A local investor and philanthropist aims to bring middle-class mid-tier housing to a long-overlooked portion of town. Rabbi Rob and Lauren Thomas have announced plans to redevelop an area just south of the JHS Bowl that takes up most of an entire city block.

The Thomases have purchased several lots and derelict houses in the block bordered by College Avenue, Church Street, Beecher Avenue, and Fayette Street.

Thomas says the plan is to create new housing to help fill a void in the Jacksonville housing market. “As I’ve talked to businesses around town as well as businesses that would like to come to town, they all say the same thing- there is no place for anybody to live. We have no place for our employees to live and raise their families.

So we’re going to start with this project to prove that development can be done here at that price point to provide the housing we desperately need.

On West College Avenue will be three new homes that are detached [from each other], single-family homes with attached garages, and they will be sold to families. Around the corner, going down Church Street, will be Chicago-style brownstones. Still single-family homes but attached, two or three-story, we’re just not sure yet, and again, those will be sold to families, not as rentals, but as homes.”

Thomas says new construction planned for Beecher and Fayette will be a little more sporadic, with blighted or empty lots mixed in among existing private homes. He says to that end, the new homes will feel more like the older structures they will have replaced.

“The key thing on the homes, just like the brownstones, the architectural design will fit the neighborhood. Each home will be unique; we’re not taking a cookie-cutter approach, but we want them to fit into the neighborhood. So if you think about American Victorian, Italianate, those styles of architecture, that’s what you are going to see on these homes. On the inside- all modern. Ideally, when we are done, you’ll drive by and you won’t be able to tell where we built a new home.”

Thomas says he and his team have had a lot of support from residents in the immediate area who are thankful that the blighted or even abandoned houses have been removed. The neighborhood has been rife with issues for several years, including people squatting in the abandoned and even burned-out structures.

Thomas says the two remaining structures on College facing the JHS Bowl will come down in the coming weeks. He says a lot of work goes into remediating each structure of things like asbestos and lead paint before they can be taken down.

Thomas says his team also goes into the existing structures and removes anything with historic or architectural value for reuse either in the new homes or other projects in Jacksonville, such as buildings on the downtown square that are currently being renovated.

Thomas estimates that groundbreaking will start on the first home in the next six to eight weeks, with the goal to have their first new house completed by the end of this year, with the two others following shortly behind. After that, work then moves to the brownstones planned for South Church Street.

Thomas has also been working to redevelop a number of buildings downtown, including the Kresge Building that now houses Pizza Records. The Andre & Andre building on the north side of the square, more commonly known as the “old Sears building”, and several including the old Osco Drugstore on the southeast quadrant of the square.

24 new apartments will soon be finished and ready for rent on the upper stories of these buildings. Thomas says it is another way he and Lauren are attempting to help with the housing shortage area residents face, as more businesses try to attract new college graduates and young families to work and play in the Jacksonville area.

For more information about the project, contact the Garrison Group’s Jacksonville Office.

Area authorities are asking for the public’s help to locate a missing Morgan County man. 58-year-old Daniel G. Hupp of Waverly has been reported missing and possibly endangered. He was last seen in the afternoon of Sunday, May 11, 2025, in the 200 block of East Prairie Street in Waverly.

Daniel Hupp is described as standing 5’9” tall, and weighing approximately 125 pounds with gray hair and blue eyes. No clothing description is available. He was last seen riding a red Arctic Cat ATV, and possibly pulling a wagon.

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office is requesting the public’s assistance in locating Daniel Hupp. According to an update late Thursday night, area authorities, including the Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Police Department, and Illinois State Police, have joined the search.

If you have seen Daniel Hupp or know of his whereabouts, you are asked to contact the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office at 217-245-6103.

Morgan, Scott, and Cass County Crime Stoppers are seeking the public’s help for information on a recent potential arson.

Just before 7:00 p.m. Last Thursday, May 8^th, the Jacksonville Fire Department responded a reports of a structure fire in the 300 block of East Douglas.

The State Fire Marshall has deemed the fire suspicious as the residence was vacant with all utilities disconnected. No one was injured in the fire.

The Jacksonville Police Department is asking that anyone who has information concerning this incident, or any other crimes within the three-county area, submit an anonymous tip online by going to the Morgan, Scott, Cass Crime Stoppers Facebook page and clicking the contact us button on the home page.

Tips can also be submitted online at morganscottcrimestoppers.com, or by calling Crime Stoppers at 243-7300.

Crime Stoppers reminds that if your antonymous tip leads to an arrest, you are eligible for a cash reward.

The victim of a fatal two-vehicle crash on US Route 67 on Friday has been identified.

According to an announcement by Greene County Coroner, Brady Milnes Saturday, 69-year-old Dennis Swarringim of Roodhouse was killed in the motor vehicle versus semi incident in rural Carrollton Friday afternoon.

Milnes says postmortem procedures performed on Saturday indicated that Mr. Swarringim was experiencing a medical emergency at the time of the crash and succumbed to multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the incident.

At approximately 1:00 pm Friday, Swarringim’s black Ford Fiesta sedan crossed the center line and struck a truck-tractor semi-trailer head-on near mile marker 12 and Berdan Road north of Carrollton.

US-67 was closed for several hours Friday for a lengthy investigation and clean-up of the scene. All lanes reopened at approximately 7:00 pm.

Coroner Milnes says the incident remains under investigation by the Greene County Coroner, the Illinois State Police, and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.

An area ad-hoc citizens’ committee aimed at improving the future of JDC and other blighted properties in the area is taking steps toward non-profit status and likes the idea of a possible future walking tour.

The Moving Jacksonville Forward Committee met Thursday in the Commission Room at the Jacksonville Municipal Building. The committee was formed as an effort by citizens to make their voices heard on community issues like the State Hospital grounds, Old Norris Hospital, and others.

Thursday’s meeting kicked off with a presentation by the former manager of the Jacksonville Area Museum, McKenna Servis, who devoted her Master’s Degree thesis to researching the history of the Jacksonville Developmental Center.

Committee Co-Chair Ben Cox says he is very intrigued by her presentation of what could become a walking tour of the grounds. “She wrote her master’s thesis on the buildings and has a lot of great information and has put together a plan for a tour that

wouldn’t actually take you on the grounds, but would take you by the grounds. You’d see the historical buildings and provide explanations on the buildings themselves and possibly some of the people that were there including Elizabeth Packard and Dr. McFarland.”

Servis said during her presentation that the tour would let people look into the grounds from bordering public sidewalks to avoid trespassing on state-owned property. She said the plan could eventually involve plaques or signs similar to the Looking for Lincoln program that would educate those on the self-guided tour on not just the buildings, but also some of the people who worked, lived, and died on the grounds.

Co-Chairs Rob Thomas and Ben Cox reported Thursday night that the group is ready to move toward becoming a full 501(c)3 non-profit in order to legally fund raise to help cover expenses like informational door knockers for area residents and the promised letters to state lawmakers on the state of the grounds and issues they continue to cause in the area.

The committee is expected to approve measures for filing for non-profit status and incorporate bylaws for the committee at their next meeting.

Also in attendance Thursday was South Jacksonville Village President Dick Samples who came after hearing a report on the last meeting by Village Trustee Paula Belobrajic-Stewart who has proposed a resolution stating the Village’s support of the committee’s efforts.

The next Moving Jacksonville Forward Committee meeting will be held at 6:00 pm on Thursday, May 22^nd, in the meeting room in South Jacksonville Village Hall on Dewey Drive.

The kick-off to the 2025 Downtown Concert Series is fast approaching, and Jacksonville Main Street is looking for a little last-minute help to reach its goal.

The Downtown Concert Series kicks off with rock band Revel In Red on Friday, May 30^th. Main Street organizers say they are $1,000 away from their sponsorship goal for this year’s series, which has expanded for the city’s 200^th birthday.

The concerts have gone from two to three hours long this year, with acts taking the stage from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, and food and beverages starting at 5:00 pm.

Anyone who has been considering becoming a sponsor of the Jacksonville Main Street Downtown Concert Series at any level is urged to contact the Main Street Office by calling 217-245-6884 or emailing Melissa at events@jacksonvillemainstreet.org with your name or logo to be included in the list of sponsors.

Other acts taking the stage in downtown Jacksonville this year include Elvis tribute act The Blue Suede Crew, soul act Laura Rain & The Ceasars and returning favorite The Champ Jaxon Band.

The Downtown Concert Series is free to attend every Friday night. For more information, go to the Jacksonville Main Street Facebook page or website at jacksonvillemainstreet.org.

Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott, and Cass Counties is looking to help area law enforcement locate a pair of wanted individuals with this week’s Crime Stoppers Wanted of the Week.

80-year-old Harold M. Sheehan of Franklin is wanted for failure to appear in court on a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm. He is described as being a white male standing 6′ tall and weighing 210 pounds with brush cut hair and brown eyes.

Authorities are also seeking information on the whereabouts of 40-year-old Alexandria R Wickenhauser of Winchester. She is wanted for failure to appear in court on charges of forgery, theft of mislaid property, driving on a suspended license, and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

Wickenhauser is described as being a white female standing 5′ 4” tall, weighing 130 pounds with long brown hair and blue eyes. She is also wanted on an active warrant out of Greene County.

Anyone with information on Harold M. Sheehan or Alexandria R Wickenhauser’s whereabouts is asked to leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott, and Cass Counties by calling 217-243-7300.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously online by messaging the Morgan Scott Cass Crime Stoppers Facebook page or via their website at https://morganscottcrimestoppers.com. Crime Stoppers says if your anonymous tip leads to an arrest, you may be eligible for a cash reward.

More information has become available on a structure fire in an abandoned house that was deemed suspicious Thursday night in Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Fire Department responded to a report of a house fire at 314 East Douglas Avenue just before 7:00 Thursday night.

According to an incident report from the Jacksonville Fire Department, crews arrived on scene to find smoke emitting from the front door and also the windows on one side of the single story house.

The fire was contained inside of the structure and quickly knocked down by firefighters. No one was found in the structure, and according to the report, the structure had no intact windows, and both entry doors were unsecured. There were also no utilities actively supplying the house,e which appears to officials to be unoccupied and abandoned.

Jacksonville Police also responded to the fire and investigated persons of interest possibly connected to the fire. According to police reports, the property is abandoned, and the fire is deemed suspicious in nature as possibly arson.

The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal was called in to investigate. No injuries were reported, and no further information has been made available as of press time. Firefighters cleared the scene at approximately 9:15 PM.

An area body of water has been added to the Illinois advisory list for consuming fish caught for sport. The Illinois Department of Public Health issued its annual update of advisories related to the consumption of sport fish caught in Illinois waterways on Friday.

IDPH maintains an interactive Fish Advisory Map that includes consumption advisories detailing how frequently certain types of fish from various waterways can be eaten without posing a health risk.

Waverly Lake is one of five bodies of water added to the list of more than 100 publicly accessible bodies of water across the state. The advisory warns that women of childbearing age and children should only consume fish caught from the lake once per week. Lake Jacksonville is already on the list, and it is advised that women of childbearing age and children should only consume fish once per month.

The advisories stem from the levels of mercury found in testing of both lakes. IDPH officials say Mercury occurs naturally in rocks and soils but is primarily released into the environment through air pollution from mining, coal combustion, and the production of metals and cement.

Mercury can travel thousands of miles in the air before settling into water bodies. Aquatic bacteria transform mercury into methylmercury, a form that accumulates in fish and is easily absorbed by humans when ingested.

Methylmercury can damage the developing nervous systems of fetuses and children, resulting in lower IQ, slowed motor function, and incoordination. At higher exposures, methylmercury can affect adults, resulting in memory loss, slurred speech, and poor muscle control.

The other bodies of water added to the advisory list this year were Duck Creek Lake, Schuy-Rush Lake, Rock Run Rookery, and the Waukegan South Harbor.

The advisory for the Illinois River has been updated. To see all the advisories for bodies of water statewide, go to dph.gov and search Fish Advisory Map.