Springfield Micro Elite Compact in 9 MM is a fantastic handgun and a great value. Its available in 40 caliber also. There are several more expensive 1911's out there but they don't shoot good enough to justify the additional cost.
I get a lot of 1911 questions from students and one of the biggest questions I get is, "SA or Kimber?". Looking at the quality and fit of the two, you have to go with SA. The SA has much better quality out of the box and the fit of their 1911's seems to be more consistent. With that being said, I have never owned a Kimber that I didn't like. Although Kimber uses some lower quality parts and their fit is somewhat inconsistent, the performance seems to be really good. But, for the money, I will always go with SA if given the choice. Now from a gunsmiths perspective, I choose SA because I typically have less work to do on their guns. That might be something you don't care about, but its something I look at.
As for the 9mm 1911. I would say that 9mm 1911's are not going to give you anywhere near the performance a .45 will. Most 9mm 1911's tend to be very finicky and ammo sensitive. I usually have to spend a lot of time working with them to get them to run reliably. But, if your willing to put up with it, then that's your choice.
1911 in 9 mm are few and far between. However, I own a Taurus 45 ACP and love it and it didn't cost an arm and leg. They make the same model in 9 MM. That would be a great buy and save some money too. I also like Springfield. I have the EMP compact 9 MM and it is the one handgun in my possession that I wouldn't sell even for a profit. There is a bunch of 1911's but unless I was carring it everyday target I wouldn't invest heavily because they don't shoot that much better.