Editing Springfield, Illinois (section)

===State government===
{{see also|Government of Illinois}}
[[File:Executive Mansion.JPG|thumb|The [[Illinois Governor's Mansion]] in 2012]]
As the state capital, Springfield is home to the three branches of [[Government of Illinois|Illinois government]]. Much like the United States federal government, Illinois government has an executive branch, occupied by the state governor, a [[legislative branch]], which consists of the state senate and house, and a [[judicial branch]], which is topped by the [[Illinois Supreme Court]].<ref name=ILcon2>[http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con6.htm Article IV – Section 4, Jurisdiction] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223183314/http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con6.htm |date=February 23, 2007 }}, The Judiciary, ''Constitution of the State of Illinois'', Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved March 7, 2007.</ref> The Illinois legislative branch is collectively known as the [[Illinois General Assembly]].<ref name=Ilcon1>[http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm Article IV – Section 1, Legislature – Power and Structure] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815134146/http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm |date=August 15, 2012 }}, The Legislature, ''Constitution of the State of Illinois'', Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved March 7, 2007.</ref> Many state bureaucrats work in offices in Springfield, and it is the regular meeting place of the [[Illinois General Assembly]].<ref name=Gauen>Gauen, Pat. "[http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/pat-gauen/illinois-corruption-explained-the-capital-is-too-far-from-chicago/article_c38d21b7-0134-5124-b56f-3bc99a60c327.html Illinois corruption explained: the capital is too far from Chicago ]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160915191211/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/pat-gauen/illinois-corruption-explained-the-capital-is-too-far-from-chicago/article_c38d21b7-0134-5124-b56f-3bc99a60c327.html Archive]). ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]''. Retrieved on May 26, 2016.</ref> All persons elected on a statewide basis are required to have at least one residence in Springfield, and the state government funds these residents.<ref name=INN>Reeder, Scott. "[http://ilnews.org/2831/what-does-it-cost-taxpayers-to-pay-for-lawmakers-empty-springfield-residences/ What does it cost taxpayers to pay for lawmakers' empty Springfield residences?]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160617094836/http://ilnews.org/2831/what-does-it-cost-taxpayers-to-pay-for-lawmakers-empty-springfield-residences/ Archive]). ''Illinois News Network''. September 11, 2014. Retrieved on May 26, 2016.</ref>

{{As of|2020}} none of the major constitutional officers in Illinois designated Springfield as their primary residence; most cabinet officers and all major constitutional officers instead primarily do their business in Chicago. A former director of the [[Southern Illinois University]] [[Paul Simon Public Policy Institute|Paul Simon Institute for Public Affairs]], Mike Lawrence, stated that many of the elected officials in Illinois "spend so little time in Springfield".<ref name=INN/> In 2012 ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' columnist Pat Gauen argued that "in the reality of Illinois politics, [Springfield] shares [[de facto]] capital status with Chicago." Gauen noted that several elected officials such as the [[Governor of Illinois|Governor]], as well as the [[Attorney General of Illinois|Attorney General]], Speaker of the [[Illinois House of Representatives|House]], the minority leader of the House, President of the [[Illinois Senate|Senate]], the minority leader of the Senate, the Comptroller, and the Treasurer, all live in the [[Chicago area]]. According to Gauen, "Everybody who's anybody in Illinois government has an office in Chicago"; most state officials work from the [[James R. Thompson Center]] in the Chicago Loop. He added that at one point in 2011, Governor [[Pat Quinn (politician)|Pat Quinn]] only spent 68 days and 40 nights in Springfield as per his official schedule.<ref name=Gauen/> [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign|University of Illinois]] researcher and former member of the Illinois legislature [[Jim Nowlan]] stated "It's almost like Chicago is becoming the shadow capital of Illinois" and that "Springfield is almost become a hinterland outpost."<ref name=INN/> Lawrence criticized the fact that state officials spent little time in Springfield since it estranged them from and devalued Illinois state employees based in that city.<ref name=INN/>

According to Gauen, "Illinois seems rather unlikely to move its official capital to Chicago".<ref name=Gauen/>