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Logan County Board
January Safety and Finance Meetings
[January 14, 2026]
On Tuesday, January 13th, both
the Safety and Finance Committees of the larger Logan County Board
held their monthly meetings. Both meetings were very short, and are
both being reported on here.
The Safety Committee meeting was held in the Blue Room of the Logan
County Safety Complex starting at 5:30 p.m. Three of the five
members were present, including Chairman Kevin Knauer, Vice Chairman
Kathy Schmidt, and Lance Conahan. Absent were JR Glenn and Bob
Sanders.
The meeting began, as all meetings do, with the approval of the
previous month’s minutes. This was followed by the Animal Control
Report, as there was neither any new business or old business. This
report was given by Jane Whiteman, head of Logan County Animal
Control. Whiteman started her report by stating that there were
currently seven dogs infected with parvo, a viral disease that, in
dogs, can be fatal. Whiteman explained that the dogs that have this
are very young and would require hospitalization to treat. Due to
this, she stated that they are probably going to let these animals
go.
Whiteman also shared that, two months prior, they had an outbreak
with sixteen dogs, only two of which died. These dogs were older,
however. She went on to state that they are not taking any new
puppies but are hoping that any new full grown dogs will be able to
fight off the parvo if they contract it. She states that someone
left a bunch of puppies at their building recently. She also shared
that there have not been any more calls from outside the townships.
Several issues with phones, both the animal control cell phone and
their office phone, were discussed, with the board stating that they
are looking into fixing the issue. Conahan also informed Whiteman of
new burglary and fire alarm systems for their building that were
approved on Monday at the Building and Grounds Committee meeting.
These items still have to go to the Workshop meeting on Thursday,
and then before the board for final approval at their regular
meeting next week Tuesday, January 20th.
Next was the Sheriff’s Report. Sheriff Mark Landers was not in
attendance, so Josh Pharis took his place. He stated that there were
no updates at the moment. When Knauer asked about scaffolding being
blown down in the ongoing construction site at the Safety Complex,
Pharis stated that this set the construction crew back a little, but
not by much.
Next was the EMA report, of which there was nothing to report. This
was followed by the Coroner’s Report, which Knauer stated was in the
packets given to the committee members, but nothing was shared
aloud. The committee then approved some animal control bills before
voting to adjourn.
The next meeting, the Finance Committee meeting, was held in the
same room about ten minutes after the adjournment of the Safety
meeting. This meeting, starting at about 6:00 p.m., and was attended
by all five committee members. This included Chairman Kathy Schimdt,
Vice Chairman Joseph Kuhlman, Dale Nelson, Keenan Leesman, and Lance
Conahan.
There was only one item on the agenda under old business. That item
was a Community Benefit Fund (CBF) request from Monarch Youth
Center, the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice center operated
at 861 S State Street in Lincoln.
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Previously, the
committee sent this item back to committee, as it was unsure if
the request met all the requirements that are set in place in
the CBF application. Another issue the committee had with the
request was the fact that the facility is operated by the state
and should be funded by the state. Conahan called the request
“offensive” at last month’s meeting, stating that the county was
not invited to the walkthrough of the facility. The initial
request was for some equipment for the juveniles housed in the
facility, such as a ping pong table.
Nelson once again brought up that he felt the facility should
not be asking the county for money since they are state run.
Leesman stated that, while the CBF application does not
specifically prohibit the county from giving funds to taxing
bodies, that might be something to look in to. He suggested that
they might require a matching amount from these entities, should
they meet the other requirements of the application. No vote on
the matter was taken, leaving the item to die on the committee
floor. Conahan made sure to mention that he did not have any
ill-will toward the man who made the request but simply did not
feel the county should fulfill it.
Nelson gave a brief update on the county’s new broker, stating
that they are going to have to pay their previous broker about
$11,000 to “abide by the contract.” This is something he stated
would be handled by the Executive and Personnel Committee.
Conahan also shared that the County Clerk Kelly Elias had
requested a county credit card to be used for things such as
conferences she is required to attend. He said that he is going
to bring this off the floor at the Workshop meeting on Thursday
with a $5,000 per month spending limit. Nelson further stated
that, while the county does not require this specific item to be
put to a vote by the full board, the bank they operate through
requires them to submit meeting minutes with the request for a
credit card showing that the board is in approval of it.
Schmidt also gave an update, stating that she had talked to
Bellwether, the company that helped the county put together
their 2026 budget. They informed her that they do variance
reports to see how the different departments are spending their
money and ensure that they are all on budget.
After these updates, the committee voted to adjourn.
[Matt Boutcher]
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