THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: Steve Miller, Vermilion County Board chairman, in his office in the Joseph G. Cannon Building in Danville.
DANVILLE — Vermilion County Board Chair Steve Miller says the county has a lot on its plate this year.
Miller, 75, who became county board chairman in December, grew up on a farm northwest of Indianola. He was first elected to the county board in 1976, serving four years. He then served two years in the Illinois General Assembly. He was unelected in 1982 due to redistricting. He’s also been a school board member — he went to the 1984 convention as a Ronald Reagan delegate — and he’s been in local politics all his adult life.
He said he usually helps others get elected. He’d rather help others than run himself. He was appointed in 2021 to fill Chuck Mockbee III’s position after he died.
Miller has been an attorney for 50 years with the Acton & Snyder firm, which is across the street from the Joseph G. Cannon Building, county administration building, in downtown Danville.
“I’m working lots of nights and weekends,” Miller said. “But having an office across the street helps immensely. And you don’t have to be in this room (county board chairman’s office) to be thinking of solving the problems of the county. So, I spend a lot of time studying matters outside of the office, after office hours of the county. And I think it’s going to be, well it’s been exhausting, let’s say that.”
“I’ve got a very excellent practice, and I have lots of great clients, and I anticipate I’ll be a lawyer after I end my service to the county,” Miller said. “But I’ve been managing lots of critical matters for a long time. I was the bankruptcy trustee for 17 years. I did that plus serve as an attorney and all my other community activities. I’ve always come from a long line of workaholics, and I usually work six days a week, if not seven, and so I keep a lot of things going at one time. I try not to let any balls hit the floor.”
There are no set, required hours to serve as county board chairman.
He said he rolls up his sleeves and takes on a lot of projects on behalf of the county. He feels he’ll have good work balance as chairman.
“You could do a perfect job, and there’d be complaints,” Miller added. “This is a public office, you know, so there will be complaints. It’s part of the territory.”
“But I’m here quite a bit, and when I’m not here, I’m always thinking about solutions to problems,” he added.
For 2025, the county has two big infrastructure projects going on with the company Centrica. The first is well underway, which included replacing windows at the Rita B. Garman Vermilion County Courthouse. That project could be done this week.
The Joseph G. Cannon Building will next see work start this spring, by the end of March, on replacing the 100 dated windows.
Heat pumps are going into the courthouse. They started in the basement and are currently on the third floor. Out of 93, they’ve completed 46 heat pumps. Installation should be completed by the end of March.
Water-fixture replacements have started at the health department and are moving to the Joseph G. Cannon Building this week. They anticipate being done in four weeks.
All the buildings but the courthouse have had lighting fixtures installed. The courthouse ones are being finished. There are a few items they are waiting on for some of the buildings due to a shortage in the order, according to county officials. Lights could be completed by March.
Miller said two Centrica contracts totaled about $7.5 million and $3.4 million.
The county’s former Emergency Management Agency building on Georgetown Road should be demolished soon. The county removed some items from the building which is falling down.
Once the demolition is completed, Vermilion County Sheriff Pat Hartshorn has asked the county to consider using the property to build another building for two wash bays and a place to store equipment and work on vehicles.
They will look at that. It’s in early planning stages right now, Miller said.
The county also has a review of the Lakewood Addition Subdivision plat it’s undertaking. Lakewood Estates consists of homes in a gated community east of Henning Road, south of Hungry Hollow Road and north of Hillery. It’s a housing development not officially done by the rules, Miller said, and they have to straighten out the property titles, roadways and easements.
