Community News
Beleagured board chairman responds to critics as County Board prepares to start budgeting process
Responding to criticism over alleged anti-LGBTQ+ statements he posted on social media, Macoupin County Board Chairman Larry Schmidt read a formal statement regarding the issue during the May 13 meeting of the board.
Schmidt reiterated his intention to remain as Board Chairman, a position he has held for five years.
“I am a peaceful, fair-minded person who tries to make good decisions, but I also have opinions,” Schmidt read from his prepared statement. “I am not mean, spiteful, nor do I seek revenge.” Schmidt also denied that he excluded Democrat board members when he sent a text to board members asking their opinion on whether he should step down from the chairmanship. To the contrary, Schmidt said he was on the road when the controversy erupted and he could not recall the names of three members, two of whom are Republicans.
Chelsa Pruden, who organized a large protest at the board’s April meeting, filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office alleging Schmidt’s texting board members was a violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act. That complaint remains under investigation, though attorney Pete Drummond has submitted a letter answering the allegations. State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison said the county retained Drummond to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
The full text of Schmidt’s two-page statement appears elsewhere as a Letter to the Editor.
Schmidt was greeted by about 20 protestors before the meeting. They were joined by a half-dozen AFSCME union members who say they have been working for nine months without a contract. A spokesperson for the group said the County Board has halted collective bargaining talks and has not indicated when negotiations will resume.
During a public comment segment of the meeting, Pruden again addressed the board, asking board members to “come together as a body and take a clear stand” regarding the county government’s commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and demonstrating that “Macoupin County is a county where everyone belongs.”
She said she sent an email, that received no response, prior to the April meeting asking that the board take “three clear steps:”
- Issue a written statement affirming your commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community.
- Publicly denounce discriminatory language or behavior by elected officials.
- Formally adopt a resolution that demonstrates a measurable commitment to equity and inclusion.
Pruden said Schmidt’s Facebook post was not a “one time thing.”
“It wasn’t an ‘oopsie’,” she said, adding that other citizens provided her with multiple examples of anti-LGBTQIA+ posts dating back to 2020.
The controversy was sparked by Schmidt’s post on a St. Louis radio stations Facebook page reporting Anneheuser-Busch’s decision to discontinue funding the city’s annual Pride parade. In that post, Schmidt indicated LGBTQIA+ individuals “do not need to march to show off their disability.”
The board also heard from Jena Flores, Granite City, founder and president of the Granite City Liberals Group. Flores offered to provide a workshop on sensitivity and inclusion “if you are at all interested.”
“I wanted to let you guys know that the internet is like permanent ink,” Flores said. “Anything you post is forever and it can come back to haunt you. Whatever you post as a private citizen is going to follow you. You may post something that you think is okay for your family and friends, but if you decide to run for office 10 years later, someone is going to dig into you online activity and find what you said.”
“If you are at all interested in hearing more about our concerns, I’d be more than happy to come up and have a meeting with you,” she said. She said the information she would like to share about inclusion and non-discrimination would benefit office holders who are liberal or conservative. “We’re trying to help you all.”
Flores also addressed House Bill 1304, which would provide a mechanism for citizens to petition a recall of public officials. The bill has been bouncing around the General Assembly for six years and there is a sentiment that it could pass soon. “We’re one of 11 states that doesn’t have a recall bill,” she said.
Diana McGinness, Staunton, briefly addressed the board, confirming that she was the person who researched Schmidt’s anti-LGBTQIA+ comments on Facebook. She also noted that County Board policy directs the board to follow Robert’s Rules of Order, Section 61 of which provides for organizations to remove an official who is judged to have damaged the reputation of organization.
ANNUAL AUDIT
Board members accepted a state-mandated annual audit presented to them by Kara Fuller, an accountant with Scheffel Boyle CPA, Jerseyville, the accounting firm that has performed the audit for the past eight years.
The audit shows the county ending fiscal 2023-24 with cash reserves of $62,719,806, with liabilities of $69,981 as of August 31,2024. Coupled with capital assets and encumbered funds for highways, grants, etc., the county’s total net worth came to $62,719,806.
While the audit gives the county a fairly clean opinion, stating that the financial document provided to auditors “fairly present, in all material respects, the . . . financial position of the government activities.” The report, however, cites several significant deficiencies, defined in internal controls, meaning the deficiencies are less severe than a material weakness but important enough to warrant government attention.
The deficiencies include funds which were either not budgeted or under budgeted. Expenditures that were not budgeted or which exceeded budget include $332,301 in General Fund expenditures for the Sheriff’s Department, $3,864 unbudgeted expenditures from the State’s Attorney’s Bad Check Diversion Fund, $97 in expenditures from the Sheriff’s Drug Fund, $58,217 from the Sheriff’s LEADS Account fund, $25,000 in expenditures from the Public Safety Fund, and expenditures of $115 from the Public Defender’s Automation Fund.
The county raised more than $250,000 in property tax revenue in 2023 than the previous year, even though the tax rate fell from .67225 to .65030.
Fuller said performing the audit required some journal adjustments but those adjustments were mutually agreed to between the auditors and public officials.
Total expenditures for the county were about $500,000 over the previous year, which Fuller said was “pretty good” for a county with an annual budget exceeding $26 million.
GEARING UP FOR BUDGET PROCESS
County Clerk Pete Duncan admonished board members that this summer’s process of developing a budget for fiscal 2026 is likely to be more arduous than past years. With shrinking revenues and rising costs, the board anticipates a lean budget that will require some tough negotiations with department heads.
For the current fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31, the county has received about 67 percent of anticipated revenue as of the end of April.
Sheriff Sgt. Roger Dively who has been the retiring dog’s handler for the past nine years.
“We’re two-thirds of the way through the fiscal year, so we’re right on target,” Duncan said. The $5,339,267 is slightly more than what the county had received by the end of April last year.
Moving onto the fiscal 2026 budget, Duncan painted a less rosy picture.
“If we use the same conservation projections we used for this fiscal year, we’re actually going to be short by about $65,000,” Duncan. With budget hearings already underway, expenditure requests for the coming fiscal year already exceed last year’s requests by about $500,000. “It doesn’t take a math genius to know those numbers aren’t jibing.”
One of the looming factors is uncertainty about fund disbursement from the state.
“We are kind of at the mercy of the state,” Duncan noted, adding that revenue from state resources will not be known until the General Assembly completes a state budget. “I think the best we can hope for is that they will leave us alone, but I don’t think we get any additional funds.”
“It’s going to be a tough summer trying to figure that all out,” Duncan predicted.
HVAC FUNDING
The board unanimously approved a resolution leaving $1.5 million in American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and $447,000 in accrued interest in the General Fund to complete a heating, ventilation and air conditioning project underway at the courthouse.
County Clerk Duncan said the ARPA funds were erroneously deposited in the General Fund instead of the ARPA fund. The resolution simply allows the county to leave the money in the General Fund so it can be spent on the HVAC project. The $1,947,000 should be should put the county closer to meeting the $3 million mark for the project. Any additional expenses will be subsequently authorized from the General Fund.
K9 UNIT TRANSFER
By a unanimous vote, the board transferred ownership of a retiring law enforcement dog to Macoupin County Sheriff Sergeant Roger Dively, who has been the dog’s handler for the past nine years.
Dively said he named the dog “Mac,” which was short for Macoupin.
Macoupin County Sheriff Shawn Kahl told the board Mac had been a good dog for his department. “He will be sorely missed,” Kahl said.
PERSONNEL
Following a 35-minute executive session to discuss personnel, the board acted unanimously to approve a three-year contract with the Teamsters Union, which represents Highway Department employees. Board member Todd Armour declined to discuss details of the contract, noting that the contract has been approved by both parties but remains to be signed.
The board also took action to grant the Economic Development Committee power-to-act in the hiring of a Grant Manager. Earlier in the meeting, the committee reported it had interviewed several candidates for the newly created position at its most recent committee meeting.
50/50 PROJECTS
In separate actions, the board approved two 50/50 road projects allowing the county to share the cost of each project equally with the respective townships.
Board members agreed to subsidize 50 percent of a $20,000 project to completely replace a 70-foot culvert on Terpening Road in Brighton Township. Highway Engineer Tom Reinhardt told the board the culvert was washed out during recent heavy rains.
The board also agreed to pay half of the cost for $6,000 project to replace a culvert on Prairietown Road in Dorchester Township.
APPOINTMENTS
The board approved the appointment of District 6 Board Member Leann Barr, Carlinville, to chair the board’s Public Safety Committee.
Also approved was the appointment of Tom Stoecker and Tony Wiggins to the county Board of Review for two year terms ending May 31, 2027.
The appointment of Harold Gregory to the Carlinville Fire Protection District for a three-year term ending April 30, 2026.
WATSON RECOGNITION
Before adjourning, the board took a moment to recognize the death of Julia Watson, who served on the board for 33 years.
She was the wife of Robert Watson, who died in January. Her husband was an attorney who was blind. Watson gained a working knowledge of the law by reading law books aloud to her husband to help him through law school.
“She was like having a second State’s Attorney on the board,” one board member commented.
Watson and her husband were parents of former Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jennifer Watson.
Watson died May 5 at her home in Brighton. She was 90 years old.
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Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education on Wednesday night approved a package of four capital improvement projects totaling more than $160,000 in value. Work will start on the projects after the end of the current school year and is expected to be completed before the start of the 2026-27 academic year in August.
The board met on Wednesday night after Monday’s inclement weather forced the district to reschedule the board’s regular monthly meeting.
The board approved entering into a contract with Fisher Tracks, Boone, Iowa, to resurface the district’s all-weather track at a cost of $105,209. Supt. Shane Owsley told the board the district will use about $50,000 from an all-weather track activity fund, with the remainder to be paid with proceeds from an alternate revenue bond issue approved last year for capital improvements.
Great Western Abatement, Jerseyville, was retained to remove flooring containing asbestos from the choir room floor and middle school gymnasium school at a cost of $40,700. Great Western’s bid was the lowest of seven bids, ranging up to $65,000, submitted for the work. Additionally, the district is paying $8,900 to Reliable Environmental Services, Springfield, for engineering and design work associated with the asbestos removal.
All-purpose rubberized flooring material will be installed on the middle school gym floor by Dynamic Sports Construction, Leander, Texas, at a cost of $51,424.
For the first time in a number of years, the high school gymnasium floor will be sanded and refinished with new artwork. Blast Technologies, St. Louis, was hired to sand the 4,200-square-foot floor at a cost of $5,250. Designs Unlimited, Pinckneyville, will paint game lines and logos on the floor before sealing it with a clear stain at a cost not to exceed $18,738.
The board also accepted a bid of $33,890 from DeLaurent Construction, Wilsonville, to resurface the 118,700-square-foot parking lot at Benld Elementary School.
Though no action was taken, Board President Mark Hayes reported that the Building and Grounds Committee had directed Owsley to investigate the cost of replacing the CUSD 7 administrative building.
“This building is very much in need of replacement,” Hayes said. “It’s beyond its time.” During Monday’s torrential rainfall, Hayes said water came in through windows and water seeped in under the sill plate, bringing displaced nightcrawlers into the building. Staff members ran fans after the storm in an effort to dry out the interior.
According to Hayes, the school has been in contact with the local Baptist Church to investigate the possibility of acquiring the former Trinity Baptist Church for use as an administrative building. Church officials, however, have not yet made a decision about the fate of the former sanctuary after Gillespie’s two Baptist churches merged.
Owsley said the current administrative building comprises about 6,000 square feet. Current estimates are $400 per square foot for new construction which would translate into about $2.5 million to replace the administrative facility. The district might be able to shave some dollars off that estimate by reducing the size of the building.
“There’s a lot of unusable space in this building,” Owsley said, suggesting a more efficient floorpan could reduce cost. He also mentioned the possibility of a basement to provide storage space for outdated documents.
In addition to construction costs, Owsley noted, the district would be responsible for tearing down the existing building.
“I have no idea what’s in this building,” Owsley said, raising abatement concerns. “I’m guessing disposal of this building is going to be expensive.”
Hayes said Kevin Wills, the district’s bond issue advisor, will attend the June board meeting to discuss the possibility of refinancing some existing bonds to free up enough revenue to build a new administrative building. The administration currently is housed in a “temporary” structure that has served as the administration building for several decades.
MINE SUBSIDENCE STUDY
After several minutes of discussion, the board took no action in relation to entering into a contract with Marino Engineering and Associates to assess the district’s risk for incurring damage from a mine subsidence event. Owsley said existing maps show that portions of Gillespie Middle School are undermined. While the high school is not undermined, a major subsidence would likely damage the high school as well as the middle school. In recent months, more than one residential home on Elm Street near the school property has experienced damage from mine subsidence.
Marino’s $94,000 Phase I proposal would “determine the likelihood of something happening to one of our buildings,” Owsley said. The problem is that too much information could negatively impact the district’s ability to purchase subsidence insurance. “Information is great until it’s not.”
The district currently pays about $300,000 for mine subsidence insurance on the middle school, high school and vocational arts building. The school carries no subsidence insurance on BenGil Elementary because mine shafts under the building were grouted before the school was built.
“If we find out there’s not a major concern,” Owsley noted, it could reduce the district’s subsidence insurance costs.
On the other hand, if the study reveals a high risk of experiencing mine subsidence, the insurer could drop the district at the end of the current policy’s term. With only two companies in the country offering subsidence insurance, the district could end up with no insurance at all to cover damage from mine subsidence.
The only way to avoid that scenario would be to implement whatever options Marino might recommend to reduce risk. Those recommendations would likely include grouting (backfilling) mine shafts under the middle school. Grouting for the elementary school cost $4 million. To grout under the middle school would likely run as much as $6 million or more.
The only way the study would make sense, Owsley suggested, would be if the district was “comfortable making the corrections the study is going to make.”
Moreover, $94,000 would cover only a preliminary assessment.
“To get a full understanding of what’s going on underground, we’d be looking at a half million dollars,” said Owsley.
The issue was allowed to die when no board member moved to consider the contract.
COMMUNITY SOLAR PARTICIPATION
On a motion by Bill Carter, seconded by Weye Schmidt, the board voted unanimously to enter into a contract with Summit Ridge Solar to participate in a community solar project. Under terms of the 15-year contract, the district will realize a 13 percent savings on electrical power bills. The contract is automatically renewable for five years unless the district chooses to withdraw.
“Illinois provides a number of incentives for using solar,” Owsley said. “However, not everyone likes the look of having solar panels on their property. This will get us the benefits without putting up solar panels on our property.”
Summit Ridge’s proposal was the most lucrative of the proposals the district received. Other companies offered shorter terms with savings of five percent.
After 20 years, it’s likely the savings would drop to five percent. Owsley said he was told the district was better off going with the longer contract to get 13 percent in savings for as long as possible.
The school district was able to secure such favorable rates, according to Owsley is because there is an issue with solar fields storing the power they generate. “Our main usage time is during their maximum production time.”
DISTRICT FOCUS
During a District Focus segment, the board recognized sophomore Matrix Wright, whose art was the only entry from the United States included in the 2026 TOLI International Student Art Exhibition. The exhibition is a project of The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies in New York. The exhibit includes student art relating to themes associated with the Holocaust.
Wright’s work, entitled “An Immortal Continuum,” attempts to portray “the constant entrapment a Holocaust survivor might feel.”
Exhibition organizers received more than 250 entries from around the globe.
BUDGET PROCESS
On a motion by Peyton Bernot, seconded by Board President Hayes, board members voted unanimously to begin work on developing a district budget for fiscal 2027. Board members also approved a routine measure to permit expenditure of fiscal 2027 funds after July 1, pending approval of a new budget.
The school district’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30 but new budgets typically are approved two to four months after the start of the fiscal year.
The current fiscal year’s $19 million budget was approved in September last year.
PERSONNEL
Following a one-hour executive session to discuss personnel and other issues, the board voted unanimously to approve the request of long-time middle school English and language arts teacher Kim Henderson, effective at the end of the 2028-29 school year.
Board members also voted unanimously to hire Andrew Crook as a first-year, non-tenured high school English teacher for the 2026-27 school year, pending documentation of certification and a routine background check. A graduate of Gillespie High School, Crook earned his teaching certificate at Illinois College, Jacksonville and for the past two years, he taught English at North Mac High School.
In separate actions, the board made multiple assignments to staff the district’s summer school program. Those hired include: Jessica Kelly as a middle school teacher, Ashlee Gibbs as a high school math teacher, and Jennifer Brown and Rob Macias as high school drivers’ education instructors. Each of the positions are contingent upon adequate student enrollment to offer the classes. In addition to academic staff, the board hired Andy Hirstein as a summer school food service worker.
The board voted unanimously to accept the resignation of Foli Seferi as high school paraprofessional and as assisted football coach. Both resignations are effective immediately.
In other personnel action, the board appointed Cate Plovich as the BenGil Elementary School yearbook sponsor, and appointed Josh Ross as a volunteer assistant football coach, pending documentation of certification and a routine background check.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the board:
• Approved a mens highs school soccer coop with the Carlinville School District, with the provision Carlinville will dissolve the agreement if it pushes its program into a higher competitive classification.
• Approved an intergovernmental agreement with Lewis and Clark Community College under which the college will recognize some high school courses as college level credits.
• Approved early graduation requests for an undisclosed number of students, provided all graduation requirements are met.
• Approved renewing the district’s membership in the Illinois Elementary Schools Association.
• Approved the final calendar for the 2025-26 school year pending no further emergency days. Barring the use of emergency days, Monday, May 18 will be the last day of student attendance, with graduation ceremonies set at 2 p.m., Sunday, May 17.
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One of the greatest annual events in American sports is the Saturday is the Kentucky Derby, which will be run for the 152nd time this Saturday. One past champion was bred in Macoupin County.
This week marks 137 years since the victory of Spokane, who captured the 1889 Kentucky Derby during the infancy of the event. The horse was bred at “The Meadows,” the farm of Gen. Richard Rowett one mile north of Carlinville.
Rowett horses, and their jockey colors of orange jacket and blue cap, were on tracks throughout the west and south. But Spokane was the greatest production of The Meadows, a nationally recognized breeding ground for thoroughbreds.
In 1885, a prized dark brown horse named Hyder Ali was standing at The Meadows when Rowett bred him to one of his top mares, Interpose. This pairing had produced favorable offspring in the past, including Grey Cloud, a fine racer owned by Noah Armstrong of the Doncaster Ranch near Twin Bridges in the Montana Territory.
Armstrong’s famous stable included such horses as Lord Raglan, the third-place finisher in the 1883 Kentucky Derby. When Rowett offered Interpose for sale late in 1885, Armstrong, familiar with the high quality of Rowett stock, purchased the pregnant mare and her suckling filly, Madelin, for the price of $1,000 and shipped the brood to Montana.
The Doncaster Ranch was known for its spectacular, three-story round barn that featured an indoor track. While in Spokane in the Washington Territory on business, Armstrong received word of the birth of Interpose’s colt. In honor of the city, he named the colt Spokane.
Spokane showed great promise as a two-year-old, winning two of five starts in 1888, and Armstrong entered him in the 1889 Kentucky Derby. Although a premier race, the Derby had not achieved the monumental status it enjoys today.
The race was run on May 9, 1889–a Thursday–in front of a crowd of 25,000, a fraction of the throngs that fill Churchill Downs today.
Home state favorite Proctor Knott was the overwhelming favorite at 1-to-2, while the relatively unknown Spokane was listed at 10-to-1 odds. That was enough for Frank James, brother of outlaw Jessie and a regular at countless tracks.
James, flush with a windfall of $2,400 from an earlier race that day, asked a bookmaker of the odds on Spokane. The reply was “Ten-to-one and the sky’s the limit.” James threw down $5,000 on Spokane, causing the bookmaker to reply, “As far as I’m concerned, that’s the sky!”
Under jockey Thomas Kiley, Spokane edged Proctor Knott by a head, setting a record at 2:34 ½ over the mile-and-a-half layout (it was changed to a mile and a quarter in 1896). He remains the only Kentucky Derby winner ever born in Montana.
Proving the win was no fluke, Spokane again beat Proctor Knott five days later at the Clark Stakes in Louisville. On June 22, Spokane won another key race of the era, the American Derby at Washington Park in Chicago, to become the first horse to win both races in the same season.
Back in Illinois, Rowett did not live to see the triumph of Spokane, as he died on July 13, 1887. His death was covered on page one of the New York Times the following day.
In addition to breeding, Rowett is also remembered as the first to introduce the true-bred beagle hound to this country from his native England. Prior to that, he was a Civil War officer and state politician.
The only horse actually born in Illinois to win the Kentucky Derby was the 1970 champion, Dust Commander.
Tom Emery of Carlinville, who wrote the award-winning biography Richard Rowett: Thoroughbreds, Beagles, and the Civil War, may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.
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A former Carlinville High School football standout has signed as an undrafted free agent with the New England Patriots.
Kyle Dixon, a record-setting receiver at Culver-Stockton, an NAIA program in Canton, Missouri, inked the deal with New England after being passed over in the NFL Draft April 23-25.
Dixon was seen as an outside shot at being selected in the draft. He reportedly had visited at least one team, including Indianapolis, and was the subject of Internet speculation from various writers on his potential.
At Culver-Stockton, Dixon named to the American Football Coaches Association – NAIA All-American team. He was also a Heart of America Athletic Conference first team pick for the second straight year.
The 6-4, 216-pound Dixon was fourth in the NAIA with 83 receptions and third with 1,282 receiving yards in 2025.
New England advanced to last February’s Super Bowl, losing to Seattle.
It was the tenth Super Bowl appearance in the last 25 seasons for the Patriots, one of the NFL’s marquee teams over the last quarter-century.
New England won six Super Bowl titles in that span. The Patriots also played in the Super Bowl after the 1985 and 1996 seasons.
Though most undrafted free agents have an outside chance of sticking on NFL rosters, some future superstars began that way. Notable UDFAs include NFL Hall of Famers Kurt Warner, Warren Moon, Antonio Gates, Adam Vinatieri, and John Randle.
In 2025, eight NFL teams had at least three starters who had been UDFAs coming out of college.
The Patriots are known for their development of UDFAs. The franchise has had sixty starting players who were undrafted free agents from 2011-25, more than any other team in the NFL.
At Carlinville High School from 2015-18, Dixon finished in the top 20 in Illinois High School Association history in single-season receiving yards and touchdowns, career touchdowns, receptions, and receiving yards, and career interceptions on defense.
An all-state selection as a defensive back, Dixon was an all-South Central Conference pick as a receiver. He was also a two-time all-SCC pick in baseball.
Prior to Culver-Stockton, Dixon played baseball at SIU-Carbondale, SIU-Edwardsville, and Georgia Gwinnett College.
Dixon will try to become just the third Carlinville product to play in the NFL.
The others were Leland “Tiny” Lewis, who appeared in 14 games over the 1930-31 seasons with Portsmouth (now the Detroit Lions) and a now-defunct Cleveland franchise, and Mike Seyfrit, who played in 13 games for now-defunct franchises in Toledo and Hammond in 1923-24.
(Tom Emery may be reached at ilcivilwar@yahoo.com or 217-710-8392).
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