Celebrating 50 Years

When you’re open for business in the same community for more than five decades, you’ve probably done a few things right. Let’s be honest, you’ve probably made a few well-intentioned mistakes too. For five decades, the Delano Law Offices have called Springfield home. We’re proud that 2017 is our 50th anniversary and even more honored to help Springfield residents with their legal needs. Unfortunately, that kind of longevity is a milestone that is rare here anymore.

No matter the trend, we are proud to serve the Capital City for the past half century and I’m confident the Delano name will continue to serve our community for the next 50 years.

When we started to look back and how far we’ve come, it was hard to ignore the big part our community has played in our success. Because of that, it also became clear that we wanted to give back, specifically to those who are less fortunate and can benefit from our expertise the most. That’s why we are donating our legal services to clients of Catholic Charities legal services. This type of legal work is just a small aspect of what we have done for our clients over 50 years, and we are honored to be able to provide to those who are unable to help themselves.

Being in business for 50 years is a testament to our business philosophy, treating those who come to us for help with respect and dignity, being fairly priced and of course leveraging positive results for our clients. It was a philosophy my father-in-law, Chick Delano, instilled from the day he opened the doors in 1967.

Delano Law Offices has helped thousands of people in every legal discipline from personal injury and workers’ compensation cases to criminal, civil and transactional law. Our team of experienced lawyers use their knowledge and skills to successfully represent our clients. That success and our customer service are two big reasons why we have been recognized as Springfield’s best law firm for 10 years in a row. The other part of our success has been our visibility thanks to our firm’s commitment to downtown more than 25 years ago.

Chick truly cared about Springfield and its future. He wanted this community to thrive and grow, and he believed in the energy and charm of our downtown. He believed in it so much that he decided to relocate the Delano Law Offices within downtown in 1992 when many businesses were fleeing. Back then, Downtown Springfield was in a similar recessive position it’s in today. In the early 90’s, businesses were leaving downtown and heading out west or leaving town altogether. One of those businesses, Roland’s Department store, had just ended its long and successful 70 year run at the corner of 6th and Adams. Unfortunately, Roland’s was one of the last in a long line of businesses to close up shop as part of the slow downtown marketplace erosion over the previous decade.

Chick believed the downtown area was a special place and the true hub of our capital city. He took a risk in 1991 when he bought the Roland’s building which had once been a place where prominent state and national leaders gathered back in the 1800s, including Elijah Iles, President Martin Van Buren and then State Senator Abraham Lincoln.

After a year of construction, the Delano Law Offices began a new era in downtown Springfield and started a rejuvenation movement of the 6th street corridor which is now one of the most traveled blocks in all of Springfield by residents and tourists alike.

More than 150 years before, this very same block that sits right across from the Lincoln-Herndon law office and the Old State Capitol was home to, perhaps, the most well-known hotel in Illinois. The American House was a place where VIPs and dignitaries frequented and where state and national leaders were believed to make key policy decisions. Over time, the popularity of the American House gave way to newer more modern accommodations that opened as Springfield’s reputation and population boomed in the late 1800s. Are the good old days really that far in Springfield’s rear view mirror?

Over the past 50 years, we’ve watched Springfield’s downtown fall in and out of grace, but the truth is, the Springfield business community has more control over the fate of downtown and Springfield in general. We, as business leaders just have to believe and demand more for our downtown.

We have to be committed to putting resources that matter into downtown and surrounding areas in order to attract more people downtown, which by the way has more significantly historic square feet than any just about any other town in the Midwest.

We have to be willing to be a part of larger conversations that think bigger, bolder and better for Springfield’s future. And, as a community, we have to be willing to do more than just want for more business, health and lifestyle options. We have to be willing to support those businesses when they come to town.

Springfield isn’t just another town in central Illinois. As the state capital, Springfield represents all of Illinois. It’s time we change Springfield’s trajectory and give more businesses the chance to celebrate 50th anniversaries, but that will require a commitment by all of us to make Springfield an even better place to call home.

Delano Law Offices is located in Springfield and Beardstown and has been serving central Illinois’ personal injury, workers’ compensation, criminal, civil and business legal needs for 50 years. Visit us online at www.delanolaw.com or by calling 217-544-2703.