In the Tazewell County Department of Assessments and Board of Review office, Gary Twist fills the role of Freedom of Information Act officer. It is a role created by the state’s new Freedom of Information Act, which went into effect Jan. 1. Twist, however, is not in compliance with the law.
When asked, Twist admitted he had not completed the state required training on the new Freedom of Information Act and did not have the materials required to be available in plain sight under the act.
But, Twist was not alone.
While maintenance workers in Morton District 709 were busy over the summer, they were not as busy as in previous summers.
The state’s schedule for major repairs on one of the village’s busiest streets — and a new version of traffic signals for left turns on state highways — will test local motorists’ patience and skills possibly into next spring.
The public may never know why the Tazewell County Sheriff’s merit commission found no wrongdoing in the actions of three Tazewell County Justice Center corrections officers’ involved in striking a female prisoner.
Despite the fact that there is a widely circulated video showing two corrections officers confronting the female prisoner with what some maintain was excessive force, the merit commission ruled in favor of the officers and their supervisor. The officers have since been reinstated to their jobs.
Businesses in Old Morton are in for some welcome changes.
The Morton Village Board approved an ordinance Monday during a meeting at Freedom Hall that would wave existing parking requirements within the district.
The Tazewell County Board approved more than $100,000 in midyear budget reductions Wednesday in an attempt to make the process of setting next year's budget easier.
The board unanimously approved eliminating three full-time positions and one half-time position and transferring $107,000 budgeted to pay these salaries to the contingency line item. All of the positions were vacant, so nobody lost a job as a result of the cuts.
In his fifth state-of-the-village speech, perhaps Morton Mayor Norm Durflinger took a less aggressive approach than in years past.
Instead of hinting at the village’s agenda, Durflinger led the focus of the speech to what has been done in Morton. There were no immediate plans for controversial changes such as the ones residents have heard in the past — beer and wine in grocery stores, business districts or school restructuring.
Speaking in front of republican supporters at the Knights of Columbus Friday morning, State Sen. Dan Rutherford told onlookers that, if he is elected into the Illinois Treasurer’s spot, his first order of business would be to shut down six satellite treasurer’s offices in the state.
U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock visited Morton Thursday to tour Fort Transfer and then attend the annual state-of-the-village address presented by Morton Mayor Norm Durflinger. Watch the seven-minute video of Schock's comments here.
The village's retail sales tax increase is now in effect. Businesses are already adjusting their prices.
There are bigger than normal bucks flowing out of the Tazewell County Treasurer’s office.
The Tazewell County Treasurer’s office has disbursed 50 percent of the money the county’s 182 taxing bodies sought in their tax levies.
To truly understand the inner workings of the new Morton Fire Department headquarters on Courtland Avenue, one would have to see for themselves. But, perhaps nobody knows the station better than Morton Fire Department Chief Joe Kelley.
He has been involved in the planning, construction and transitional phases of the new station since day one.
“Those original plans look nothing like what we built,” Kelley said of the first drawings for the station.
Two-part video inside
Even with the addition of 50 parking spots on the Idlewood side of Morton Family Aquatic Center, the village is already concerned that overflowing parking could become a safety issue if it is not addressed.
