For another year no holiday lights on the Capitol dome in Springfield

The reason is the observation deck is no longer strong enough – and the strings become heavy with ice. (Dave Dahl/WJBC)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – It’s safety – not money or the pandemic – keeping the holiday lights off the Capitol dome in Springfield this season.

Worker safety is paramount, but Henry Haupt, a spokesman for the Illinois secretary of state’s office, says there’s more: an engineering study determined the observation deck – atop the dome and at the base of the flagpole – can no longer support the light strings, which become heavy with ice and are typically up for a couple of months on either side of the holiday season.

Haupt, who adds white lights light the dome year-round, says the secretary’s office is working with the Capital Development Board on a fix.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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