The Village of South Jacksonville residents won’t have the option of having their leaves picked up curbside this year.
Village Superintendent John Green and Village President Harry Jennings explained at last night’s committee of the whole meeting that the Illinois Department of Corrections is not releasing work crews out of their facilities this year due to COVID-19. The work crews assist the village in the leaf pick up each year. Jennings and Green both said that the village simply doesn’t have the manpower in the Public Works department to pick up bagged leaves this year without the extra help from the prisoners.
Green says that the village board explored several alternatives last night to keep the program going this year, but no decision has been made yet: “At this time, we really don’t know what we’re going to do. We are all going to have to sit down and talk about it. We are going to try to do something, but there is no guarantee that we will. If we do, at a later date, we will put a release out there as quick as possible.”
Village residents will have to await action by the village board on what they will be able to do with Fall yard waste this year or find other means of disposal.