Springfield, Illinois, USA (26/08/2009)

      Name of community, address.Springfield, Illinois. Federation Address:  1045 Outer Park Dr. Suite 320 Springfield, Illinois, 62704 Tel: 217-787-7223

          The Springfield Jewish community consists of about 1,000 Jews that we know of - there may be more.  We have two synagogues - Reform: - Temple B"rith Sholom and Conservative: Temple Israel. There is a combined Hebrew and religious school - B"rith Yisrael.  There is no Orthodox or Chabad presence in Springfield. There is no mikve or kosher butcher. There is a very active and successful Hadassah Chapter and  a chapter of B"nai B"rith.  The Federation works cooperatively with all these organizations and the Temples.  The Rabbis of both Temples sit on the board of Federation.

We also represent and have members in Decatur and Jacksonville, Illinois - towns outside Springfield, toour East and West and other smaller towns nearby.

Springfield is the State Capital of Illinois which has a population of approx. 115, 000. We are considered to be central Illinois. The main industry here is State Government - white collar jobs and there is a large medical community. Southern Illinois University Medical School is here plus two hospitals and a clinic.  There is also the University of Illinois at Springfield - a brach of the University of Illinois.  As we are the State Capital we work closely with the Consul General"s office in Chicago to arrange meeting with legislative and executive leaders and the Consul General.

     Your connections to other Jewish communities.

see answer to 1.  Federation is part of UJC and is connected to the national organizations.
We also have a Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) as part of the Federation.  The executives of the small Federations in our region are in contact regularly and meet once a year to exchange ideas.

    Contact person or persons – phone and e-mail.

Gloria Schwartz is the Executive Director, Josephine Datz is the Program Director, Wendy Terry is the office manager.  Tel: 217-787-7223 E-mail sjf@shalomspringfield.org  website: www.shalsomspringfield.org

We are a small community but a very warm, welcoming and active community.  For our size we offer a lot of programs and we embrace all newcomers.