The Nation - News from May 17, 1987

A U.S. judge will impose a new city government on Springfield, Ill., next month if blacks and the all-white City Council cannot compromise. No blacks have been elected to the council in Abraham Lincoln’s hometown despite making up 11% of Springfield’s 100,000 residents, and U.S. District Judge Harold Baker ruled that the citywide election system dilutes black voting strength. Baker said that he is likely to impose a form of mayor-aldermanic government, favored by a majority in a court-ordered referendum last week. Both sides say a compromise is unlikely.