FAQs
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
To learn more about the Mid-Medical District, click any of the questions below.
- What is a medical district?
- What will the Mid-Illinois Medical District do?
- Why do we need a medical district in Springfield?
- What are the boundaries of the Mid-Illinois Medical District?
- Who is responsible for the District?
- Who is responsible for the administrative operations of the District?
- What development tools will the Commission have available under the Act?
- Can the district impose taxes?
- What medical services currently exist within the district boundaries?
- What does the creation of the District mean to current and potential employers in the area?
Q: What is a medical district?
A: A medical district is an entity, established by the Illinois General Assembly and operating under state law that serves as a focused and consistent developer of medically related facilities in a defined geographic area. The medical district becomes a region where economic development occurs that supports the advancement of activities and projects of medic al research and patient care.
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Q: What will the Mid-Illinois Medical District do?
A: The Mid-Illinois Medical District acts as the developer of facilities and undertake projects intended to advance Springfield’s position as a Medical Center of Excellence. The District is developing a Master Plan for land use to promote the highest and best use of properties within the District as it relates to supporting the growth of the medical profession and the delivery of health care services. The District will act as a catalyst in the promotion of technology transfer, moving the discoveries of local medical researchers into the marketplace where each can improve our shared quality of life and generate additional local employment.
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Q: Why do we need a medical district in Springfield?
A: Health Services is anticipated to be one of the strongest and most broadly growing sectors in our local economy in the coming decade. To support this growth and encourage the greatest economic value from the expansion of this industry segment, as a community we needed to establish the District so that the benefits from its operation will be realized as the sector continues to grow.
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Q: What are the boundaries of the Mid-Illinois Medical District?
A: The boundaries that define and contain the activities associated with the District run along the following streets in Springfield: 11th on the east, Madison on the south, Walnut on the west, and North Grand on the north.
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Q: Who is responsible for the District?
A: Responsibility for the District’s activities is vested in a Commission. The law requires that the Commission be made up of eleven (11) members, six(6) appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the State Senate, four (4) appointed by the Mayor of Springfield, with the advice and consent of the Springfield City Council, and one (1) appointed by the Chairperson of the Sangamon County Board.
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Q: Who is responsible for the administrative operations of the District?
A: By contract, the day-to day administrative duties in the operation of the District are being coordinated by the staff of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce. The City of Springfield's Office of Planning and Economic Development is also involved in assisting the District toward its goals. The City of Springfield acts as the fiscal agent for the District.
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Q: What
development tools does Commission have available under the Mid-Illinois
Medical District Act?
A: To promote the purposes of the District, the Commission
is able to: accept grants, loans, or appropriations; collect assessments
or fees from entities that enter into agreements with the Commission
to jointly make enhancements or improvements in the area; issue revenue
bonds; acquire and assemble property to advance projects in the District;
construct certain medically-related facilities; sell or lease property;
provide grants to neighborhood associations; and market the District.
Again, the District will act as a developer and redeveloper for the
area.
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Q: Can the
district impose taxes?
A: No. The District has no taxing authority.
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Q: What medical services currently exist within the district boundaries?
A: The area encompassing the District is anchored by two primary care hospital facilities; namely St. John’s Hospital and Memorial Medical Center, as well as a number of ancillary medical operations. Southern Illinois University’s Medical School presence supports a number of research related activities while providing a mechanism for new technology-related developments and health care advancements.
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Q: What does the creation of the District mean to current and potential employers in the area?
A: For the current major employers in the District, its creation means the establishment of a new partner to support and advance their long-term plans for growth and expansion. The District’s operation creates the potential for a new and higher level of collaboration among all existing and future medically related institutions in the area, for example, as each benefit from a finer focus on the local health services sector as the region's economic engine.
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