Jerry Hawker, chairman of the County Board’s Finance and Personnel Committee, explains votes taken during Tuesday evening’s meeting…

{AUDIO: “We now have everything ratified except the Teamsters contract with the Highway Department.  And we’re working forward on that.  I should be, I think, accomplished hopefully by next month. But all the others have been ratified.  Basically, we gave a three-percent raise for each of three years, which is pretty consistent right now in the area.”}

The County Board also approved a salary package for those county officeholders who will be elected in November…

{AUDIO: “Everyone that’s being elected this fall, they also will be given a 3-percent raise. …That way everyone will be the same.  The ones that were elected two years ago, we did the same thing.  So, if we keep it like that all the time, the ones that were elected two years ago and the ones that are elected this year will make the same amount of money.”}

The new salary package for elected officials covers the Vermilion County Clerk, County Treasurer, Supervisor of Assessments, Board of Review members and County Board members, plus the County Board Chairman. It does not cover the Sheriff or Regional Superintendent of Schools even though those offices are also on the November ballot.  The salaries for those two positions are set by the State of Illinois.

Under the new salary schedule approved by the County Board, the total compensation for the Treasurer, County Clerk, Supervisor of Assessments, and County Board Chairman will rise (in steps) from $93-thousand-463-dollars for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to $101-thousand-528-dollars by fiscal year 2029-2030.   The Board of Review Chairman’s salary will rise from $29-thousand-136 dollars in the upcoming fiscal year, to $31-thousand, 840 in fiscal year 2029-2030.  Board of Review Commissioners’ salaries will rise during that period from $26,178 to $28,607.  Language changes in the contract for the Sheriff’s Department add one more step in longevity, and a small increase in clothing allowance.

Hawker also said the county’s financial outlook is improving…

{AUDIO:  “A few months ago the General Fund was down to 10-million (dollars).   We’re up to twelve-and-a-half million and officeholders and department heads are doing a real good job in trying to hold down on expenses.  And tax bills just went out, so here in the next 30 days – or 45 days – we’ll be receiving our first installment.  Of course, we have to pay now for this 3-percent (raise) that we just approved tonight.”}

County Board Chairman Steve Miller says the county does not want to lose good employees.  He noted there are a number of long-term employees and said there will be more about them next month.

ABOVE: County Board property committee chairman Mark Steinbaugh

Upgrades to three county-owned buildings are moving forward because of votes taken by the Vermilion County Board last (Tuesday) evening.  First, the board agreed to accept a $2.5 million dollar gift from the Julius Hegeler II Foundation which will be used for improvements to the county animal shelter.  County Board Chairman Steve Miller says all opportunities will be considered for the shelter…

AUDIO: Whether it’s acquisition or renovation; and I’ll be working the chairman of the property committee, the chairman of the health and education committee, the finance committee chairman, the former director out there Mr Hawker, and of course the current chairman Mr Goodner.  And we’ll have some I’m sure preliminary discussions.  And where it goes from there I’m not 100% certain, and we’ll just see where we’re headed.

The County Board also approved $3.1 million dollars in improvements for the Joseph G. Cannon Building and Rita B. Garman Vermilion County Courthouse.  The board declared an emergency to replace a cooling tower in the Cannon building insuring air conditioning will be available this summer.  Other work at the Cannon building includes major upgrades to the elevator. Mark Steinbaugh, chairman of the county board’s property committee, says the elevator cannot be completely replaced because the building is a national historic site….

AUDIO: We are grandfathered in because of the building status that we have.  So, they will redo the entire thing, basically, except the cabin.  But the cabin will be remodeled inside and outside; new electronics, new hydraulics.

Steinbaugh says work on the elevator will likely not begin until late this fall or early winter.  He says it is expected to be completed next year.

Some tuckpointing and roof work is also included in the upgrades.

AUDIO: We have multi-national corporations who are contracting with companies who have no affiliation with our county, who make no real effort to find out how to coordinate their efforts with the existing public utilities of various villages, and certainly with private owners.  And they are simply going anywhere they want, and doing anything they want, with impunity.

Miller was asked whether there is anything the county can do to address the concerns…

AUDIO: I don’t think that we have a lot of leverage.  We certainly can’t fix all the ills.  And, I think there was a good comment made tonight; that with respect to the rights-of-way of our county roads, we should have some involvement.  But these companies are just not taking their responsibilities seriously.

State Representative Brandun Schweizer discussed the concerns at a meeting in Tilton last week.  The Westville-Belgium Sanitary District spearheaded last week’s meeting.

{AUDIO:  “It’s a magnificent gift to the county. And we so appreciate the confidence they have in us that we’re going to make the kind of improvements that the public will be proud of – and that will serve our community for a long time.”}

The money from the Julius Hegeler II Foundation will be paid in installments over three years.

(Some county board members listen to the discussion Tuesday evening.)

Also, during their meeting, county board members approved $3.1 million dollars in improvements at the Joseph G. Cannon Building and Rita B. Garman Vermilion County Courthouse.  Replacement of the cooling tower at the Cannon Building is part of the improvements, along with major improvements to the building’s elevator.

Mark Steinbaugh, chairman of the County Board’s Property Committee, says work on the elevator will likely not begin until late this fall or early winter…

{AUDIO: “I would say the elevator project will not be completed until in 2027.  But we’ll do our best to work around what we can do there. We can set-up temporary offices, etcetera.  And that will be taken care of.”}

Some tuckpointing and roof improvements are also among work to be done at the buildings.

{AUDIO:  “We are grateful that they have been able to come up with an installment payment plan – if you will, and this should allow us to begin making plans in earnest for whether we’re going to go to a new location or improve the one we have.”}

The current Animal Control Shelter is located on the Catlin-Tilton Road, just west of Tilton.  Miller says money from the grant will be spread out over multiple years…

{AUDIO:  “The Julius W. Hegeler II Foundation has generously seen fit to make funds available to us over a three year period — which we hopefully will be able to use to make our Department of Animal Regulation more professional, more efficient, and safer for both our employees and the animals that come into our care.”}

Also during their meeting the Finance and Personnel Committee recommended the full board authorize $3.1 million dollars in improvements at the Rita B. Garman Vermilion County Courthouse and Joseph G. Cannon Building.  The work involves replacement of the cooling tower at the Cannon building, along with some roof work and tuckpointing.  Also included is a major renovation of the elevator at the Cannon Building. The full county board will vote on the issues next week.  The County Board meeting was delayed until next Tuesday, April 21^st, 2026, because Township meetings are being held this evening (Tuesday, April 14, 2026).

 THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY

ABOVE: Diane Dawson, treasurer of the Elwood District Carnegie Library, is shown at the restored front desk, at the library along Illinois 1 in Ridge Farm. (Jennifer Bailey/The News Gazette)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is 10th in our 12-story road-trip series looking at the people and places along Illinois 1 — from Watseka to Paris.

RIDGE FARM — A few years ago, the Elwood District Carnegie Library was in pretty bad shape and its future was uncertain.

Jennie Sollars, current president of the library’s board, and her mother, Diane Dawson, who serves as treasurer, were among those tasked with saving the building.

“It hadn’t been maintained in 50 years,” Dawson said, adding that the only things that had been done included the ceilings in 2005 and some repairs to the roof in the 1970s.

To tackle all the needed projects, repairs and remodeling started in December 2023.

“It’s been gutted; this whole floor has been done. Just last year we remodeled,” Dawson said.

FOR MORE FROM THIS STORY PLEASE GO TO https://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/community-events/having-fun-on-illinois-1-ridge-farm-library-growing-again-for-future-generations/article_046f913e-2033-42b0-afce-e128774c8e07.html

 THE FOLLOWING IS A DANVILLE AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE RELEASE

DANVILLE – Danville Area Community College’s Corporate and Community Education department will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 28, beginning at 11AM. The egg hunt is open to children of all ages; the lawn between Lincoln Hall and Clocktower Center will be sectioned into age-division areas, with more than 10,000 eggs available in total.

The annual Easter Egg Hunt at DACC is free and open to the public. Special appearances are planned by Mick Jaguar and the Easter Bunny.

The class begins at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Joseph G. Cannon Building at 201 North Vermilion Street in Danville.  It will be held in the second floor County Board meeting room.

Anyone interested in becoming an official storm spotter is welcome to attend.  Those under the age of 18, however, will not be considered official storm spotters.  There is no charge to attend the class which lasts about two-and-a-half hours.  No advance registration is necessary.

The National Weather Service uses reports from the spotters – along with other information – to decide when to issue warnings to protect the public.  Tuesday’s class is open to both already trained spotters who want to refresh their knowledge, and those interested in becoming a storm spotter.

Board Chairman Steve Miller notes there were multiple buyers…

{AUDIO: “We had 54 of them to the City of Danville before us tonight, 2 at the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority, 2 at the Village of Potomac, 1 at the Village of Oakwood, and 10 other private investors.  These are properties that will hopefully have something done with them in a productive fashion – whether it’s to demolish a structure that’s on them, or to use them to generate some revenue, or somehow get them back on the tax rolls, eventually.”}

A law firm representing Vermilion Advantage conducted the delinquent tax sale as trustee on behalf of the county.

         Also, during their meeting, county board members were told negotiations are in full swing with some bargaining units representing certain county employees.  And Board Chairman Steve Miller said more improvements will be discussed next month regarding the Joseph G. Cannon Building and Rita B. Garman Vermilion County Courthouse…

{AUDIO: “We have a number of different projects that we’re considering.  We’ve got some tuck-pointing at the courthouse, particularly on the north wall outside.  And then on this building, we have some tuck-pointing issues.  We’ve got a roof that’s over the second floor on part of the building that’s now leaking. We need to address that promptly.  And then we have the ever-present issue of modernizing our Kennedy Administration elevator.”}

Because of township meetings scheduled for April 14^th, next month’s county board meeting will be delayed a week to April 21^st.

County Board Chairman Steve Miller says the county is in line for a major grant for the shelter.  But he adds it’s still too early to release details…

{AUDIO:  “Well, we’re still awaiting the formal recognition of our award of a grant that I think will be a very significant improvement for that department.  And we’re trying to figure out what we’re going to do with those funds, and how we’re going to use them.  And when we get that figured out we will bring it to the board.”}

Meanwhile, Jerry Hawker, chairman of the County Board Finance and Personnel Committee, says the animal shelter is currently operating over $250-thousand dollars in the black.  Hawker says the shelter’s finances have improved dramatically from a year ago, partially because the City of Danville is now paying more toward its operations.  And Hawker also praised Animal Control Director Ryan Goodner for improvements made in the shelter’s operations