The Illinois State Police have arrested a Beardstown man on Child Pornography charges.

21 year old Cooper A. Smith of Beardstown was booked into the Morgan County Jail just after 10AM today on the charges after a nearly 14 month long investigation.

According to a press release from ISP investigations, on June 4^th of last year, ISP DCI Zone 4 Investigators initiated an investigation after receiving information about child pornography being distributed on a social media application. A thorough investigation ensued, and ISP Investigators assigned to the Office of the Illinois Attorney General Internet Crimes against Children Task Force gathered evidence and identified Smith as the suspect.

On October 28, 2020, a search warrant was applied for and granted through the Macoupin County Circuit Court for a residence in Mount Olive, Illinois where Cooper Smith had been residing. The search warrant was executed the following day and additional evidence was collected.

Yesterday, the Macoupin County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a 10 count information, charging Smith with 10 counts of Possession of Child Pornography. An arrest warrant was issued for Smith and bond was set at $75,000, 10 percent to apply. Smith was arrested at his home in Beardstown this morning by ISP investigators and transported to the Morgan County Jail.

The Village of South Jacksonville is set to make history next month.

The Village is expected to confirm the very first Black trustee in the village’s history next Thursday.

Village President Mike Broaddus announced he would be appointing Jackie Killion to the open trustee position last night during committee of the whole session.

Broaddus says that all three candidates who applied are walking away with some responsibilities and new duties from the village: “I promised everybody that I would make an appointment. Jackie Killion is my appointment. We had 3 very strong candidates – very strong candidates. It was a really tough decision to make. It was pretty hard. I hope that Clerk Amy Scoggins will keeping doing what she’s doing, because you have been awesome to us. I also hope that J.D. [Saxer] will fill one of the vacancies that I have open for our Planning & Zoning Committee because they need strong leadership right now.”

Killion said during public comment that she has been a resident for about 20 years, saying her children and grandchildren had gone to school at South Elementary. Killion says she hopes to bring improvements to the village: “Like anything and anybody, there is always room for improvements – always, no matter what it is. Nothing is going to be perfect 100% of the time, and often, just as humans we are very quick to complain but not so quick to get in and make any effort to be part of the change.”

Killion says that she hopes her presence will be a part of the continued change in the village for the better: “I want to bring to the table, maybe something that hasn’t been there before. I’m pretty much a straight shooter. I don’t need the static. I don’t need the outside influence. What pertains to this [Village] is about business, and that’s what I’m about. I’m not for a lot of the other things that may or may not be personal things, things that don’t actually affect this [village]. My entire objective will be to ensure that things that go on in the Village Board Room actually benefit the people that live in this village. I see things that maybe could be improved upon, not with any individual person, but I mean in the village, around town, things that could bring in revenue, things that could make things more exciting for someone to want to live here, maybe people that could come in and be productive to help us build this community into the kind of place we know it can be.”

Killion went on to say that the village has a lot of great qualities and people, and it’s for that reason that she says she wants the job. Killion says she’s a self-admitted political novice, but she does come with a quick learning curve and has a knack for problem-solving: “I have the ability to compromise and not take it personally. I’m not going to always be right. I’m not going to always say the right things. I’m going to say what I believe is real. I’m going to say what I think needs to be, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have room to listen to what you think needs to be. That’s what you do as a team – you listen, then you react, and you don’t do it personally. There’s really no room for too much emotion. It’s not about that. It’s about business. It’s about furthering this community and trying to make the best of the opportunity with the money that we have to do just that. That’s my agenda.”

Killion hopes her ideas and perspective will continue to help grow the village in a positive direction. Her appointment is expected to be made official at the next village board meeting on Thursday, November 4th.

County unemployment in West Central Illinois continues to stay well below the state average, according to statistics today released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

The unemployment rate decreased over-the-year in all fourteen Illinois metropolitan areas in September for the sixth consecutive month. Locally, that is also the case. Morgan, Cass, Scott, Greene, and Pike all are hovering between 3.5 and 4.25%. Sangamon County continues to sit around 5%. West Central Illinois collectively sit below the state’s overall rate of 4.8%.

Lincoln Land Community College and Southern Illinois University Carbondale today signed an agreement allowing LLCC graduates to complete bachelor degrees remotely and affordably.

The Saluki Step Ahead program offers students the opportunity to pursue a bachelor’s degree in accounting, business administration, criminology and criminal justice, health care management, psychology and radiologic sciences by spending the first two years at LLCC completing predetermined coursework. The third and fourth years are online in an SIU Carbondale degree completion program. Students will receive an $8,000 scholarship ($4,000 per year) as a financial incentive for place-bound students, with the goal of completing a bachelor’s degree for less than $25,000.

LLCC is the first community college in central Illinois, and fourth community college in the state, to sign on to Saluki Step Ahead. Students interested in participating in the Saluki Step Ahead program should speak with a success coach at LLCC.

A local, non-denominational camp is looking for some donations coming up next month. Green Pastures is known throughout the area for its long-standing performing arts camp.

Green Pastures Board member Keith Bradbury says you’d be hard pressed to find someone in Jacksonville who isn’t an alumni of the camp: “Most people are familiar with Green Pastures because of the performing arts camp that has been going on for nearly 40 years. Thousands of kids have come through there. The performing arts camp is a two-day camp. Traditionally, the kids just stay one night. It’s usually schedule for 4 weekends in June, so there will be as many as a thousand kids that go through there in a month. You don’t have to go very far in Jacksonville and the surrounding communities to find someone that went to Green Pastures’ performing arts camp.”

Bradbury says that COVID-19 has stymied both fundraising efforts and the number of volunteers the non-profit camp has needed over the last 18 months. Bradbury says the forty-year old facilities are in need of major updates. He says the grounds serve everyone from out-of-state church groups, local faith-based organizations, to hunters and campers.

Bradbury says that K’s Creek Golf Course has set up a fundraiser next month to raise free will donations with the group Two By Two: “There will be no admission fee. It’s all free will donation. Along with Two By Two, we’ll also have Rod Nicholson there, Robert Sampson will be there, a bluegrass group there called the Bluegrass Gospel Five, and then the Gospel Gals will be there as well – they are primarily Jacksonville ladies. There will be a bucket out, and there will be some pleas for money. Be prepared for that because that’s our purpose. We look for all levels of giving. If a person can put in $5 – great. If they can put in $5,000 – even greater. It should be a really great day.”

The fundraiser is scheduled for Sunday, November 14^th from 5-8PM. The donations will be matched by the Ken Bradbury Foundation dollar for dollar. K’s Creek is located at the former North Ridge Golf Course located at 1265 Sandusky Road in Jacksonville.

East State Street is set to have some more major upgrades. The railroad crossing at East State Street will soon be under construction to move traffic signals and make major pavement improvements.

During the Jacksonville City Council meeting on Monday, Project Engineer Brian Borgman of Hutchison Engineering mentioned that one of the railroad lines have recently gone defunct and the signals need to be moved and replaced due to safety.

On Monday, the city, the Illinois Commerce Commission, and Hutchison Engineering entered into agreement to replace the track crossing and pavement from Hardin Avenue to the west entrance of the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired. The total cost will be approximately $460,000. The City would be reimbursed for $300,000 from the ICC from their railroad crossing protection fund. The project would include new curbs and gutters, sidewalks, and street entrances. It would also include a brand new pedestrian access path on both sides of the street across the railway crossing.

Mayor Andy Ezard says he hopes the city can do a little bit more and complete pavement and sidewalk improvements up to the newest renovations on the street down on Clay Avenue: “Our thinking internally is maybe spending some of our money from the American Rescue Plan and dress the East State Street up to where it was previously completed all the way to ISVI, piggybacking maybe on what the county is doing at their new location is with the health department. Maybe working with the county on some funding – I know they have money, too and you know, dressing up the corridor to the west from the railroad track improvements, and make East State really viable to the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired. Those are some things that are on my mind. I’ve talked to a few of the aldermen about this, and they seem to be very supportive. I think in the coming city council meetings, there will be more discussions about it.”

The project is also expected to have pedestrian gates, the first of its kind in the state, according to a report from the Journal Courier. Work on the project is slated to start next year.

Verizon cellular coverage may soon be coming to the area. According to the Journal Courier, Towernorth Development of Massachusetts began constructing a tower near the City of Winchester’s sewage lagoons this week. Mid American Drilling Corporation began drilling for the tower in the middle of the month according to the Scott County Times last week.

Winchester Mayor Rex McIntire told the Times that the placement of the cellular tower was designed to be placed out of the way of city activities. McIntire went further to say that the quarter acre lot is being rented to Towernorth for $500 per month for the next five years. McIntire says that the City of Winchester has the option to extend the lease after 5 years with a 10% increase to rent upon each renewal. McIntire estimates that the cellular service should be up and running within the month.

Cellular coverage for Verizon became a concern more than 2 years ago when members of the State of Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Pritzker Administration had zero cellular service during flood response.

According to the Journal Courier, the tower is expected to be 190 feet tall and provide some area of coverage to the area for Verizon users.

Boyd Memorial Hospital is expanding services to a former grocery store site.

According to the Greene Prairie Press, Boyd purchased the former location of the IGA store in Carrollton in November 2020 but the site had received little updates until recently.

On October 13^th, Boyd announced that it would be opening the site next year as its new Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Wellness Center. Local vendors have begun remodeling the location heavily in the past several weeks.

According to their Facebook page, they will be increasing equipment availability for each of the services along with adding additional cardio and strength training equipment, fitness classes and a huge walking track. The post also says that they will also be adding a therapy pool and a connected gym to offer different community sports programs in the future.

According to the Greene Prairie Press, the new location will allow therapy patients to move away from the hospital and have more space. A grand opening of the facility is expected to be announced in early 2022 once construction is completed.

South Jacksonville spent most of the day yesterday still picking up pieces from Sunday’s severe storm emergency. Village Police Chief Eric Hansell says that most homes along the Vandalia Road/Avenue corridor have had power restored or will have power restored by today.

Hansell says there is still plenty of work to do: “We have all of the streets opened up except for southeast and south of Vandalia – Southview Drive and Southview Court are kind of closed because of all of the construction crews that are in there and as far as the Street Department cleaning up brush and the power crews going through hooking up power poles and wiring again. Right now, that’s going to be temporarily closed to residential traffic only. No other traffic will be able to get through there. We are doing pretty good. Residents in the village have really gone to work, and they have been dragging all of their brush out to the curb. They are getting it piled up so that crews can go through and pick it up. It looks like most of them are also separating the trash and debris from the vegetation debris, which is going to be really handy for us to get rid of the vegetation debris.” Hansell said yesterday that the Southview Drive and Southview Court should have reopened yesterday afternoon, but to be aware that some work may still be going on in that area as far as power line repair and tree removal.

Hansell says homeowners who have structure damage need to do their due diligence if they are solicited by a contractor for repairs in the next several days: “They just need to be aware that when contractors show up that you want to vet them pretty good – look at references, word of mouth. If they have a website, check it out. Make sure you get a written contract and that the terms are very clear and well understood by everyone.”

Hansell says concerned residents can also contact Village Hall or the Village Police Department to check if the contractor has a solicitation permit to go door-to-door. Hansell says if they don’t check all of the boxes to close your door.

The other main concern in the village is power lines. Hansell says you can contact the Police Department or Ameren-Illinois if you’re unsure about any utility lines laying in your yard: “There could be utility lines down in back yards that we may have not found yet or haven’t been called in. Be aware of any lines that are down, even if they are cable or telephone lines. They could still possibly be energized if they are laying across a power line, so you want to make sure that you don’t touch them. Any gas leaks or power issues like that, make sure and report them to Ameren. If you believe that it’s a safety issue, contact the Village Police Department and we can come down and take a look at it and get some other arrangements made until Ameren can get there to take a look.”

If residents have emergency issues, please contact the Police Department at 217-245-9222 or call Village Hall at 217-245-4803. Power or gas issues should be reported to Ameren Illinois at 1-800-755-5000.

The Village of South Jacksonville is expected to discuss the emergency response and any further remaining issues during a special meeting Thursday night at 6PM at Village Hall.

The City of Jacksonville has authorized an engineer firm to seek a federal grant to help clean up troublesome properties in the corporate limits.

The city is seeking a Brownfields Assessment Grant with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A brownfield is a designated property that with the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

The city executed an agreement with engineering firm Fehr Graham in hopes that properties like the current issues at the Lair Building, the old Norris Hospital, or JDC could be set on a path to redevelopment. Principal Engineer Joel Zirkle of Fehr Graham explains what the steps are when it comes to getting the grant: “There are a lot of communities, not only in Illinois but throughout the Midwest and country quite frankly, where there are abandoned properties or under utilized properties and we find that the unknown about the environmental condition of these properties becomes a real inhibitor to attract private investment. The whole purpose of this grant and the reason the US EPA created it in the first place was to provide communities with a resource for them to address those very types of properties.
“As far as JDC goes, one of the concerns that was expressed is would these federal funds be eligible to be expended on that property? That’s one of those things through our contacts and our relationships with the U.S. EPA we were able to confirm that yes indeed these funds could be used, and that would arm the city with some valuable information as to what is the environmental condition of that campus as well as other properties inside the corporate boundary so that plans can be made to revitalize those properties and get them into their highest and best use.”

Zirkle says the grant accounts for allowing the city to inventory the number of properties that are considered a “brownfield,” prioritize which ones need immediate rehabilitation, assess exactly what the problems are, have the U.S. EPA test for levels of any existing contamination and what type of contamination it is, and then, come up with both the costs and plans for remediation to return those properties to best use.

In the case of Norris Hospital, Zirkle says the city would only need cooperation from the owner to carry out the different levels of the grant: “All we need is cooperation from the private property owner. A lot of times what we find is in situations like this, the property owner simply just does not have the means to do what they originally planned. They bought a problem because they didn’t understand how much asbestos or whatever other condition that property is in. This is a way to work collaboratively with that property owner. It’s not to kick them out. It’s not to allow them to simply divest themselves of the property unless that is something that they would like to do, but it helps identify the issues, quantify it – What is the cost? – and then what are the opportunities to help address those issues.”

Zirkle says that sometimes these grants take a long time to process and this is a marathon more than a sprint to the finish when it comes to securing the grant and then beginning the work on the properties. Zirkle says that by starting the process, it will eventually lead to the cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties which ultimately protects the environment, reduces blight, and takes development pressures off greenspaces and working lands.