(ABOVE) Left, New Parkway Cannabis Dispensary being built along Route 1/U.S. 150 (Georgetown Road); Right, Area Southwest of Georgetown Road and I-74 where the old 14th Street clover leaf used to be. Tilton has been working on acquiring both the north and south of I-74 old cloverleaf areas, with hopes of a Culver’s on the south side.
With Bill Wear now in the Tilton mayor’s seat after the retirement of Dave Phillips, Wear says the trick is to not be the center of attention. As part-time mayor, he plans to play a chief executive type role, with Tiffany Jones handling day-by-day activities as city administrator.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: Me and Tiffany have worked great together in the past, so nothing there’s going to change. Me and Dave Phillips grew up together, and our thought process is close to exactly the same. So, unless someone actually knows that I’m mayor, they probably won’t even notice the difference.
City Administrator Tiffany Jones agreed that this is an ideal transition, and structure.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: Billy Wear has been on the board since 1989. So, I mean you take our old mayor’s knowledge, he was here since 1976, we still have someone here who is very knowledgeable about our town. And we can get hold of him pretty much anytime if there’s a big decision to be made.
One thing Mayor Wear pointed out is some changes that have been a long time coming. First, the new Parkway Cannabis Dispensary is going up along Georgetown Road, with a growth center set for right behind it. The plans include a consumption lounge, video gaming; and as Wear points out, developer Paul Offutt’s plans for an outdoor entertainment venue that will be visible from Georgetown Road as everyone drives by.
(1st Picture) Tilton Mayor Bill Wear; (2nd Picture) Tilton City Administrator Tiffany Jones.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: He’s putting a venue on there, and he’s going to bring in bands for local people to come and listen to.
Then, there’s the ongoing transaction of Tilton finally acquiring, from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the land around the old 14th Street clover leafs, west of Georgetown Road and north and south of I-74, that don’t exist anymore. No specific plans on the north side yet; but on the south side, yes, talks with Culvers have been going on for a while. Mayor Wear says he wants to see with his own eyes that Tilton now controls that old clover leaf area.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: Culvers has been, what, a three-year project? And a lot of it had to do with working with IDOT trying to get that property. Well, I’m not going to say too much of anything until that deed’s sitting in our possession.
Another major hope Wear mentioned is convincing IDOT to get the ramp coming on I-74 West and off I-74 East at the Tilton G Street interchange moved down to the last street in Tilton; and therefore making more room for a possible future tenant at the old General Motors Central Foundry site.
For the latest about what’s happening in Tilton, just go to TiltonIL.com.
