Old King Coal Festival seeking nominations for 2020 Old King Coal

February 15, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Steve Sawalich, President of the southern Illinois Old King Coal Festival announced nominations are being accepted for the 2020 Old King Coal. Old King Coal will reign over this year’s festival which will be held May 7th thru the 9th in down
town West Frankfort.

This honor is bestowed annually to a deserving coal miner. All living Southern Illinois miners are eligible, regardless of age or number of years they have worked in the mines. Nomination forms can be downloaded from the festival website at www.oldkingcoalfestival.org. Forms are also available at the water office at West Frankfort City Hall, West Frankfort Chamber of Commerce or Advanced Hearing Center in the West Frankfort Outlet Mall. Nominations can be mailed to Old King Coal Festival, P.O. Box 242, West Frankfort, Illinois 62896. Deadline to submit a nomination is Monday, March 16, 2020. Old King Coal will be crowned during the Old King Coal Festival Princess Flame Scholarship Pageant on Saturday, April 4th to be held at Paschedag Auditorium at Frankfort Community High School in West Frankfort.

The 2020 Old King Coal Festival kicks off Thursday May 7th with bargain night on the midway. There is free entertainment each evening on the main stage. Other events include the Coal Miners Memorial Service and Grand Parade. For a complete schedule of all events or to download nomination forms for Old King Coal and entry forms for the Princess Flame Scholarship pageant go to www.oldkingcoalfestival.org.

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Gas pump attendant mandate would guarantee price increase, Illinois convenience store group says

February 15, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Proposed legislation in Illinois that would mandate your gas is pumped by an employee of the gas station would guarantee a price increase and is a “typical Springfield solution to creating jobs,” a convenience store group says.

Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.

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Pritzker says budget proposal will include $225 million in savings

February 15, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday that his budget proposal will include $225 million in savings along with the potential for $750 million more in taxpayer savings in three years.

Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.

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New bill would establish 60-day time limit for Illinois State Police to consider FOID appeals

February 9, 2020 By Leave a Comment

A new proposal would put the Illinois State Police on the clock to make decisions a resident’s Firearm Owners Identification, or FOID card.

Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.

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First wave of rural broadband access grants in Illinois announced

February 9, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Illinois is releasing the first $50 million worth of grants aimed at expanding broadband internet access to rural areas and urban segments without service.

Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.

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Thoughts on old drunks, right versus wrong and paying for your raising

February 8, 2020 By Leave a Comment

If there’s a single thought behind today’s offering it can be found in a phrase that my late mother used often: ‘You pay for your raising.’

As a youngster growing up in Sesser I learned that for some people life is a daily struggle, a battle against demons they can’t control and that they sometimes lose against. I learned that by watching my Uncle Paul – a man who literally drank himself to death at age 40 and a man that most people would have referred to as the ‘town drunk.’

Looking back I couldn’t argue with that assessment of him. However, I also remember seeing pictures and hearing family members tell stories about the man he was long before alcohol destroyed his appearance, his looks and his ambition. Once he was a decorated Navy veteran, a big strapping man with a quick wit, a ready smile and a keen sense of humor. Of course those who remember him stumbling down the street drunk on cheap wine wouldn’t recall those things.

Even though I was only 14 when he died, I learned from Uncle Paul that life is very fragile and the potential is there for all of us to stray far off course.
Those old familiar thoughts and feelings resurfaced this week. Let me explain.

I’ve done play-by-play coverage of Benton High School sports on WQRL radio for nearly 25 years. On a recent Saturday afternoon I’d just finished a broadcast of a Benton football game in West Frankfort and was leaving town for the 20-mile drive home. It had been a long day and since I hadn’t had breakfast or lunch I stopped at the local convenience store for a quick snack.

As I exited my truck I noticed a couple in a beat-up, SUV in the next parking space. A woman was behind the wheel and a man was in the passenger seat. For some reason I glanced and noticed the Tennessee plates on their vehicle. I went into the store, got my goodies and headed back to my truck. The couple was still in their vehicle and as I approached my truck the man addressed me.

“Excuse me sir … would you be interested in buying a 36-quart cooler?”

I turned to face the man, who then got out of his SUV. Tired, worn out and just wanting to go home, I asked what it was he wanted to sell. “I’ve got a cooler to sell, I want $3 for it … I need a drink,” he said.

I looked the man up and down and guessed him to be in his mid-50s. He had a weathered look, a week’s growth of beard and he wore a T-shirt that had stains on the front, worn out jeans and a pair of tattered shoes. I also picked up the distinct smell of the full-fledged alcoholic – those poor souls that drink so much you can literally smell the alcohol coming out of the pores of their skin. Many people might not recognize that smell, but I do. I immediately thought of Uncle Paul.

The man removed the beat up cooler from his vehicle and sat it on the ground between us. “I’ll take $3 for it … we’re just traveling through … and I need a drink.” It was the fourth time in about three minutes that he told me he needed a drink. He assured me the driver was not drinking, but addicts lie.

At that moment I could have taken a holier-than-thou approach and left. I could have lectured him that cheap booze will eventually kill him. I could have told him that Jesus loves him –I believe He does. But I didn’t do any of those things. Instead I said and did exactly what I felt I should do at that moment.

“I wouldn’t give you $3 for that cooler,” I told him. “But I would give you $20 for it.” He looked at me with a confused expression on his face and again told me that he was only asking $3 and added that he paid $8 for it new. Again, I asked him if he would take $20 for the cooler. “Yes sir, I would,” he told me.

I handed him the money, wished him well and drove away with my ‘new’ worn-out cooler and a flood of emotions rolling around in my head. There will be those that will say I enabled a drunk, and I did. There will be those that say I gave an alcoholic money to buy booze and head down the highway, and I did. You see, I didn’t know this man with an insatiable need for alcohol, but I did know this man and I know the world where he lives. And you’ll either understand that last sentence or you won’t … so there’s no need to explain.

There hasn’t been a day go by since this encounter that I’ve not wrestled with the right vs. wrong of the way I handled the situation. Perhaps I was wrong, maybe I was right. I still can’t decide, but I do know given the same set of circumstances … I’d do the same thing again. Yes, you pay for your raising.

(Jim Muir has been a journalist in Southern Illinois for 23 years working in newspaper, radio and magazine. Follow Jim Muir on Facebook or on Twitter @jmuir1153. He can be reached at jmuir@frontier.com or at 618-525-4744.)

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Update on Franklin County Courthouse/Campbell Building – January 31, 2020

January 31, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Update on Franklin County Courthouse/Campbell Building – January 31, 2020

Two more Franklin County offices have moved to the Campbell Building, located on the south side of the Benton Public Square, and the court system and circuit clerk’s office will be following suit very quickly.

The Franklin County Clerk and Franklin County Treasurer’s offices have relocated to the south end of the Campbell Building and were opened for business on January 22, 2020. Both offices will permanently remain at their new location after the new courthouse is constructed.

The Franklin County Circuit Clerk’s office is still open at the old courthouse and will remain open through Feb. 7, 2020. There are no court dates scheduled for Feb. 3 through Feb. 7, 2020 (except for emergencies). The first scheduled court hearings are slated to be held at the Campbell Building on Feb. 10, 2020. The circuit clerk’s office, women’s advocate office, three court rooms and court reporters’ office and judges chambers are located on the lower level of the Campbell Building. The entrance to go to the lower level is located on the east side of the Campbell Building through the newly-constructed 40-feet-by-24 feet addition. Security will be located in the new addition along with an elevator and stairs to gain access to the lower level or to stay on the ground-level floor.

A new automated phone system was installed at the Campbell Building that will allow callers to access nine different county offices including, treasurer, county clerk, circuit clerk, supervisor of assessments, domestic abuse advocate, regional superintendent of schools, election office, court security, court reporters. The new number is 618-435-9800.

On January 21, 2020 the county board voted unanimously to adopt a budget of $20.8 million for the funding package that will include the cost of the new 46,000 square feet courthouse that is scheduled for construction later this year. The $20.8 million cost is approximately $3 million less than the original proposal submitted. It is very important to note that the $20.8 million budget also includes the $1.6 million to renovate the 21,000-square-feet Campbell Building and another $1.6 million in construction contingency added to offset any cost overrides.

Navigate Building Solutions, of St. Louis, is serving as project manager for the construction phase of the new courthouse. Todd Sweeney, owner of Navigate, was at the meeting and told board members that he fully believes the $1.6 million in construction contingency can be returned to the county. Sweeney said his company recently completed a large project in St. Charles, MO that had a $25 million budget and a construction contingency of $2.5 million. He said all the construction bids in St. Charles came in within the proposed budget and the entire $2.5 million was not used. Subtracting the cost of the Campbell Building renovation ($1.6 million) and the construction contingency ($1.6 million) the cost of the construction (including all professional, architect and other costs) the cost of the actual construction of the new courthouse is projected to be in the range of $17.5 million to $18 million.

Demolition on the Benton Evening News office began on Thursday, January 30 and was expected to be completed in short order. McVicker Excavating & Demolition, the lower bidder on the demolition, projected that it will take only two days to raze the building and then work will begin on making a parking lot for much-needed parking space.

Concerned business owners from the Benton Public Square area have attended recent meetings expressing concerns and seeking input from the county board regarding potential parking problems on the square. The county board has secured permission for the use of part of the parking at First Baptist Church, located on South Main Street. The parking lot west of the church will be available along with parking at the Benton Evening News. The board also recently sent a letter to all employees asking them to refrain from parking on the Public Square and said part of the bid process for construction of the new courthouse will have a provision that no construction workers will be allowed to park on the public square.

Additionally, the city of Benton, as a means to help businesses, is also looking at modifying an ordinance that would prohibit any employee or business owner that works on the square from parking.

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker says Illinois needs to ‘root out the purveyors of greed and corruption’ in State of State speech

January 29, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says Illinois needs to ‘root out the purveyors of greed and corruption’ in State of State speech

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

Filed Under: Featured

‘He talked about Twitter more than property taxes,’ Republicans unimpressed with Pritzker’s State of the State speech

January 29, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Political leaders from both sides of the aisle weighed in on the state of Illinois after Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivered his State of the State address Wednesday to the General Assembly in Springfield.

Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.

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Ex-state Sen. Martin Sandoval sent bills to empty committees, ensuring they wouldn’t advance

January 29, 2020 By Leave a Comment

A former state lawmaker who pleaded guilty Tuesday to accepting $250,000 in bribes in exchange for using his legislative weight to unilaterally stop bills from advancing often assigned measures to a subcommittee that had no members, essentially ensuring those measures wouldn’t advance.

Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.

Filed Under: Featured
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