The following story was published by Illinois Times on Sept. 22, 2025.

Rob Kerr: Innovate Springfield, the University of Illinois Springfield’s hub for innovation, has spent the last 10 years supporting a community of entrepreneurs and helping expand opportunity across the region. Earlier this month, we launched an exciting new phase in this venture by relocating to the third floor of the Horace Mann headquarters building in downtown Springfield.

I am confident this move will transform who we are and how we expand innovation. The space includes dedicated areas for collaboration, training and incubation. It lets us support more entrepreneurs, host larger events, expand co-working opportunities and create new programs. Most importantly, it gives us something we’ve long needed: room to grow.

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