Community News
Vertichio tells Newingham the water line is a big problem: Benld City Council
Shari Albrecht explains the benefits of joining MEDP.
In a regular scheduled council meeting on December 12, Mickey Robinson questioned city attorney Rick Vertichio about a problem “that has risen in the past year and has been pending for a long time.” There is a water line that was put in and tapped onto off Benld’s main line that runs down Macoupin and Clark Street in Gillespie. “Someone that lives in the outside of Gillespie city limits is supposedly tapping onto our line,” Alderman Robinson went on to say, “He was supposedly told by the City of Benld that he has permission and I never gave him permission under my time as water commission. Also, no one knows who gave him permission to him to dig.”
The problem Robinson is referring to is Ned Newingham tapping onto Benld’s main water line that runs down Macoupin Street in Gillespie and then to Benld. Newingham lives outside of Gillespie’s city limits, but does not live in Benld’s municipality either. “My question is if he has tapped on it and he builds more buildings, what happens if there is a water break and who is responsible for the water loss?” Mickey questioned.
According to Rick Vertichio, no one is allowed to tap onto Benld’s line without permission but Mayor Jeff Hendricks assured everyone that Newingham did have permission. “I have been in contact with Mr. Newingham and the Gillespie mayor,” Mayor Hendricks opened, “We approved that tap, sold him that tap and he is legally tapped for that matter.” Hendricks went on to state that problems lie on how the water lines were ran by Newingham through the City of Gillespie.
Vertichio went on to say that the problem has nothing to do with the City of Benld yet because Benld can legally sell Newingham water even if he lives outside of Benld city limits under the permission of the City of Gillespie. “As long as that line is not serving residents inside of Gillespie’s corporate limits,” Vertichio stated, “I see no problems.” If there is any leaks or problems with the 930 feet of water line Newingham installed, Newingham has to fix the problems himself.
The tap on point where Newingham tapped on at is at the driveway of Ameren substation and is beyond Benld’s main meter. The only problem with the installed water line is there is no water meter where Newingham tapped on at and according to previous meeting minutes, he was told to have a shut off valve and a meter at the tap on point. There is a shut off valve installed, but there is no meter until the very end of the installed line.
“I realize what you are saying, “Newingham spoke up, “But when I talked to people here, they told me a meter by the tap was not needed.” Vertichio advised Newingham that 930 feet of unmetered water line is a huge problem and the meter needs to be moved up to tap on point.
Jesse Maynard from HMG Engineers provided some insight on when the project came through. “It was decided that the 4 inch tap was not included in the permit either. So as of now, there is 930 feet of 4″ water line that is obviously not permitted,” Maynard explained. “So not only does he need a 4″ meter tap on his tap-on point, he needs a permit for 930 feet of water line.” Maynard went on to say he is going to check from the EPA, but he is pretty sure Newingham would need a permit for a 4″ service tap from the EPA.
Jesse Maynard from HMG Engineers explains that Newingham's water line is not even permitted.
“I wish all of this would have been done sooner because it is a lot harder to put a meter in now,” Newingham advised, “But I will offer the City of Benld 750 feet of my water line, I got $10,000 in it.” Mayor Hendricks explained that it is up for discussion later, but that line would have to go through numerous EPA inspections. “There has not been a drop of water that has gone through that line,” Hendricks closed, “It has not been charged.”
Maynard went on to say that the Eiler Avenue project is complete and the amount due to Korte Luitjohan is $26,092. Maynard recommended passing the payment pending record drawings. The payment was passed 6-0 with all funds coming from a grant.
Tilashakski then went on to question city attorney Rick Vertichio if the property on Kentucky and Park Avenue was all tied up or is it available for the city. “There is nothing that is all tied up, the only thing there is to do now is sell it,” Vertichio informed, “You have the complete go-ahead. If you can get a buyer, then let me know and I can draw up a contract.”
Next, Tilashakski questioned if there was any way the library could get any money back since they have put over $70,000 into it for repairs. “As I understand since Helitech got in there, it is a not a mine situation,” Tilashakski noted. Vertichio explained that the library was not constructed correctly and yes, there is a statute of repose but on the downside it is only 10 years and the library is past that. All claims against the construction of a building is 4 years from when the damage is discovered, but no more than 10 years from when the discovery occurs.
After voting 6-0 to renew the Macoupin County Economic Development membership, the council heard from Shari Albrecht. The rate is based on population and is $1 per person according to the 2010 census information. “I am sure you all are aware that MEDP was awarded $75,000 from the State of Illinois to award small businesses with energy efficient grants,” Albrecht opened. MEDP recruited 7 new businesses this year to Macoupin County as well as hosted 4 business education workshops. MEDP also maintains a business insight database which is a national listing of Macoupin County proprieties available for purchase or lease.
Shari went on to explain that Ken Snider purchased a building in downtown Benld to open a winery and applied for a grant to upgrade the furnace and air conditioning. Since Benld is a member of MEDP, the grant was available and awarded to Ken for the amount of $5,000.
“I would like to thank MEDP and Shari Albrecht for the tremendous amount of help for my project,” Ken stated, “I thank everyone for their support.” The building Snider bought is the previous Benld Packing Company that rests on 5th and Central.
Lynn Fraelle thanked the council for their help in the Benld Christmas dinner and referred to the event “a huge success.” Fraelle went on to say that Build Benld had a sign made for the Veteran’s Memorial. The sign will be erected in the park and the frame will be made by Chuck Voyles.
After hearing from the pubic, Mickey Robinson gave his report on city properties. First and foremost, the civic center has been upgraded after the south wall was painted. The only thing left is to paint the bathrooms. Secondly, Robinson stated there is a 60-80 foot tree that is about 70% dead on the east side and about 95% dead on the west side at 604 North 6th Street. All other committee reports paid and approved all bills.
Mayor Jeff Hendricks reads the new insurance proposals.
Under new business, the tax levy ordinance was approved for the amount of $1,905,092.00. Last year the levy was increased 1.5%, but this year it remained the same and is identical to last year’s. Recently, the mayor met with the insurance group and received the new proposal based on the amount of employees and current employees the city has.
The new proposal increased the deductible from $500 to $1,000 and increased the out of pocket from $2,000 to $2,500 and the city will save an overall 5% from last years premium by doing so. The city will take the 5% savings and will set up and insurance fund so when the employees reach the out of pocket expense, the city will cover $500 so that will leave the employees where they are at benefit wise. The new insurance proposal was passed 6-0.
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Dana Carr Skinner, 52, of Gillespie has announced her candidacy for Macoupin County Circuit Clerk. She will be on the November 5, 2024, General Election ballot.
Dana, a lifelong Macoupin County resident was born and raised in Wilsonville by her
parents, Barb and Van Baker. She graduated Gillespie High School in 1990 and attended SIUE
before starting her family. She has raised eight children all of whom graduated college or attended trade school. Dana is married to Todd Skinner.
Dana is currently a public servant, serving the people of Illinois as a paralegal. She has
over 25 years legal experience with 15 of those years being directly in the courtroom. She has
worked in law firms that practiced in all areas of the law from probate, family, civil, traffic,
criminal and real estate. After working several years in the legal field, Dana went back to college and obtained a paralegal degree.
Dana is running for Circuit Clerk because, “It is time for me give back to my community
and the residents of Macoupin County. Lee Byots Ross has done an amazing job as our current Circuit Clerk and I want to continue the work that she has accomplished. My adult life has been focused on my family and my children, and they are now grown. My focus now, would be to demonstrate to the residents of Macoupin County that I can and will do an excellent job as
Circuit Clerk,” Dana said.
The Circuit Clerk is responsible for establishing, maintaining and keeping all records of
the court, as well as several administrative, financial and public services.
“There are employees in the office now that have worked there a number of years, and I will be committed to them and their opinions, as well as the people the Macoupin County. I will learn from the current employees if I am elected in November and I believe that I have the experience, the knowledge and the work ethic that would make me an asset to the Circuit Clerks Office’s team,” Dana said.
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United Mineworkers of America President Cecil Roberts will commemorate the 125th anniversary of Union Miners’ Cemetery in Mt. Olive on October 13. Ceremonies begin at noon with a short historical parade, Roberts, IL AFL-CIO President Tim Drea, and frequent labor music.
Afterward, a meal will be provided as the labor music continues. The event is free and open to the public. A portable chair is recommended.
The cemetery is located on near 5536 Mt. Olive Road in Mt. Olive and can be found by following North Lake Street.
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Background of Union Miners Cemetery by the Mother Jones Museum:
The Union Miners Cemetery is in Mt. Olive, a small mining-town that was once the center of a rebellious group of miners who helped to secure Illinois as the solid rock for the United Mine Workers Union. Today thousands of visitors come each year to pay their respects to the memory to Mother Jones and the spirit that guided her and the founders of the labor movement in the United States. They reflect about the connections between the past and the present.
The cemetery was established in 1899, when commemorations of the miners killed in the 1898 “Virden riot” became controversial in the Mt. Olive cemetery where they were originally buried.
The bodies of the Virden “martyrs” were re-interred in a cemetery established as the Union Miners Cemetery by the Mt. Olive United Mine Workers local. Commemorations of these events in the following years contributed to a generation of activism in the Illinois coal fields.
They did this by claiming the kind of memorial space that was denied in other places, such as Haymarket, where police often disrupted commemorations. This built a sense of connection between past and present in the area, and made it clear that ordinary workers had changed the course of history. The role of the ordinary worker came into focus. Mt. Olive was one of the few places in the country where labor history was taught before the 1970s.
This is a unique place in the history of the labor movement; it was the only union-owned cemetery in the country. This is a place with a monument to Mother Jones, but it also evokes the power and potential of the labor movement. It is a place of reflection and remembering, of thinking of the labor movement’s roots. It is a shrine not only to Jones but to the sacrifices that connected human rights and labor rights, a place where people wonder when and why labor lost power.
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When I decided to write this article, my original intent was to find out when they removed the rails down the middle of Macoupin Street, but I thought I might research when the railroads came and went in Gillespie. So here is a brief history!
In the 1850’s, railroads were becoming more important to the US for both transportation of people and goods. Chicago was the hub of railroad traffic in the west and cities throughout Illinois were vying to have railroads come through their section of the state. Having a railroad meant prosperity and growth. Towns would grow with increased population. The key question was where are the railroads going to go? Influence by key political people throughout the state was important.
Prominent people in the US and central Illinois like Judge Joseph Gillespie, William Mattoon, Electus B Litchfield and Robert Rantoul (Massachusetts senator) and others help bring the railroad south.
The move south was brought about by the chartering of the Terre-Haute & Alton Railroad in January 1851 out of Mattoon, Illinois. It was to extend south to Alton because legislators wanted Alton to compete with St. Louis in the growth of the area. The work was started in 1852 to originally go 172 miles. It was completed in March 1856. Extensions were created from Alton to Belleville and eventually to St. Louis. By 1857 the route was completed and a railroad went through Gillespie. The St. Louis connection was helped by the building of the Eads Bridge in 1874.
In June 1867, the Terre-Haute Alton Railroad was leased to the Indianapolis & St Louis Railroad but went into foreclosure in 1882 and sold to the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (known as the Big Four). This railroad came under control of Vanderbilt and the NY Central Railroad system.
The Terre-Haute Alton Railroad/Big Four Railroad came to Gillespie on an east west route. It passed through Gillespie today in the land next to the Civic Center, crossing Macoupin Street next to Subway. The Big Four Terminal was just off Macoupin Street where the Civic Center is located. There were additional terminals in Hornsby and Dorchester.
A 2nd railroad will add additional prosperity to Gillespie. The Illinois Traction System was a brainchild of William B. McKinley (not the president). He had a vision to create an electric railroad empire that covered at its peak 550 miles of rail.
The Traction system started in connecting Danville and Champaign in 1901-02, then to Decatur to Springfield in 1904. He also completed the route from Springfield to Granite City going through Gillespie and Benld in 1904. This Interurban as most people called it was a passenger service. It would eventually connect to Peoria by 1907 and St Louis by 1910. It was also possible to go to Chicago by connecting with other railroads. The Illinois Traction Terminal was on the corner of Macoupin and Spruce Streets where United Community Bank is located and at one time did have a small spur to the east.
Everyone associates the growth of Gillespie-Benld and the surrounding area to the coal mines, but the railroad also played a key part in the growth of the area.
You might wonder why main street is so wide compared to other towns’ business districts? Gillespie was unique by having the Interurban rail down the center of Macoupin Street but also the Big Four crisscrossed near Walnut Street. The town has to be one of the few towns in Illinois to have that unique situation.
In the early days, the crisscross intersection was controlled by only railroad signs. The “Stop, Look and Listen” slogan did not stop accidents at the crossing. Eventually, a crossing watchman was hired to control the car and pedestrian traffic at the intersection of the two railroad lines. It was also not unusual for a parked car to back into the Interurban in the business district.
These two railroads went north-south and east-west throughout town until the Interurban ceased to operate. The last Interurban use was on March 3, 1956. The rail line was eventually taken over by other railroads and would only be used for freight transportation, especially by Norfolk Western and other railroad lines. The rail line did have a brief arrangement to transport coal from Monterrey Coal Junction to Edwardsville in 1970, but the last use of the old Interurban Line for freight use occurred on August 20, 1970.
The eventual decline of the railroads in Gillespie coincides with the decline of the coal mines. Railroads were being transformed from coal to diesel and coal use immediately declined.
The Big Four stopped operating on December 17, 1964. Slowly they started to remove the tracks between Litchfield and Bethalto. Illinois maps show Big Four railroad tracks in 1965, but they are gone by 1967.
Now to the original premise of the article, when were the railroad tracks removed down the middle of Macoupin Street? My sources throughout town were varying, I got all kinds of guesses. I narrowed it down by my own memory. It was there in 1972 when I started teaching but then all of a sudden it was gone. I searched newspapers in the fall of 1972, then 1973 and I found it in 1974.
In January of 1974, the city decided to do something about the water lines in the business district. There was a conversation in late February to remove the tracks, but when will they do it? At the same time there was discussion about the sewer lines where the tracks are located. So, the city decided to it all at the same time, remove the tracks, and do water and sewer lines. By early April 1974, the tracks are gone and by early May, the downtown was a mess because of the water main project. After the downtown removal of tracks, the city eventually moved further north and south on Macoupin to remove the remaining tracks.
So, what proved to be a simple search gave you, the readers, a history of the railroads in Gillespie. Stop by the library and see the assorted railroad pictures and if you have anything railroad-related or an interesting picture involving the railroad such as an accident involving the railroads. I would like to see them.
