Welcome to Springfield
Greetings...

From the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

Welcome to Springfield, our friendly, historic state capital where inclusion has long been a watchword. Whether you are here on business or for a family holiday, you will find many more great places to visit than you have time for. Even the city's earliest buildings such as the Elijah Iles House, the Old State Capitol and Lincoln's Home have been adapted for visitors in wheelchairs. And wait until you see the city's newest, universally accessible attraction—Southwind Park. It truly is a model for all to emulate.

Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity are proud to bring you this innovative new guide to Springfield. The second in the series, Easy Access Springfield maintains the high standard set by Easy Access Chicago. It too provides the reliable, detailed information needed for people with disabilities, families with children with disabilities and other family members and friends to plan everything from a weekend getaway to a weeklong business trip. The online version even includes searchable databases for hotels and restaurants that enable users to quickly locate properties that meet their specific needs.

Visitors to Illinois can now plan seamless, accessible travel in both Chicago and Springfield. Our hope is that these unique guides will help both cities become even more accessible and encourage more travel and tourism across the state. Travel agents, tour operators, and meeting planners will also find these guides an invaluable resource. They represent another reason why Illinois is a great tourism destination for everyone.

Order a print copy from the Illinois Office of Tourism by visiting www.enjoyillinois.com/brochures or by calling 800-2CONNECT (800-226-6632) or 800-785-6055 TTY.

Enjoy your visit, and we know you will be coming back soon.

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From the City of Springfield, Illinois

Springfield, Illinois is a city rich with history, full of entertainment options and amenities you would find in bigger city while maintaining a quaint smaller town charm. You can discover Springfield and find the sites of our beloved 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. At the Lincoln Presidential Museum, you can explore the experiences that shaped the man he would become—from his boyhood in a rustic cabin to his rise as a young statesman – all leading to Lincoln’s ultimate destiny as the healer of our nation. Just outside the doors of this world-class museum you’ll find the actual places Lincoln lived and worked in Springfield and have the opportunity to pay your respects at Lincoln’s Tomb.

Springfield is the perfect getaway for your next romantic escape, family vacation, girls weekend and more. You can shop your day away in one of our many boutique shops or well known stores; attend touring Broadway theatre or superior local productions at our center for the arts; and let your palete go wild in one of many wonderful local restaurants.

The Springfield Park District’s newest facility, Southwind Park, offers a new dimension of inclusion for all people without boundaries. At Southwind visitors will find year-round fun, education and recreation programs set amidst beautiful natural habitats, wide open green space, unique water features and cutting-edge recreational facilities.

We’re thankful to the Open Doors Organization for providing Easy Access Springfield as an accessible guide to Springfield. Be sure and order your Official Springfield Visitor Guide to compliment the Easy Access Springfield Guide. You can order your guide by visiting the Springfield Convention and Visitor’s web site at www.visit-springfieldillinois.com .

We look forward to your visit!

From Open Doors Organization

Easy Access Springfield is the second guide in our Easy Access series. Like its predecessor, Easy Access Chicago, it is a comprehensive resource for travelers with disabilities and their families, as well as for local residents. Springfield has so much to offer visitors of all ages and abilities, from the Abraham Lincoln historic sites to family fun at the Illinois State Fairgrounds to first-class theatre and the arts. As the capital of Illinois, the city also welcomes many business travelers and they, too, require accessible facilities and services.

In addition to this full online version of Easy Access Springfield, readers can download or order an abridged print copy for use during their visit. Featured in both is Southwind Park, a new, universally accessible city park which ODO had the pleasure to help design. This year-round recreational and educational facility is true testament to Springfield's desire to create a community welcoming to all.

In compiling the information for this access guide, our trained site inspectors visited approximately 150 hotels, restaurants, museums, theatres and public facilities to audit their accessibility. We thank everyone who welcomed us to their properties and answered our many questions. But above all, we thank the IL Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and its director, Warren Ribley, for providing the funding to make this important project possible. We are proud to help the State of Illinois promote inclusion and accessibility for everyone.

Our intention in presenting this guide is neither to enforce compliance nor to endorse specific accessible properties, but instead to provide a detailed and reliable source of information that people with disabilities of all types and older travelers can use to locate properties and venues that fit their specific needs.

Thank you for choosing Springfield. We hope that Easy Access Springfield will make your stay much more convenient and pleasurable.

Eric Lipp

Executive Director,
Open Doors Organization

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Thank You

We wish to thank the following for all of their support in helping to make this project possible:
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau
Candy & Charles Creative Concepts
Linda Cassady (Print Design)

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