Chick-fil-A may be roosting at University of Illinois Springfield, and not everyone is happy with the prospect.
“Have we been in contact with them?” says Derek Schnapp, UIS spokesman. “We have been. We’re basically at the discussion stage with our campus community.”
Whether Chick-fil-A will return to Springfield since leaving the city in the 1990s has been a hot topic. In 2008, White Oaks Mall encouraged folks to send postcards to the Atlanta-based restaurant chain, asking for a restaurant here. Last fall, “Will Chick-fil-A Come To Springfield?” was nominated as the city’s Best Kept Secret when Illinois Times polled readers in preparation for the annual Best of Springfield edition.
The answer is maybe.
The UIS Student Government Association on Sunday is scheduled to take up the question. If the association says yes, then the entire student body could be asked to vote in a referendum, Schnapp said. If the association says no, then the proposal would go no further, he said. Schnapp said that he could not say when an on-campus franchise might open.
“There’s absolutely no time frame whatsoever,” Schnapp said. “We’re at the stage to hear opinions.”
The debate was featured in an April 12, 2012 online article by the Illinois Times.
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