Gillespie city officials apparently are exploring the possibility of creating a new Tax Increment Financing District that would encompass parts of the city’s northwest side and possibly dovetail with a tentative project to expand the existing solar field at the water treatment plant to supply power for a residential subdivision. City Attorney Kevin Polo and […]

Members of the Benld City Council on Thursday night voted to enter into a $50,000 contract with HMG Engineers to design a sewer improvement project on the city’s east side. Completing the design and obtaining necessary permits from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency are the first steps toward leveraging a grant of up to $500,000 […]

Wilsonville Village Trustees on Tuesday night approved a property tax levy and an appropriations ordinance, both of which are identical to last year’s, and debated a property issue with a local resident. One trustee also called into question the police chief’s job performance, prompting the board to enter into a 30-minute executive session to discuss […]

Members of the Gillespie City Council on Monday night approved a $340,000 property tax levy for 2019 taxes to be collected in 2020 and voted narrowly to step away from writing an ordinance that would permit residents to use golf carts for transportation on city streets. Approval of the levy was preceded by a five-minute […]

Members of the Benld City Council on Monday night approved a $120,338 property tax levy for 2019 taxes to be collected in 2020, agreed to seek candidates for a fourth full-time police officer and approved a resolution to appropriate $30,530 in Motor Fuel Tax funds for next year’s street maintenance program. The council, however, tabled […]

Gillespie police officers and Gillespie-Benld Area Ambulance Service paramedics were recognized during a meeting of the Gillespie City Council Tuesday night for their efforts to save the life of an individual who suffered a cardiac arrest while police were responding to a routine police call. Council members also heard a brief report regarding the city’s […]

Members of the Benld City Council on Monday night heard an update on the three-year-old, county-wide CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) program, debated Illinois Valley Economic Development Corporation’s plans to improve and expand a playground at the agency’s Benld Head Start facility, and took action to purchase liability insurance for the coming year and purchase flags […]

With minimal discussion Gillespie City Council members quickly voted to accept a 40-year contract and intergovernmental agreement to supply water to the City of Benld during a special meeting of the council on Wednesday night. Additionally, the council agreed to offer the same terms to all of its satellite water customers. Those customers include the […]

The Wilsonville Board of Trustees on Tuesday night voted to install a new roof on an equipment building at the village’s sewage treatment lagoons, set hours for Trick or Treating and hired a new water meter reader. But the lion’s share of the meeting was devoted to dealing with ordinance violations and complaints about the […]

Members of the Benld City Council met behind closed doors for 30 minutes Monday night to discuss a possible contract to supply water to the city but ultimately took no action on the issue. An open session agenda item calling for a vote later in the meeting was tabled. Mayor Jim Kelly and city aldermen […]

Accompanied by his attorney, a city resident vowed to fight the City of Gillespie’s solar energy field project “as far as I can” during the city council’s regular monthly meeting Monday night. The council also agreed to complete an application to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a $318,000 Community Development and Assistance […]

Members of the Benld City Council on Monday night learned details about a cultural heritage project spearheaded by the University of Illinois that ultimately could bring visitors to Benld and surrounding communities as part of a larger, regional effort. The council also took formal action to approve a maintenance contract for the city’s sewer system […]

With Ald. Dave Tucker filling in as Mayor Pro-Tem in the absence of Mayor John Hicks, members of the Gillespie City Council on Monday nigh approved on a proposed payment schedule for the Village of East Gillespie to pay its share of a water infrastructure project currently underway, and directed City Attorney Kevin Polo to […]