Some Jacksonville residential trash customers will see relief on their trash bill at the start of next year.

On Tuesday, the Jacksonville City Council unanimously approved a proposal from Canada-based waste management company GFL Environmental.

City Clerk Skip Bradshaw says that the bidding process was waived because the city only received two proposals: “We received two proposals – one from GFL, one from Republic. We sent out a different one to Waste Management. We did not get anything back from them. The GFL contract was the lowest bid. It fulfilled all but a handful of our requests that I think we can live with. The cost is $17.29 per month, which breaks out to $51.87 per quarter. Then, whether the council wants to go to a 5-year or 7-year contract is the next decision. The 7-year price only goes up to $21.88 per month, which is still less than $65 per quarter; and that is a lot less than what we are paying currently.”

Bradshaw says that City Attorney Dan Beard received the contract on Tuesday morning and will be going over the language prior to a vote from the City Council at their next meeting. Beard said during Tuesday’s meeting that he has concerns with language in the contract with GFL surrounding fuel surcharges to customers’ bills. Beard says that any disagreements on a fuel surcharge on bills between the city and GFL would go to possibly binding arbitration. Beard would like the contract to instead go to third-party mediation on any disagreements. Beard says he will speak with GFL to see if they are amendable to that change.

The proposal is for residential customers only and not for any commercial customers in Jacksonville. Bradshaw says that owners of apartment complexes of a certain size need to pay attention to this distinction: “The proposal is residential up to a four-plex. Anything that is a five-plex or more is considered commercial. I do want to make sure that those that do have an apartment complex of five or more units that they contact GFL’s Sales Department and work out a contract with them. The way it was explained to me by GFL is every one of those larger apartment complexes is a different puppy. They don’t want to just put out a flat fee. I think it is up to the individual owners to reach out to them and work out his own deal.”

Bradshaw says that after an amendment to the city’s Waste Hauler Licensing ordinance, the city still has up to 5 licenses they can grant for commercial waste haulers. GFL and Republic both currently have two of those licenses, and that will remain the same according to Bradshaw. With the amendment, the residential waste hauler licenses shrink to just 1 with the upcoming proposed contract with GFL.

Bradshaw said during Tuesdsay’s meeting that the citywide contract was meant to give all Jacksonville residential customers a single, lower rate. The city has received steady complaints about the rising costs of trash bills since GFL purchased both Trash Queen and Area Disposal within the last year.

A Winchester woman has been indicted by a grand jury on charges related to a crash that killed a toddler in Scott County in May.

27 year old Makayla D. Brown was indicted on Tuesday for aggravated usage of a communication device in the operation of a motor vehicle resulting in injury or death, a Class 4 felony.

Brown was the driver of a 2022 Jeep Compass on May 5^th traveling southbound on Sand Road just south of Bloomfield Road in rural Scott County at approximately 2:50PM, according to an Illinois State Police crash report at the time.

ISP says for an unknown reason the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree. Brown and a 2 year old male passenger were both transported to Jacksonville Memorial Hospital with major injuries. The toddler later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by the Morgan County Coroner’s Office at approximately 4PM on May 5^th.

Brown was later charged with driving under the influence and improper lane usage in Scott County Court. According to court records, Brown’s case was dismissed by the Scott County State’s Attorney’s Office with leave to re-file charges at a later date.

With the new charges, Brown faces up to a $1,000 fine plus up to 1 to 3 years in prison if found guilty. The charge is a probationable offense.

Brown is next due in Scott County Court on November 7^th.

Blessing Health System eliminated about 150 positions on Tuesday.

WGEM in Quincy reports that they obtained an email sent to Blessing employees on behalf of CEO Maureen Kahn announcing the move.

The email says that approximately 88 of the 150 positions were vacant and will remain unfilled across the system. For the remaining positions, the email says that staff were offered a severance package, a new position, or a reduction of their current full-time position. The number of employees losing their job was not listed, according to WGEM’s report.

The email alluded to financial pressures and that the system was attempting to become leaner and more efficient while still attempting to provide new ways for current services. Blessing Health System has hospitals and locations in Pittsfield, Rushville, and Mt. Sterling as well as Quincy.

An email to Blessing Health System from WLDS News about whether the three locations in the WLDS listening area has not been returned. According to the Great River Economic Development Foundation, Blessing had a little less than 3,500 employees company-wide.

The Morgan County Audubon Society will return to in-person meetings this week just in time to help celebrate the Illinois Audubon Society’s 125^th Anniversary.

Morgan County Audubon Society member, Allen Yow says the monthly meetings are open to the public: “October 14th will be our first meeting for the 2022-2023 season. We meet the second Friday of the month between October and April. We meet at the First Presbyterian Church on West College Avenue here in Jacksonville. The meetings start at 7PM, and they are open to everyone free of charge. Newcomers and old members are always welcome.”

The first meeting will be marked by a special program with performer, author, and storyteller Brian “Fox” Ellis, who will portray Illinois native, and the premier 19^th Century ornithologist Robert Ridgway. Ellis will give a public performance at 7PM on Friday at the First Presbyterian Church. Yow says the true treat will be for programs for students at Jacksonville Middle School throughout the day: “We have worked with Principal [Celeste] Lashmett and have organized three presentations of Robert Ridgway. Brian Ellis will speak to three different classes on October 14th and provide study materials for the classroom. We are really excited about being able to bring someone of Mr. Ellis’ stature and expertise. We believe he really will capture the essence of the man, Robert Ridgway.”

Yow hopes that it will spur interest in young people to become citizen-scientists of their own accord. Yow hopes to have the interest carry over to the Young Explorers Club’s first meeting in December.

The Cass County Board and the City of Virginia are hoping to secure funding to revitalize the Virginia Courthouse square.

On Monday night, the Cass County Board announced that it had received letters of support from 47th District State Senator Jil Tracy, 93rd District State Representative Norine Hammond, and 18th District Congressman Darin LaHood to include in the county and city’s application to the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) to revitalize the square.

Cass County Board Chairman Michael Barnett hopes that Virginia can receive the funding and follow in the footsteps of several West Central Illinois communities who have made similar successful efforts in the recent past: “We worked really closed with Virginia Mayor Randy McClure. They have a real strong Main Street program here in town where they are either renovating or demolishing some of the more dilapidated buildings [on the square]. I think Mayor McClure has some plans to work towards that area. Again, looking at Rushville, Mt. Sterling, and Jacksonville especially – I mean it has dramatically improved their downtown areas and brought business to downtown areas of those municipalities. So, I’m hoping it will be very successful here, too.”

The west side of Virginia’s square has suffered the lost of a number of buildings and businesses over the last decade which included the closing of Dr. Ug’s Drug Store Cafe and two buildings that either have been condemned or collapsed. The other major hit to the Virginia square was the closing of McCausland’s IGA in 2018.

Barnett hopes that the partnership between the city and the county along with the funding will help to renovate the square and attract reinvestment and spur economic development.

The Medicare Open Enrollment period begins Saturday.

Navigating the many options for healthcare and prescription drug coverage can be overwhelming. For those already enrolled in the program, it’s also a good time to review plan options, supplemental policies, and changes.

Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) Director Sandy Leith says that the Illinois Department of Aging has help for you to sort through it all: “The SHIP Program has over 1,000 trained and certified counselors working through some of your close organizations near you like hospitals, township offices, area agencies on aging, senior centers. They’ve been certified and they can help you, sit down with you one-on-one or over the phone and go through your options and actually run what we call a Plan Finder. The Medicare.gov Plan Finder online will give you the best scenario of what your coverage should be for 2023.”

The Plan Finder and counseling service is free. Leith says that the Medicare.gov Plan Finder will help you keep everything together and show you the best options, especially when it comes to prescriptions: “You can then look at your Medicare drug list. You can build a list and edit your drug list. It usually comes pre-populated with the drugs you have been taking so far. The best way to keep all of it together and look at your options, you put in your zip code and then, you will look at what plans are available that cover the exact drug list that your are taking. Then, you can look at ‘Where do I want to shop?’ and there is actually pharmacy choices. You can pick up to 5 different pharmacies to see what gives you the best deals.”

The open enrollment period lasts through December 7^th. For more information, you can call the toll free Senior Help Line at 1-800-252-8966 to find a location nearest you to do an in-person sign-up or help session, or visit the Illinois Department on Aging’s website.

Jacksonville City Clerk Skip Bradshaw says a painful increase is on the way for the city’s electrical aggregation program next year.

Bradshaw says the city participated in the aggregation bidding process last week and Jacksonville only received one bid.

He says the aggregate rate is going to see a steep increase: “It’s going to be very painful. For those people that went with a different supply company already, they went back on to Ameren at three times…almost three times what Ameren was currently, and I heard about it. Not that I had anything to do with it, but friends of mine, I heard about it through them. I knew that the city’s was going to go up. We were hoping for two bids. The current company that we have had told everyone right up front that they weren’t going to bid, which is unusual. We’ve had them for 13 years. We did get the one bid. It wasn’t a very good bid, but it is what it is. We can’t do anything about it. It’s right at what Ameren is currently charging, but in 6 months Ameren’s rate is going to go up, and we know that. Whereas, this contracted aggregation program will last 22 months beginning in March.”

The rate with Homefield Energy that is set to expire is at 4.039 cents per kilowatt hour. The new bid for the city’s aggregate program will be at 12.22 cents per kilowatt hour, a 302% increase. Bradshaw said during last night’s city council that he did calculations based on his own home’s usage, and the jump will be an $88 increase per month.

Bradshaw says that volatility in the electricity supply market is causing the increases, and he expects those who have Ameren as their electric supplier will see another dramatic increase in rates in June 2023.

Ameren is part of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which is one of many independent organizations that handle electric grid operations, market facilitation for certain electric markets, and bulk electric system planning. MISO is responsible for operating the power grid across 15 U.S. states including most of Illinois (excluding the Chicago area who have their own grid). As part of MISO, Ameren is required to purchase energy capacity at the price MISO sets. The annual MISO capacity auction surged to $236.66 per megawatt-day back in April from $5 a year ago for the Midwest region. MISO generating capacity was underestimated last year, and now costs are rising as a result of increased electricity demand as pandemic restrictions ease combined with a decrease in generation (renewable energy development is increasing, but is only partially weighted in the capacity market, and more coal-fired plants are going offline), and other market influences including inflation, the rising cost of natural gas, and the war in Ukraine.

Jacksonville Main Street honored a host of individuals and businesses after a long delay during a special Saturday afternoon fundraising concert.

Captain Geech & the Shrimp Shack Shooters were brought to the Downtown Square after Main Street was able to secure the winning bid for a concert at a benefit auction for the late sound engineer Doug Warcup’s family. Warcup was a long-time employee of Mason Sound who has been the sound company for many concerts for the Downtown Concert Series since its inception.

Sponsors for the Downtown FundFest were Brian Nyberg Construction, Executive Transportation, Don’s Place, Dominic Casey ReMax, Brent Theatrical Lighting, Hopper RV, The Little Stove, Shanan Casey, Melissa Gerard, and Oscar Tipsword.

Prior to the concert, Main Street honored individuals and business after a two-year hiatus of their annual awards banquet brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Main Street Executive Director Judy Tighe says the awards are for people and businesses who make things happen behind the scenes in Jacksonville. She says it was a real challenge to get all honorees to the concert on Saturday: “We had 10 award winners and they were all here. We publicly apologize to all of them for all of our lies to get them here, but it was all in good fun. They were surprised, which was the point. We’re thrilled to hand out and award to publicly recognize people for all the great things that all these volunteers do. We can’t recognize everybody, but we like to try to pick out people that maybe not everyone sees out there in the community doing things behind the scenes that are really making things happen.”

Tighe says they had a lengthy list of honorees on Saturday: “We had two Legacy Awards – one for 2020 and 2021. Tom Winner, of course Mr. Christmas is one of the winners. I mean he’s done so much, served on our board for over 20 years, and the other is for Terry Chumley in honor of his retirement. Both of them will have trees planted in their honor a little bit later this year. Then, we had the 2020 and 2021 Business of the Year Awards. 2020 was Wal-Mart. 2021 Business of the Year was Jessica Richardson Graphic Design. The 2020 Kristan Becker Hoffman Volunteer of the Year Award was for Taylor Zoerner, and the 2021 winner was Albert Evans.”

Tighe also recognized two individuals with the Tom Grojean Community Spirit Award: “For 2020, it was Randy Springer. He really went above and beyond getting many people motivated to support healthcare workers throughout the early part of the pandemic. He decorated the whole front of his business with hearts and encouraged everyone else to do it. Then, the 2021 winner was Cory Garner of El Crow Photography because he photographs everybody’s everything – all the organizations. All they have to do is ask and he goes and does it. Many times it’s on a volunteer basis. He’s not necessarily getting paid for all of this work that he does. We truly appreciate it, and he’s a great community supporter.”

Also honored for his long-time work in the Downtown area and for his recent retirement was Bill Mayes. The Get ‘Er Done Award was given to Doug Pagel for his work both before, during, and after Downtown events.

Tighe says the 2022 Main Street Awards Banquet and annual meeting will return to normal after the two-year hiatus on February 9th, 2023. Overall, Tighe says the Saturday fundraising and awards presentation was well-attended and successful. She says she’s looking forward to the annual Pumpkin Festival coming up on October 22nd, the Gingerbread Contest & Santa Stroll in November, and the return of the Christkindl Market in December.

A Chandlerville man was sentenced on child pornography charges in Morgan County Court yesterday afternoon.

21 year old Bryce A. Eilers of Chandlerville was arrested on March 21^st for one count of dissemination of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography involving a victim under age 13 by agents from the Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation. Investigations in Eilers’ online activity started in May 2021 after investigators say Eilers was distributing child pornography through a social media application.

Investigators from the Office of the Illinois Attorney General Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force gathered evidence during the investigation and a warrant for Eilers’ arrest was filed by the Morgan County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Yesterday, Eilers was sentenced to 4 years of adult probation, ordered to pay a $1,000 county fine plus fees and court costs after pleading guilty to one count of possession of child pornography with intention to disseminate, a Class 2 Felony. Charges of possession of child pornography with a victim under the age of 13, a Class X felony, and possession of Child Pornography, a Class 1 felony, were dropped per the plea.

Eilers was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation, counseling, and treatment. He is also ordered to reside with his parents for the duration of his probation. According to sentencing, Eilers must also register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

Eilers was given credit for 205 days served in the Morgan County Jail.