SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Ward 3 Alderman Roy Williams Jr. said he's trying to bring life back into Springfield's east side.
"It's traditional Springfield. It's the older neighborhoods, the older side of the city," Williams said. "I think it's the gateway to the city."
As an alderman, Williams said there are many issues he wants to tackle in his area.
"We need to reinvest and reimagine what the east side can look like," Williams said.
That includes moving forward the process of tearing down the Pillsbury Mills Plant, which has sat vacant for more than a decade in Ward 3.
"I don't want it to sit 20 years looking like it looks now," Williams said. "We have to engage the state."
Arguably one of the biggest challenges all aldermen are currently facing, including Williams, is the rise in gun violence.
"They are chasing each other ... running from each other," Williams said. "Wherever they run into each other at, the shooting happens. It could be in any ward."
Tuesday night, one person died after being shot in the parking lot of Crossing Too, a liquor store off Clear Lake Avenue. This is in Williams' ward.
"I felt just like I did when I heard somebody in the Wendy's drive-thru got shot. I'm like in the drive thru? That's how bold this is getting," Williams said. "It doesn't have to be dark anymore. It don't have to be in the middle of the night. I don't think these guys care what time of day it is, when they run into each other, it's just on. They're going to have it out."
Williams said moving forward, he wants people to be more willing to assist law enforcement when a crime is committed. This way questions can have answers and community members can feel safe in their own neighborhoods.
"We want a safe, clean, livable resilient type neighborhood ... that can stand," Williams said.
