The Nation - News from Jan. 13, 1987

Black residents of Springfield, Ill., have been denied their voting rights, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Harold Baker, after a three-week bench trial, ruled in favor of blacks in the state capital in a class-action voting-rights lawsuit brought against the five members of the City Council. Blacks “are submerged as a voting minority within the city of Springfield, where their voting power is diluted,” the opinion said. Baker ordered a hearing Friday to consider how to implement his ruling. Springfield has an at-large system for choosing council members.