Community News
Tieman explains new programs to Rotary
District looking at virtual learning
During a regular Area Rotary luncheon, Assistant Superintendent Mr. Joe Tieman was the invited guest. Tieman is currently serving as his first year as Assistant Superintendent, but has been employed by the district for over a decade.
Speaking over a sparse crowd, Tieman highlighted new things going on in CUSD #7. Recently, the district updated their technology in a few areas with the help of generous donations from the Partnership of Education of Excellence.
“Last year, the Tebbe family donated a mobile iPad lab through the Partnership,” Tieman explained, “When you think of getting kids 25 at a time on computers for a district our size is often difficult, but that lab is dedicated fourth through sixth grade.” Tieman went on to say that it is a mobile lab and is able to be moved anywhere that it is needed.
CUSD #7 has had a history of hard wired labs that are limited to one location. According to Tieman, these labs limit the number of students who can use those labs.
In lieu of granting individual classrooms mini grants, the Partnership approached the district for any ideas that are in need of help. The district explained that the technology would be in desire for any help. The Partnership then donated $25 thousand to the district.
“We spend $15 thousand on a mobile laptop lab that is being put together right now,” Tieman explained, “We will also spend $5-10 thousand on desktop computers.” The district is in hopes of adding 20-25 computers in the library that would be hardwired. The extra computers in the library would add another lab to the district.
“Sometimes people ask how many labs we have,” Tieman noted, “I tell them we have three labs, but two of those are teaching labs. So, 90% of the day they are occupied by a class that is learning.” The district would like to see open labs, so students can make full use of the computers by studying or working on research papers.
At the last board meeting, the board approved putting out bids to rewire the middle school and high school buildings entirely. The rewiring may be awarded in the April board meeting. “That is huge for us, because coming down the line we do have a technology plan and ordering more and more technology.” By the next school year, the district should have the infrastructure that will be able to handle the technology improvements.
According to Tieman, someday the district would like to have a 1 to 1 program which puts a computer in each student’s hands. “We have to be very careful doing that, because we will have to sustain that,” Tieman explained. “Some districts have ran in to trouble with the initial purchase years down the line.” Usually that program is a ten year program, Tieman noted.
The other thing Tieman touched on is academic programs. The major change in the high school is 8th period. The extra period was created by shaving a few minutes off each period throughout the day and adding that at the end of the day to create one 30 minute period called 8th period or 8th hour.
“It is an opportunity for students to look at their weaknesses or turning in assignments,” Tieman explained, “They can also study and do group work or access teachers for extra work and to make up tests.” The program is also an incentive based program which allows seniors, juniors, and second semester sophomores to opt out of the period if the maintain at least a ‘B’ average.
If the student’s grade point average stoops below the ‘B’ average, they are admitted back into the period. Grades are checked eight times throughout the school year. “We have a lot of things to work out in that area and we will continue to tweak that. It seems to be working out great for most kids.”
On the middle school level, the district is looking into how to use the time in the day at the utmost efficiency. The one common period that is not the most efficient 50 minutes is study hall, according to Tieman. “Next year, we will call study hall study skills. Part of the period will be traditional study hall while the other half will be reading instruction. All teachers will be involved providing reading instructions to kids.”
One other program is district is looking at for the elementary level is Leaders for Readers. The school moves high school students out of their study hall to the elementary building to read to the children. “That has been incredibly success for us, the kids love it.” According to Tieman, it takes leadership from the high school students and it is not always the star-athlete or honor roll student, but it gives the student to be a leader in a different aspect.
Tieman went on to explain that the high school is part of a committee of 4 schools, Mt. Olive, Bunker Hill, and Staunton, that is eyeing sharing resources which could be staff. “If we have a higher level math or science course and the other district wants to offer that to their students, we will be able to via virtual learning.” A virtual learning classroom will have a camera set-up in one classroom and will beam the information to a classroom in another district. The receiving district will still have a supervisor in the classroom.
“We have courses that are dual credit with Lewis and Clark Community College, so kids can gain high school credit while gaining college credit.” Each district has different classes that are creditable, so hopefully each school can offer more college credit classes. The process began last Wednesday when all school officials sat down for their first meeting.
“We discussed if we could share health insurance, copy paper, or even equipment. We already are in a co-op with fuel, bread, milk and some food products.” According to Tieman, this is very ground level as the process has just started because it can involve teachers with four different labor contracts and four different healthcare contracts.
“I want everyone to know that a big part of my job is looking toward the future and looking at what are other districts doing or other universities doing and how can we become more productive,” Tieman closed. “Or how can we get the most for our dollar and the most out of our day, because we owe that to taxpayers. We only have students for about six to seven hours a day after you factor out lunch.”
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The Benld Public Library will host two Illinois state service events, providing convenient access to essential resources for area residents.
On Tuesday, May 5, the Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias Mobile Driver Services Unit will be on-site at the library. Services available will include written and road tests, driver’s license renewals, issuance and renewal of state identification cards, and the purchase of license plate stickers. No reservations are required. Please note that payment will be accepted by credit card or check only; cash will not be accepted.
Additionally, on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., staff from Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs’ Office will be available to assist residents through the I-Cash program. This service helps individuals locate and claim unclaimed property or missing money.
Both events will take place at the Benld Public Library, located at 308 East Central Avenue. The facility is accessible from both the parking lot and street parking.
For more information, please contact the Benld Public Library at 217-835-4045. Reservations are not required for either event.
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LITCHFIELD, Ill. — The HSHS St. Francis Hospital Auxiliary will sponsor a drive-thru dinner on Monday, May 11 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. to support the hospital’s Family Maternity Center.
The meal will feature a grilled pork chop, loaded mashed potatoes, glazed carrots and a roll prepared by Nelson’s Catering of Springfield plus a dessert provided by the Auxiliary. Cost per meal is $15.
Dinners must be ordered by noon on Monday, May 4. Orders can be placed online at stfrancis-litchfield.org/dinners, or at the hospital gift shop. The drive-thru dinner pickup will take place in front of the main hospital entrance.
“We are excited to be continuing this series of drive-thru dinners that provide a convenient opportunity to take home a delicious meal while supporting our hospital’s Family Maternity Center and its patients,” shared Gwen Barcum, St. Francis Hospital’s Auxiliary President.
Additional drive-thru dinners with various menus will take place on June 8, July 13, Aug. 10, Sept. 14 and Oct. 12.
For more information, visit stfrancis-litchfield.org/events or call Gwen Barcum at 217-324-8678.
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An engineer from Juneau Associates, Inc. Edwardsville, outlined sweeping improvements to the city’s water and sewer systems that the city may opt to pursue in the future.
“Buckle up,” Mayor Landon Pettit told members of the city council before Anthony “Tony” Vercellino outlined immediate needs and potential future needs during the council’s regular monthly meeting Monday night, April 13.
Vercellino identified repairs and renovations to two sewer system lift stations as immediate needs that need to be addressed.
Though engineers did not yet have cost estimates, Vercellino said both pumps in the systems interceptor lift station are failing. Replacing the pumps with either grinder units or trash pumps is necessary to keep the lift station in operation. During previous meetings of the council, Sewer Department Manager Ethan Martin has said he has been having to replace pumps periodically to keep the lift station operable. One of the main culprits, both Martin and Vercellino said, are purportedly “flushable” baby wipes.
“They may say they’re flushable but they’re not,” Mayor Pettit said.
A main flow lift station is in need of a new electronic control panel to enable city employees to monitor the status of its operation off site.
In addition to the lift station work, Vercellino said Pettit asked him to draw up a proposal to create a designated site for waste haulers who add sewage to the city’s system for processing. Vercellino said the dedicated site would alleviate situations where waste haulers “pop a manhole cover” to unload waste.
Vercellino said he is working on a proposal for all three projects which presumably will include engineers’ cost estimates for council action at a later date.
For the longer term, Vercellino outlined a number of projects that would run into millions of dollars over a period of several years. He recommended seeking a low interest loan through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Agency to improve the city’s water and sewer systems.
“My recommendation is to get as much money as you are comfortable with,” Vercellino said, and pay it back over 30 years at an interest rate of one to two percent. Under the right circumstances, according to Pettit, the city may be eligible for forgiveness on as much as 30 to 60 percent of the principal
Vercellino said the long-term projects are not critical but would avoid problems in the future. “These are not critical projects,” he said. “You’re not being fined right now.”
One area in need of attention is the chemical storage area at the water treatment plant, which currently does not meet EPA standards. There also is a need to complete and pressure test a new supply line from between the lake and the treatment plant to deliver raw water. Vercellino said Juneau engineers also are looking at the possibility of raising the lake level in lieu of dredging to increase water storage capacity. Raising the water level one foot, he said, would result in an additional 1.3 million gallons and only minimally affect the shoreline profile.
According to Vercellino, the city should consider a hydraulic study to provide the city with “a computer model of the distribution system” in the city and satellite communities that get water from Gillespie. The study also would provide engineers with an understanding of where additional fire hydrants may be needed to not only improve water quality but also improve fire protection.
Vercellino also recommended getting flow testing done on existing hydrants in conjunction with the Community Unit 7 Fire Protection District’s annual hydrant flushing. Flow testing hasn’t been done since sometime in the 1990s and getting it done now should result in lower home insurance rates for homeowners.
“It’s not cheap to get flow testing done,” Vercellino said. “The fact the Fire Department is willing to do this with us is a major advantage.”
“One of the biggest problems we have is with maps and locating water and sewer lines,” Pettit said, adding that the city is using maps from the 1930s to find underground water and sewer lines. On his recommendation, the council voted unanimously to purchase a subsurface locator from Subsurface Solutions, Inc.,at a cost of $15,092.20, with the cost split evenly between the Water and Sewer funds.
Later in the meeting, Martin expounded on issues with the city’s two sewer system lift stations. In January, he said, the city installed a new $20,000 pump in the interceptor lift station only to have it burn out eight days later. The culprit, again, was “flushable” baby wipes clogging the trash system.
“We can’t continue to drop 20 grand every couple of months,” he said. “I can tell you, it’s not going to get any better.”
Ald. Dona Rauzi suggested asking resident to refrain from flushing baby wipes.
“It’s a problem everywhere, not just here,” said Ald. J.Q. Hatleman. “The problem is we have the wrong pump in that station.” He suggested seeking a $10 million loan for 10 years to address the issues at both lift stations.
Martin said IEPA is recommending the city repair aerators at the sewage lagoon and remove vegetation from rip-rap around the lagoon, but neither recommendation is a priority.
“These are recommendations,” Martin said. “These are things they want to see done but they’re not critical. We are not of noncompliance.”
BANK LOAN
On a motion by Ald. Wendy Rolando, seconded by Ald. Janet Odell-Mueller, the council approved a plan to open a line of credit with United Community Bank and secure it with a $125,000 certificate of deposit. Mayor Pettit said the city is renewing an existing $100,000 certificate of deposit and buying a new $125,000 certificate of deposit with money from the Water Department Fund.
The credit line will preclude the necessity for inter-fund loans that have to be paid back before the end of the fiscal year.
“This gets us out of the cycle we’ve been in the last few years,” Pettit said. “Essentially, we are borrowing our own money.” He said the interest rate on the loan is essentially the same what the city earns on the certificate of deposit.
LIBRARY ASSIST
Without taking formal action, the council generally agreed to loan the Public Library up to $10,000 if needed. Librarian Steve Joyce told the council the library may come up short on a roofing project if Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) grant money is not released in time.
Joyce said the library has been paying for improvements from the renovation fund but could run out of money while waiting for CEJA money to be released. The library was set to receive about $60,000 in CEJA dollars. It has already spent about $48,000 for repairs, an entry door, and materials for the roofing project.
“The roof needs to be fixed immediately,” Joyce said, adding that the library may not be able to come up with the balance without the city’s help. He asked the city to front the library $10,000 with the expectation the library would reimburse the city when CEJA funds are released.
Delays in releasing CEJA has been an increasingly common complaint from local governments who have committed to spending funds due to them.
“My understanding is that they are going through everything line by line,” Pettit said, before disbursing funds.
In a related CEJA matter, the council approved using CEJA funds to pay a $10,000 third installment for a Business Boot Camp that took place last year.
CIVIC CENTER RATES
The council unanimously approved a resolution implementing a rental fee structure for non-profit groups renting the Civic Center. Under the new rates, non-profit groups are exempted from paying a damage deposit fee.
STREETSCAPE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE
On a motion by Ald. Rolando, the council set a limit of $10,000 to buy flowers and plants for green areas included in the extensive downtown Streetscape development. Rolando said she had consulted with La Bella Fiori to choose plants for the project, while Grow Gillespie members have volunteered to do weeding, watering and maintenance.
While included in the project scope, the landscaping aspect was not part of the contractor’s bid.
“If we’re going to do this, I really think we should do something with our Welcome to Gillespie signs,” Ald. Janet Odell-Mueller commented.
PAY ESTIMATE
On a motion by Ald. Rauzi, seconded by Mueller, the council unanimously approved payment of Pay Estimate No. 8 to Stutz Excavating, Alton, for work completed on the downtown Streetscape project.
“We’re getting close to the end,” Pettit noted. Work on the $4 million improvement project began earlier this year.
STREET ISSUE
A measure to vacate a portion of Virginia Street that is platted but has never developed, was tabled until May while City Attorney Rick Verticchio determines whether or not there is an easement that would preclude the action. Anita McLain, who asked for the measure, owns lots on Clinton Street on both sides of the undeveloped portion of Virginia Street.
“This is a road that doesn’t exist,” said Mayor Pettit. “The road behind it is in East Gillespie.”
Assuming there is no easement, “I don’t see any issue with this,” said Pettit. “It was previously used as a driveway.”
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
City aldermen approved a memorandum of understanding with the Village of Mt. Clare to link Mt. Clare’s storm siren system with Gillespie’s. The city has similar agreements with Benld and Wilsonville. City Attorney Verticchio said the agreement exempts the city from liability in the event the link does not work.
MOWER PURCHASE
The council gave the committee power to act on the purchase of two Cub Cadet self-propelled lawn mowers at a cost of about $680 each.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the council:
• Approved a business license for the Snack Shack, owned by Caysea Gray, at 201 W. Pine St.
• Agreed to pay $1,320.78 in delinquent property tax on 307 East Elm St. The property was acquired by the city through a nuisance property action. Now that it is owned by the city, the property will be tax exempt going forward.
• Approved a liquor license for the Coal Country Kitchen, formerly the Barracks, at 206 W. Spruce St.
• Approved a 60-day liquor license for Jumping’ Jimmy’s, 506 E. Elm St., pending the hiring of a new general manager.
