Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education voted 6-1 during a special meeting of the board Wednesday night to reopen district schools for a hybrid attendance plan starting on Monday, Oct. 5. Upward of 20 community members, several of whom had been vocal advocates for returning students to the classroom, attended […]
Benld Council sets dates, times for trick-or-treating
Despite concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Benld City Council members voted 3-1 Monday night to set trick-or-treating hours from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and 31. The issue was not on the council’s previously published agenda. Ald. John Balzraine, objecting to the idea of allowing trick-or-treating during the pandemic, voted […]
School Board stays the course with remote learning plan
Several parents of Community Unit School District 7 left disappointed after the Board of Education declined to take action on reversing or reaffirming the district’s remote learning plan currently in place during a special meeting of the board on Wednesday night. Five mothers of CUSD 7 students urged the board to reopen the district for […]
Benld Council hires ordinance enforcement officer
Members of the Benld City Council on Monday night approved the appointment of Jason Simmons, Brighton, as a part-time ordinance enforcement officer for the City of Benld. Mayor Jim Kelly’s recommendation to hire Simmons was approved on a motion by Ald. John Balzraine, seconded by Ald. Dustin Fletcher. “Anything I can do to help improve […]
School Board defends policy on sports, reopening school
Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education voted on Monday night to formally place the 2020-2021 district budget on file for public review but a major portion of the meeting was devoted to responding to parental concerns about opening the school year with a remote learning format and the suspension of […]
Gillespie Council hires interim attorney, discusses fate of Canna Theatre building
With one alderman sidelined in quarantine, the Gillespie City Council voted unanimously Monday night to hire an interim city attorney to pinch hit for City Attorney Kevin Polo, held preliminary discussions regarding the fate of the Canna Theatre building and pledged to address deteriorating conditions at Big Brick City Park. The meeting was held in […]
School Board authorizes vocational building project, hears plans for school opening during pandemic
Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education selected a contractor Monday night to replace the roof and build an addition for the high school vocational education building but delayed a decision on the size of the addition. The board also heard extensive reports about how the district will open the school […]
Benld Council adopts $1.8 million appropriation, seat John Balzraine as Ward 1 alderman
Members of the Benld City Council on Monday night voted unanimously to adopt a $1.8 million appropriations ordinance during the council’s regular monthly meeting, and seated John Balzraine as a Ward 1 alderman, replacing former Ald. Teresa Tucker who resigned from the council last month. The appropriation sets spending limits for the fiscal year that […]
CUSD 7 students will begin new school year with remote learning
Facing an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Community Unit School District 7 students will begin the 2020-21 school as they ended the past school year—with remote learning in lieu of classroom attendance. Newly hired Supt. Shane Owsley announced the measure during a special meeting of the Board of Education on Monday night in the Gillespie Middle School […]
School Board acts on personnel issues as Tieman steps down
With the hours clicking down to his official retirement, Community Unit School District 7 Supt. Joe Tieman occasionally struggled with his emotions as he helmed the last school board meeting of his career Tuesday night. Tieman unexpectedly announced his retirement at the end of March, precipitating a flurry of board actions to reshuffle administrative assignments […]
Benld deactivates police department, accepts alderwoman’s resignation
On a motion by Ald. Tilashalski, seconded by Ald. Fletcher, the Benld City Council voted Monday night to formally “deactivate” the Benld Police Department—a final step in turning over police protection to the City of Gillespie. The deactivation is effective July 1. “The reason we are deactivating is so, if in the future, Benld decides […]
Benld Council approves grant application for sewer project
Members of the Benld City Council on Monday night approved a resolution authorizing the city’s engineering firm, HMG Engineers, to apply to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a federally funded Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $550,000 for a sewer improvement project on the city’s east side. Additionally, the […]
Gillespie Council approves $17 million appropriation, eyes boundaries for proposed new TIF district
Members of the Gillespie City Council on Monday night approved the annual appropriations ordinance, got a first look at boundaries proposed for a tentative new Tax Increment Financing district, hammered out details of a counter-offer on a contract to provide dispatching services for the Gillespie-Benld Area Ambulance Service, and approved a zoning change that paves […]
Benld Council eyes sewer rate increase
The Benld City Council is poised to increase sewer rates but the amount of the increase and how it will impact consumers’ total water/sewer bills have yet to be determined. The move to hike sewer rates is prompted by a letter from the city’s engineers, HMG Engineers, indicating that local sewer rates must meet a […]
Gillespie Council wrestles with KaHo water contract, amends Gillespie/Benld police agreement
After a lengthy and sometimes terse discussion, Gillespie Mayor John Hicks told Rick Verticchio, attorney for the Village of Lake KaHo, that the city would produce a counteroffer to a Lake KaHo proposal under which the village would continue to purchase water from the City of Gillespie. In other action, the council voted during its […]
School Board discussion focuses on pandemic response, possible ‘new normal’ for education next school year
Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education, once again meeting remotely on Monday night, hired a new Title I Reading Specialist and accepted the retirement of the district’s long-serving Transportation Director but the majority of the discussion focused on the school district’s response to current school closures due to the COVID-19 […]
CUSD 7 hires Rosentreter as GHS principal
Meeting via the Zoom online conferencing system, members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday night to hire veteran Middle School Principal Jill Rosentreter as High School Principal for the coming school year. Board members, all seven of whom participated in the special meeting remotely, met in executive session […]
Benld Council votes to end city police department
By a 4-2 vote, Benld city aldermen chose during a brief special meeting Friday night to end the city’s decades-old police department and contract with the City of Gillespie for police protection services. Due to COVID-19 precautions, the council met in the Benld Civic Center instead of council chambers so aldermen and city officials could […]
Gillespie Council agrees to offer police protection contract to Benld
In what appears to be a tentative first step toward disbanding the Benld Police Department, the Gillespie City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to offer a police protection contract to the City of Benld. The Benld City Council is expected to meet in special session Friday night to vote on whether or not to accept […]
Board hires Owsley to replace Tieman as School Superintendent
A week after School Supt. Joe Tieman stunned the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education by announcing his retirement, board members voted 5-2 Wednesday night to hire current Gillespie High School Principal Shane Owsley to step into the superintendent’s position as of July 1. The board was in open session for only five […]
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