Springfield’s Shame: How a City Rewarded Hate With a Pension

A senior city official mocked a murder, sneered at the public as “maggots,” and walked away with retirement benefits.

By Staff Writer
September 15, 2025

The Post That Shook a City

On the day Americans mourned the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, one Springfield official did not grieve. He gloated.

James Sullivan, the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the City of Springfield — earning an estimated $70,000 a year from taxpayers — posted these words to social media:

“This is the dick that spreads love? Lmoa f…ing loser look at him now! I am seeing all the maggots saying he spread love in his speeches?? No wonder Hillary called those idiots deplorable. Pathetic!” – Springfield city employee

The outrage was immediate and furious. This was not the anonymous rant of an internet troll. This was the voice of a senior city leader charged with building bridges of understanding, tolerance, and equity. Instead, Sullivan chose the moment of a man’s murder to celebrate death and spit contempt at the very citizens who paid his salary — dismissing them as “maggots.”

A Sickness in the Institutions

The comments, vile in their cruelty, revealed more than just one man’s failure. They illuminated a disturbing pattern running through Illinois institutions.

As FactsFirstus reported, professors, teachers, healthcare workers, recruiters — and yes, even mayors, such as Aurora’s leadership — have at times responded to political violence not with clarity, but with complicity. People entrusted to heal, to teach, to lead, and to unify — people funded by the public trust — were celebrating political murder.

This was not only indecent. It was a warning: that in places meant to embody civic virtue, something darker was taking root.

The Mayor’s Response

Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher faced a test of leadership. On September 15, her office issued a statement:

“Effective September 15, 2025 James Sullivan is no longer employed at the City of Springfield. Jay Underfanger will serve as his replacement as the Acting Director for the Office of Information Systems. Mr. Underfanger has been with the department for 28 years.”

But the statement, carefully worded, raised more questions than it answered. There was no mention of firing. No mention of discipline. No clear acknowledgment of why Sullivan was leaving or what had happened.

Citizens demanded clarity. We asked the mayor directly whether Sullivan had been terminated, forced out, or permitted to resign. She offered no response.

Inside City Hall, however, the truth emerged.

“He was allowed to retire and he has enough time to collect his pension.” – City insider

In other words, the man who cheered assassination and degraded citizens as “maggots” was not punished. He was rewarded — leaving early, pension intact.

Anger Across the Aisle

What made the scandal even more striking was how it unified outrage across political lines.

Republicans blasted Sullivan’s comments as beyond the pale. One local GOP leader called them “a moral disgrace,” while condemning the mayor’s handling as “a dereliction of leadership.”

But Democrats, too, recoiled. One city Democrat, speaking anonymously, put it bluntly: “No matter your politics, celebrating murder and insulting the people you serve is indefensible. The fact he was allowed to walk away with benefits is appalling.”

Another, a retired state worker and lifelong Democrat, offered a sobering reflection: “This isn’t about left or right. It’s about right and wrong. And the mayor got it wrong.”

The Land of Lincoln, Now a Warning

Springfield — Abraham Lincoln’s resting place — should symbolize unity, resolve, and the enduring promise of American decency. Instead, the city now stands as a warning.

James Sullivan mocked not only a murdered activist, but the very idea of public service itself. He spit on the dignity of the citizens he was sworn to serve. And yet, rather than firing him in righteous defense of civic integrity, Springfield’s leadership allowed him to leave quietly, retirement intact.

As one longtime city employee said with bitter clarity:

“When a taxpayer-funded official spits on the people he serves and cheers the murder of an American, resignation is not justice. Resignation is a reward.”

A Failure of Courage

This was Springfield’s moment to lead. To declare that hate, cruelty, and celebration of political violence have no place in government. To make clear that public servants who disgrace their office will not be permitted to profit from it.

Instead, what Springfield delivered was silence. Evasion. Weakness.

Across the country, institutions have shown backbone — companies firing employees, universities cutting ties, governments making clear that such conduct cannot and will not be tolerated. Springfield, by contrast, chose retreat.

In the city of Lincoln, where the nation’s greatest president is laid to rest, the mayor had a chance to send a message of unity and moral clarity. She chose instead to send a different message:

That a man who mocks murder and calls citizens “maggots” can still collect a pension on the taxpayer’s dime.

And that silence — that failure of courage — is Springfield’s shame.