UPDATED 2:04 P.M. 4/8/26

Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – To paraphrase Steve Martin, city government is not always pretty.

Tuesday’s city council meeting devolved into an argument between Ald. Shawn Gregory and former police chief Michael Walton, with Gregory shouting, “f*** him.” Amid several people shouting, Mayor Misty Buscher asked for and received a motion to adjourn.

Walton was Tuesday’s last public commenter. The fracas erupted after Ald. Jennifer Notariano complained about what she said was a lack of respect shown by police. Referring to an earlier meeting, she said Walton “yelled out of turn when we were discussing the guy who was beaten over a dog and called me an idiot. And the officers who were sitting in here – some of them in their uniforms – heard him call me an idiot and laughed. And it’s on video. And I know your faces. We know what you believe!”

At that point, Gregory lost his composure, and Buscher lost control of the meeting, which ended abruptly.

After disappearing from the city’s YouTube page immediately after Tuesday’s meeting, the meeting was posted again Wednesday afternoon.