January 23, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, March 8

I am here so you don’t have to be.

VIllage Clerk Tiffany McElroy Smetzer is wearing a shamrock sweater which I can get down with because I am 75% plus Irish.

They are doing the minutes, bills, treasurer’s report. The stuff they gotta do but is boring. #itsbasicallyhousework

Crowd control: It’s just me. Said the St. Joseph DQ is going to be awesome and is going to hold a fundraiser for the splash pad. Date TBD.

Board is discussing the different type of residential zoning. R1, R2, R3, R4 are all different but barely. They are discussing when the zoning meetings are to discuss the updated zoning map. This does not have anything to do with Philo Exchange Bank. This is the zoning update they have discussed previously which was first discussed 5 years ago. (I know it was five years ago because I was on maternity leave with Sully.) #historicalknowledge #Nooneelsewouldknowthis #trivia

Picnic table time. There are 1800 pounds of bottle caps that have been collected. #somany The kids at Prince of Peace Early Learning Center count them, sort them, ect. then the village stores them and when there is enough they can have picnic tables and park benches made out of them.

Max Painter is discussing how they could do a park bench in honor of Ross Booker. It would cost $300 plus the plaque. Tami saying there is no set policy on this for the village. Tami is recommending the village order it and then people who want to donate to the cause donate towards the bench. So they are ordering four benches, one will be to honor Ross and if you want to donate towards it contact the village.

They are discussing a fee for people who want to do solar panels on their home or in their yard. Are there enough people in town that want solar panels that they need a fee? I guess so.

The fee for solar panels and wind turbines will be $50. #gogreeniguess

Discussing the minimum wage increase through 2025. Joe has information from other communities.

They have been discussing this for a while but it’s all theoretical so I am not going into it. Basically, they will eventually, sometime in the future discuss it again.

The next meeting will feature the village’s bond council. #pleasesendhelp #bondsareboring

The community survey results are in. I will get the results. #didyousayyouwantedasplashpad #youbetterhave.

They are announcing the winners of the gift cards. The winners are Amber Barnett and Julie Woller. Come to village hall to claim your IGA gift card.

The village hall has lost WIFI. No one panic. #Wehavebeenlosingitatourhouseallday

Tami saying please keep the Booker family in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. They are discussing the Gift of Life flag-raising ceremony that was held earlier for Ross at Carle due to his organ donation.

MIke Sennert is here and trying to get the internet back up. #idontknowifitwillwork #heistryingthough

Art is saying he has spoken to two people who moved from Champaign to other area towns because of the school situation in Champaign. He feels like the village needs to do something to expand residential development in order to encourage more people to live here. Tami said Joe is having meetings to spur development along.


Meeting adjourned.





Banner
Related Posts

Registration open for electronics recycling event

September 9, 2019

September 9, 2019

Residents in St. Joseph, Homer, Royal, Ogden and unincorporated Champaign County can now register for the county-wide electronic recycling event....

Live at St. Joseph Village board, July 27

July 27, 2021

July 27, 2021

Reg Ankrom is here discussing electrical aggregation and is saying the village should take a break from aggregation for a...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, September 27

September 27, 2022

September 27, 2022

I am here so you don’t have to be. MX electric sponsors our live blogs. SO if you have an...

Chittick Eye Care to open in early March

February 24, 2020

February 24, 2020

Chittick Eye Care will open its ninth clinic in downtown St. Joseph in early March. The clinic will be staffed...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, April 26

April 26, 2022

April 26, 2022

I am here. With my 20 closest friends.We are moving the agenda all over to get people in and out....

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, June 28, 2022

June 28, 2022

June 28, 2022

I am here early and we are discussing the lines to vote today. Today at 5 p.m. there was a...

Mondays with the Mayor… Ray Cunningham

January 22, 2019

January 22, 2019

Every Monday we will ask a Mayor from an area village to answer three questions. This week it is Homer...

Village Board to continue discussing sewer rate increase

March 26, 2019

March 26, 2019

The St. Joseph Village Board is expected to continue discussing the timeline for the upcoming sewer rate increase roll out...

Village asks residents to complete community survey

January 5, 2022

January 5, 2022

The Village of St. Joseph wants to know what its residents think. The village has created a community survey, which...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Jan. 25

January 25, 2022

January 25, 2022

Tonight at St. Joseph Village Board we will get some honorary street designations, a discussion and vote regarding special event...

‘It’s probably the biggest event, the biggest natural disaster we have had’

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2023

Assistant Public Works Director Luke Fisher has never seen anything like it. “It’s probably the biggest event, the biggest natural...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Jan. 12, 2021

January 12, 2021

January 12, 2021

I will live blog tonight. Pavlov media will give a presentation. Susan Monte from Regional Planning will be there. We...

Village expected to accept bid for Boy Scout Building

September 13, 2022

September 13, 2022

The village is expected to accept a bid for the former Boy Scout Building tonight. Roche and Heather Cain submitted...

Foundation wants Community Building at Woodard Park

July 22, 2024

July 22, 2024

A foundation has been created to bring a community building to St. Joseph. The St. Joseph Recreation Foundation was registered...

Philo Exchange Bank holds meeting to address concerns

March 1, 2022

March 1, 2022

Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges wants residents near a proposed location for Philo Exchange Bank to know she is not in favor...

Comments
Leave a Reply