Springfield (The Simpsons) be a specific real town, although the producers acknowledge basing the town on numerous locations including "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening's hometown of Portland, Oregon, and Mike Scully's hometown, Springfield, Massachusetts. Groening named Springfield after Springfield, Oregon, and also took inspiration from Springfield being the fictitious setting of the series "Father Knows Best". He said, "I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do." Groening liked "Second
Springfield, Massachusetts remained stable under Mayor Domenic J. Sarno's (2008–present) despite the Great Recession and several natural and man made disasters: June 1, 2011, tornado Springfield Tornado, Hurricane Irene, a freak October Snow Storm (which in some ways was more damaging than the tornado), and a large gas explosion in the downtown area in 2012. The city has recovered, however receiving a bond upgrade from Standard and Poor's Investment Services and the GFOA's Distinguished Budget Award for six consecutive years. Like every other municipality in Massachusetts, Springfield has no judicial branch itself. Rather, it uses the Springfield-based state courts, which include Springfield