Community News
Benld citizen upset about City Park Roadway
Council approves Halloween hours, new business requests, and new carpeting
The Benld City Council discusses the new meeting time and date change. Council meetings will now be at 6:00pm, starting November 12, and on the third Monday of each month, starting in 2014.
The council welcomed Joe Mishanec to the meeting Monday evening, October 14, to hear his concern about the recently named road in City Park. He said the road was partially paved back in May under the previous interim mayor and the cost came to $4,308.15 for the blacktop materials. He didn’t understand why the project never came before the board for approval. Joe would have liked to see many more streets oiled and chipped before blacktopping the city park roadway.
Under the new administration, Mishanec said the roadway was named a roadway of the city and a check for $4,308.15 was cut to only complete half of the roadway between the two pavilions. Half of the roadway is still gravel. “12 days after the pavement was laid, it became a public road and it should have been chipped at a much lower cost. Many other roads could have been oiled and chipped for $4,500,” Mishanec closed.
Mayor Gloria Sidar explained the roadway was part of the Motor Fuel Tax and did not have an individual bid. “All the roadways are packaged together and it was approved back in early spring,” Mayor Sidar explained. Sidar explained it didn’t get an individual bid because everything was a package.
Mishanec went on to question why the entire road wasn’t paved since it’s a public road. “Half of it is paved and half of it is left undone, why is that,” he questioned. City attorney Rick Vertichio stepped in to control the matter and told Joe Mishanec unless he wanted to donate $4,308.15 the city doesn’t have enough money to complete the entire roadway.
Joe Mishanec said once more he thought there was an approval needed for the job. A local media official questioned why the road wasn’t named until after the paving was done. She also cited a roadway has to be named to even qualify for the MFT program.
Vertichio once again stepped in saying it was an oversight of the council, but the council didn’t realize it until after the fact – but it was done at the first meeting after it was recognized. “Is it in the right sequence? No, not really,” Vertichio asked himself. “If anyone objects, it is the State of Illinois.”
Mayor Sidar said the roadway was done early because the blacktopping takes longer than oil and chipping. Vertichio agreed saying it was when the blacktop was available and in all honestly, he said everyone wanted the roadway done before Italian American Days.
“It’s what the citizens don’t know won’t hurt them,” Mishanec said. Vertichio explained Joe’s comment was completely inappropriate. “It’s not that the city did not know about it, it’s that they didn’t ask the right questions. If you had come in city hall and FOIA the information, you would have found out. If you’re trying to suggest devious action, you’re digging too far.”
Halloween Times Announced
The Benld City Council approved the Halloween Parade with a start time of 6:00pm on October 31. The starting point will be at the Benld Public Library. Trick-or-Treat hours will be on October 30th and 31st from 6:00-8:00pm.
Veteran’s Day City Hall Hours and Meeting Changes
Mayor Sidar explained many community citizens would like to see the city hall open for walk thrus on Veteran’s Day as many voiced they would like to see the memorials. Sidar explained if the board approves it, she would sit in City Hall to monitor traffic. The council approved city hall to be open on November 11, Veteran’s Day, from 1:00-4:00pm for viewing.
Joe Mishanec expressed his opinion about the new street in City Park. Mishanec said the money used for the half completed street could have been used for many other roads.
The council also voiced concerns to change the meeting time and date of the monthly board meetings. Many members want to move the start time from 7:00pm to 6:00pm and the change was approved 5-0. Members also want to move the date of the meetings so both Benld and Gillespie weren’t taking action on the same items on the same nights. “There are nights when we take action on things they discuss and vice versus,” Mayor Sidar explained. The council approved to move city council meetings to the third Monday of each month.
The council changed the November 11 meeting to Tuesday, November 12 due to Veteran’s Day. The meeting is set to start at the new meeting time of 6:00pm. Meetings won’t start taking place on the third Monday of each month until 2014.
Lawsuit Action
Jim Tilashalski questioned Vertichio is the lawsuit with the city library was underway. Vertichio said the lawsuit is filed, but a summons has not been returned yet from Quality Flooring. “He’s washing his hands of it and the manufacturer doesn’t want anything to do with it,” Vertichio said. “We will have to sue them.”
New Business
Mayor Sidar explained the citizens would like to see a “Children Playing” sign posted on West Oak Street. There are a number of children playing in the area and they would like notice posted, Sidar explained.
The council went on to approve a motion to send Gina Frensko to a local seminar concerning 2014 Payroll Laws. The cost to the city is $199 for the one-day seminar and it was approved 5-0.
Sidar went on to appoint Gina Frensko and Nadine Ferrero as the FOIA officers for the City of Benld. She then brought up the computer issue in the office. “It’s a pain trying to work in the office with only one computer,” she explained.
Gloria had a bid from Mark Carpani for around $1,500 to add another computer to the office with a server connecting both computers. “The server would allow us to run QuickBooks and our water billing program on both computers,” Sidar explained. She added it would take about 2 months for the computer to be installed.
The council finally brought up the carpet issue inside city hall. Frensko explained the new carpeting would replace the carpeting in the committee room and mayors office. The bid from Russell’s also included vinyl for the bathrooms, vinyl for the entryway, and installation. The motion was approved and accepted by the board 5-0 for $2,784.34 from Russell’s Flooring in Staunton.
New Business Requests
The council heard from two individuals who would like to have businesses inside city limits. Brian Houston submitted a business approval for a gun shop, which will also have ammunition available. The shop will be ran out of his basement and will be by appointment only. The council approved his request 3-2 at 110 S. 5th Street in Benld.
Tom Pollard, who has owned two businesses in the building on 202 E. Central already, submitted the second business approval. Pollard calls his business Party Central. The business will be a social hub, he said, with a café, seating, and small stage for upcoming musicians and entertainers. “There are so many talented people in the area that you never even hear about,” Pollard said. “I want to create a place where families can come and listen to a musician.” The council hesitated because Pollard said his only income will be from concessions, but they approved the request 5-0.
Old Business
The council approved the police car grant to further the process. Mayor Sidar along with the police chairman will begin to look for a vehicle. Under the police discussion, Sidar questioned how the dispatching services were going with Gillespie and Brian Frensko responded “so far, so good.”
Mayor Sidar then explained the city will have to purchase a fireproof safe to house the ordinance book and resolution book along with other various city documents. “We don’t have one currently and we will need one very soon,” Sidar explained.
Jim Kelly reported the water line repair in Gillespie is finally complete. Kelly said the line is fixed, capped, and the meter is back in Benld. It is Gillespie’s problem if there are any problems or leaks in the future he reported.
Committee Reports
Mayor Sidar reported city property for Theresa Tucker who was absent from the meeting Monday evening. Sidar said Tucker wants to update the rental agreements, as “they are a little steep.” “She wants to look at the city hall for bridal showers and birthday parties,” Sidar explained.
Alderman Peyton Bernot reported the city is missing out on about $20,000 each year as the city is only collecting a 5% Telecommunications tax while the maximum that can be collected in 6%. “We can pass the increase next month or wait until our ordinance book is completely codified, but that won’t be until next January or February,” Bernot explained.
Jim Kelly explained the maintenance roadwork is done for this year. Maintenance workers are continuing to work on installation of water meters and they will begin to work on ditch work after the water meters. Kelly also explained there is about 30 street signs are not installed yet just because those have to be Julie’d in.
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, November 12 at 6:00pm
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Community News
UMWA President Cecil Roberts to Speak at Spirit of Mother Jones Festival in Cork, Ireland
The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival, an annual celebration honoring the legendary labor organizer Mother Jones, will host a historic event this year as UMWA President Cecil Roberts becomes the first American labor leader to address the festival. The event will take place on July 25 at 4 PM local time, with Roberts speaking via live internet broadcast from inside the Firkin Crane in the historic Shandon District of Cork.
Founded in 2011, the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival has traditionally invited European labor and community leaders to share stories of activism and advocacy. This year, however, the festival committee proudly extends an invitation to President Roberts, recognizing his leadership in the labor movement and his personal ties to Mother Jones’ legacy.
Ger O’Mahony, speaking on behalf of the festival committee, expressed his enthusiasm: “The United Mine Workers of America gave Mother Jones her role as a union organizer in the late 1890s, empowering her to organize miners across the United States. Today, President Cecil Roberts continues this proud tradition. It is an honor to welcome him to the festival.”
Adding a personal touch, O’Mahony also highlighted Roberts’ family history: “President Roberts’ great-grandmother, Mother Blizzard, was a trusted friend of Mother Jones during strikes in West Virginia aimed at securing union recognition and fair wages for miners. This connection offers a living link to Mother Jones herself and her enduring fight for workers’ rights.”
Cork’s Lord Mayor, Cllr. Fergus Dennehy, described the festival as a “festival of courage,” emphasizing its significance beyond commemoration. “We are not just celebrating history,” he said. “We aim to rekindle the flame of activism that Mother Jones ignited over a century ago — a fire that still burns in every worker fighting for fair wages and in every child dreaming of a future free from exploitation.”
The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival runs from July 24 to 26, bringing together activists, union members, and community advocates from around the world to honor the enduring spirit of social justice.
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A public comment from the CEO of the Gillespie-Benld Area Ambulance Service led to a larger discussion during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Macoupin County Board about delays in collecting property taxes and paying disbursements to local taxing bodies. Ultimately, the board referred the issue to committee after spending several minutes discussing the matter.
Josh Ross, CEO of the Gillespie-Benld Area Ambulance Service, told the board his agency and other local taxing bodies have suffered as a result of delays in receiving their share of property tax revenue.
“There has developed, over a couple of years, a troubling pattern of poor communication, a lack of transparency, and at the very least an outward appearance of inefficiency and an apparent lack of urgency when it comes to the collection and distribution of property taxes,” Ross said, reading from a prepared statement.
He said he reached out the the County Treasurer’s Office and several county board members about the issue but received no satisfactory explanation for the delays.
Ross said state statute requires the county to make disbursements to local taxing bodies within 30 days of the due date. For 2023 taxes payable in 2024, the ambulance service received its first distribution on Aug.19, 2024. A second payment due on Sept. 27, 2024, did not arrive until Feb. 27, 2025. A final distribution for interest arrived on June 17, 2025—303 days after the first disbursement and after the state of the agency’s fiscal year.
Ross said he’s been told to expect similar delays this year in regard to 2024 taxes payable in 2025. Macoupin County tax bills have not gone out this year while Sangamon County sent its bills in April with the initial due date set for June 6. Macoupin County residents are expected to receive tax bills in August, with a first installment due date of Sept. 19 and the second installment due on Oct. 31—just 39 days before the county is required to set levies for the 2025 tax year.
Ross said the delays negatively impact local taxing bodies, including fire protection districts and other agencies that provide critical services. Moreover, since COVID recovery funds are no longer available to cushion the impact, some agencies are forced to dip into interest-bearing reserves to meet their obligations.
“The unpredictability and inconsistency we have been experiencing for these last several years have made budgeting for six months, let alone a full fiscal year, nearly impossible,” Ross said.
Acknowledging that tax collection and distribution are the responsibility of independent county officers, he asked that the board exercise oversight to get to the root of the problems and offer a solution.
“Is what he’s saying true?” Board Member Holly Klausing asked. “Are we out of compliance?”
County Treasurer Amber McGartland told the board delays in disbursing 2023 tax funds in 2024 resulted from faulty software that forced her office to hand process distribution of tax funds. She said the software has since been replaced, which should result in more timely processing. She noted, however, that she can only send out tax bills after the County Clerk provides her with the amount of tax due for each taxable parcel. The clerk’s office is responsible for finalizing the levy for each taxing body and the county, and applying that levy to the current equalized assessed valuation for each and every parcel in the county. She said tax bills are expected to go out “no later than August. 19,” with a first installment due on Sept. 19. Final disbursement to local taxing bodies will occur after the county tax sale, which is set for Jan. 12, 2026.
The County Clerk said his office can be hamstrung by delayed reporting from the Supervisor of Assessments to confirm the equalized assessed valuation for each taxable property.
John Bresnan, Supervisor of Assessments, said he can only submit his report to the County Clerk after local assessors provide him with updated assessments.
“The last couple of years there have been difficulties with the tax system,” Bresnan said. “We expect things to be a lot better going forward but it take time.”
Further exacerbating the issue is a dearth of county assessors. Bresnan said it’s difficult to find people willing to do local assessments. As a result some assessor positions in the county are vacant. “When you have two assessors doing 20 townships, that’s not a good situation,” he said. Filling assessor spots is a statewide problem, he said. “In my opinion, it’s at a crisis level now.”
“Are we expecting 2026 to be back to being in line with other counties?” Klausing asked.
“We expect things to go forward better now that we’ve converted to a new system,” Bresnan said, reiterating that much depends on how quickly a handful of assessor can complete their assessments.
In answer to another question, County Clerk Pete Duncan said accountants hired by the county to audit county accounts are four years behind on auditing the county’s tax collection and distribution.
“Someday, I’m going to come in with a very larger bill (for four years of audits) that we have to pay,” he said.
Board Chair Larry Schmidt cut the conversation off, adding that the issue should be further investigated at the committee level.
BUDGETARY BELT TIGHTENING
Duncan presented an extremely tentative budget, noting that it is subject to change as the board continues to wrestle with balancing expenditures with anticipated revenues. Currently projected revenue is $10,335,742, which is up $251,000 from last fiscal year. If the board approved all department requests as submitted, the budget would be $204,746 in the red.
The tentative budget anticipates $10,318,790 in expenditures, leaving a tight surplus of $16,952. The expenditure projection was reached by basically eliminating department requests that were not related to salary increases and reducing the Capital Outlay budget from $250,000 to $175,000.
“I put this proposal together to show you that after adding just the salary requested, there is basically no room for additional funding for the other requests, Duncan said. He said he has already asked the county’s newly hired Grant Manager to look into potential grants to fund some of those non-salary department requests.
Duncan also told the board that final budget numbers are due to him by Aug. 5 in order for him to update the budget and have it ready for approval at the board’s Aug. 12 meeting.
“If we don’t meet that timeline, some people aren’t going to get paid,” he said.
Duncan added that the board might be able to accommodate requests from the Sheriff’s Department by “sweeping” some unspent line items and further reducing Capital Outlay expenditures allow for the purchase of two vehicles for the Sheriff’s Department and begin setting aside money for a $500,000 upgrade to the jail’s door system. Reducing the Capital Outlay Budget, Duncan warned, could leave the county unable to pay for unexpected expenditures related to county buildings.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
The board took several actions involving the County Highway Department, including approval of a resolution giving power to act on bids for improvements to Staunton-Bunker Hill Road. County Engineer Tom Reinhart said having the power to act would allow work to start as soon as possible after the bid letting on Wednesday.
The board unanimously approved a three-year contract with non-union workers employed by the Highway Department calling for an 8.5 percent increase in the first year, and increases of four percent in the second and third years. Reinhart said the contract will bring non-union salaries in line with union wages.
Three 50/50 petitions were approved obligating the county to subsidize half of the cost of culvert replacements in Barr, Bird and South Palmyra townships. The county will pay half of the $6,000 cost of replacing a culvert in Barr Township, half of the $7,000 cost to replace a culvert in Bird Township, and half of the $7,500 cost of replacing a culvert in South Palmyra Township.
GRANT MANAGER
The board was briefly introduced to newly hired Grant Manager Joseph Amazuwa Chirwa. Chirwa said he has many years of experience with writing grants. “It’s what I do,” he said.
He said he will need the support and involvement of the board and county office holders to clarify the specific need for various grants to improve the chances of securing a grant award.
“He started work on day one,” said Klausing, Economic Development chair. “I’m really excited to see what he can do for the county.”
In a related matter, the board approved a resolution to increase the Community Development budget by $15,000 to defray a portion of Chirwa’s salary.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the board:
- Approved bidding specifications to seek a new contract to provide health insurance for county employees.
- Authorized the State’s Attorney’s office to participate in a 40-county consortium to hire additional special attorneys to defend against lawsuits resulting from a 2023 Supreme Court decision regarding the sale of delinquent properties.
- Approved increasing in the County Sheriff’s salary to $176,460.50 and the Public Defender’s salary to $197,393. Duncan said approval was necessary for the county to be eligible for partial state reimbursement for the Sheriff and Public Defender’s Salaries.
- Approved a plan recommended by the county’s auditors to all payments and disbursements for various county offices and agencies through the county’s centralized computer accounting system, which will enable the County Treasurer to reconcile all county accounts in lieu of having those accounts managed by individual offices.
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The Public Access of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office has determined the Macoupin County Board technically violated the state’s Open Meetings Act on March 26 when Board Chair Larry Schmidt used a text message to solicit the opinions from 15 of the board’s 18 members about whether or not he should step down from the chairmanship.
In a letter dated July 2 to the County Board and Chelsa Pruden, Staunton, who filed the initial OMA complaint, Matthew Goodman of the Public Access Bureau confirmed the board violated the OMA but does not assess any penalty or punitive action. The Attorney General’s determination, however, does require the board to publicly disclose a verbatim copy of the text messages exchanged by some of the board members and Schmidt on March 26.
Those texts were made public during a meeting of the Macoupin County Board this week.
At issue was whether or not the text messaging represented “contemporaneous interactive communication” among a majority of a quorum.
While court cases nor legislation has legally defined what constitutes “contemporaneous” communication, Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison told the board his assessment was that the Public Assess Bureau used one hour as a standard for defining “contemporaneous.”
“If the messages had been spread over two hours or over several days, it probably would not have been a violation,” Garrison said.
In his letter to the board, Goodman states that Schmidt sent his original text at 5:03 p.m. Only seven of the 15 members Schmidt contacted responded, with replies coming between 5:05 and 5:58 p.m.
During the board’s Tuesday night meeting, the text of the conversation between Schmidt and board members was made public as follows:
Larry Schmidt (5:03 PM): As most of you know I caused quite the controversy with a personal statement I made on facebook. I was referring to Anheiser Busch not funding the Gay Pride Parade this year in which I was in agreement. I chose poorly on my words and it sounded worse than intended. They tied it in with me being county board chairman. I am truly sorry and regretful this happened. I am willing to suffer the consequences. Here are the options…
Let it ride and see what happens
Resign as chairman and stay as district 5 as a member
Resign from the board all together.
I am so sorry for getting you into this mess. Let me know your thoughts. I am not homophobic in anyway and I do not let personal beliefs interfere with my official duties on any job I have had. Let me know your thoughts.
Kristi Dunnagan (5:05 p.m.): Agree!
James lbberson (5:07 p.m.): Let it ride, Larry.
Aaron Stayton (5:07 p.m.): Let it ride. It will settle down.
Bernard Kiel (5:12 p.m.): Let ride in my eyes you’re a very good chairman.
Leann Barr (5:14 p.m.): I do not know the comment, but sounds like it was taken out of context and you reiterated you do not let personal beliefs interfere with official duties. You have your answer. Do not resign and let it ride.
John Trevino (5:19 p.m.): Same Larry, let it ride you have my support.
Robert Wiggins (5:55 p.m.): Hey we made it thru the “cat season” with just a scratch. We’ll get thru this. People need to lighten up. You’re doing great. (Dunnagan responded to this message with “Haha.”)
Todd Armour (5:58 p.m.): A little grace goes a long way. Larry gave me grace, I’m giving it back!
The controversy stemmed from a comment posted on the KMOV Facebook page in regard to Anneheuser Busch withdrawing its support of the St. Louis Pride Parade. “You can be queer, but you don’t need to march in the streets to show off your disability,” Schmidt posted. LGBTQ+ advocates claimed the comment was part of a pattern of anti-gay/trans rhetoric previously posted by Schmidt. During the April meeting, Schmidt apologized for the comment and said he had deleted the post.
Upward of 100 protestors appeared before the April meeting. Those protests have continued every Tuesday since that time, though the focus has shifted to anti-MAGA sentiments.
During the April meeting, John Blank and Holly Klausing both condemned Schmidt’s remarks. Notably, Ryan Kilduff noted he was not contacted by Schmidt and alleged the text messaging did, indeed, constitute an illegal meeting of a quorum.
Pruden filed her complaint shortly after the April meeting. The board retained attorney Peter C. Drummond to respond to the complaint to avoid potential conflicts of interest with the Macoupin County State’s Attorney’s office. Drummond argued that the text messaging did not constitute a “meeting,” and since no legislative action was taken, there was no remedy if the Attorney General found a violation.
In an unusual move, Schmidt also filed a response to the complaint even though the complaint cited the board, not Schmidt individually.
