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Logan County Board
September Workshop Meeting
[September 21, 2026]
The Logan County Board held
their monthly workshop meeting on Thursday, September 17th. This
meeting started after the special Zoning and Economic Development
Committee meeting, which ran over the original 6 p.m. start time.
Chairman Lance Conahan, Hannah Fitzpatrick, JR Glenn, Kevin Knauer,
Keenan Leesman, Dale Nelson, Bob Sanders, Gil Turner, and Jim
Wessbecher were all present. Vice Chairman Joseph Kuhlman and Kathy
Schmidt were absent.
Public comments came before the action items, and there were several
people wanting to speak. The first two commenters were the parents
of a girl who they say had her constitutional rights violated by the
Logan County Sheriff’s Department. Over the past few months, they
have been coming to meetings and have informed the board that the
Illinois Attorney General’s office issued five strict
recommendations on the Sheriff’s Department. They called on the
board to ensure that the recommendations are put in place by the
Sheriff’s Department.
A woman then spoke on the status of her Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
request, saying that she is waiting on it. She has also come to
meetings over the last few months to inquire about the status of her
request, which she stated has not been filled. Conahan stated that
he would speak to the board secretary, and Nelson stated that the
FOIA’s had been validated, something the woman called a “flat out
lie.” She additionally inquired about an enforcement officer for the
Zoning Department and wanted to know when someone would be hired for
the position. Conahan stated that they would be looking at the
budget next week.
Another commenter inquired about the status of a data center
moratorium. Fitzpatrick stated that she spoke to State’s Attorney
Brad Hauge and that the moratorium they were working on was “too
vague.” Nelson said that the moratorium was supposed to be until
they had an ordinance put in place, and that they were working on
another ordinance. This was what the Zoning and Economic Development
Committee discussed in their meeting before workshop.
There were a few other comments and
one strong recommendation for Norma J. Bathe to be appointed as a
trustee to the Hartsburg Fire Protection District. Conahan next
moved on to the committee reports, starting with Wessbecher of the
Building and Grounds Committee.
Wessbecher had one item on the agenda and a few items off the floor.
The agenda item was to approve the Trick or Treat with the Mayor
event at Latham Park on October 24th. There were a few items
regarding expanding the pickleball court at Scully Park to add
another court. Wessbecher presented motions for lights, concrete,
and pickleball tile that cost $14,500, $26,550, and $13,394
respectively. These amounts would be coming out of the Community
Benefit Fund.
A motion to approve a firewall from Heart IT in the amount of
$28,709.21 was introduced, as was a motion to do the outside dome
lights on the courthouse. The amount for lights was $19,000 and the
offer was made by Union Street Electric. There was another motion
for sewer work at the Animal Control building to be completed by
Fitzpatrick’s Construction. Wessbecher stated there would be a limit
of $12,000. Two other motions made were for lights in and around the
Logan Building.
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The Executive and
Personnel Committee was next. Nelson introduced the four items
from the agenda. The board did not have any discussion on the
items. First was the appointment of Jamie J. Johnson, Tara A.
Chandler, and Kathy Aughenbaugh as trustees to the Chestnut
Street Light District. Next was the appointment of Alan Sasse to
the Beason Fire Department. After that was a Mt. Pulaski
Boosters Raffle. Last was the appointment of Bathe as trustee to
the Hartsburg Fire Protection District.
The Finance Committee came next.
Leesman had only one item, that being the “Trustee’s Scavenger
Sale,” which Conahan stated was the tax sale. Knauer was after with
Safety and introduced three motions. First was the purchasing of a
garage door and opener for the Animal Control building. Second was a
transfer of $100,000 to the Logan County Paramedic Association for
their tax levy. Last was the appointment of Fitzpatrick as a board
representative for the Sheriff’s union negotiations. None of these
items garnered any discussion.
Wessbecher then introduced a couple items for the Transportation
Committee. First was a lease renewal agreement for Terminal Shop and
Hangar Q. The second item was for some additional surveys for a
bridge project on 1500th Street in Chester and East Lincoln
townships.
Turner shared that there were no items from the Zoning Committee, so
Conahan moved on to the Chair’s Report. He said that he would be
meeting with the department heads and Bellwether on Monday to start
discussing the budget. He spoke on the appointment of Andrea Hinton
to Michael DeRoss’s empty District 5 seat. He shared that she had
submitted a letter of interest and a letter of support from the
Logan County Republicans. Sanders asked if there were any other
interested parties that Conahan was aware of. Conahan stated that
Hinton was the only one from the Republican Party. Since the seat
was previously held by a republican, the person appointed to fill it
would need to be of the same party.
Conahan entertained a motion to adjourn, but County Engineer Bret
Aukamp said that there was supposed to be one more item regarding a
draft ordinance on bike trails. Conahan stated that Hauge had not
yet reviewed it, but that they could pass it contingent upon Hauge’s
approval.
Aukamp shared a bit on the item, stating that it would allow the
county to get some of the engineering work for the trail done.
Additionally, they were looking into applying for some grants from
the Illinois Department of Transportation. The county would need
about $484,000 to get the path from Williamsville to Lincoln. Aukamp
said they are hoping to spread that amount over a few years and find
a few additional sources of revenue.
After discussion of the item was over, Conahan entertained a motion
to adjourn.
[Matt Boutcher]
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