010

• Frank Edwards, Dec. 28, 2010-April 29, 2011

• J. Michael Houston, 2011-2015

• James Langfelder, 2015-2023

Source: A Directory of City Officials for Springfield, Illinois,, 1832-present, via SangamonLink

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield IL city officials will be sworn into office on Friday