2019 Year in review

Hot topics in 2019 boils down to two

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[January 03, 2020]  When considering the important issues that the community faced in 2019 the top two hot topics were no-brainers - Cannabis and the crisis of the Logan County Courthouse. Both matters are vitally important to our community now and will also be for years to come.

We’ll start with the Logan County Courthouse because it has been in the news longer and the final outcome,which is yet to be determined by voters, is going to have a lasting impact on the history of our community.

Whether the courthouse gets a restoration of its magnificent stained glass dome or not was the first big question. Pieces of the upper structure started falling in the rotunda and then later through the ceiling and into the third floor courtrooms. Some thought that the best answer would be to remove the dome and restore the courthouse to a flat roofed building. Others fought to maintain the dome because it is beautiful, historically significant, and somewhat rare.

The gigantic elephant in the room is how to pay for the restoration. A referendum will be placed on the March 2020 ballot seeking a Public Facilities Sales Tax to be used only the courthouse restoration.

County officials are looking to a sales tax because it spreads the burden across all Logan County citizens PLUS those who come into our community from outside the county. Travelers who stop and shop in Logan County while passing through will bear a portion of that cost. Those who are not property owners will also bear a portion of the cost through their local purchases.

The tax will work much like the school tax that was passed a few years ago. The tax will not apply to food or medications, but will be applied to many other retail sales within the community.

The county placed a “Public Safety Tax” referendum on the April 2019 ballot with the goal of raising the money for mandated changes to the jail and the courthouse restoration.

That referendum failed. Because that was the second attempt, the board determined to make the next request for the courthouse only.

The total estimated costs for the courthouse renovations are $8,600,000. The plans include prioritized options. Restorationist Bill Walter said that if everything is done under one contract the costs could be reduced to $7,740,000.

In August the board voted to put a referendum on the March 2020 ballot that would provide an estimated $900,000 revenue each year. If the public facilities sales tax referendum passesthe next step is for the county to secure bonds to pay for the entire restoration.
The Public Facilities Sales Tax would also enable the county to provide matching funds to any grant funding it might win, including a significant state capital grant that has been appliedfor already.

04/04 - Sheriff Mark Landers
Statement regarding failed Safety Tax Referendum 

05/03 - Heavy rains collapse Logan County Courthouse third floor ceiling

05/08 - Logan County Board seeks urgent assessment of Logan County Courthouse damage and office relocation plans

05/15 - Building restoration specialist advises to save deteriorating Logan County Courthouse dome 

05/23 - Building restoration specialist to assess Logan County Courthouse 

05/24 - Logan County Briefs: Alternate courthouse space determined, fireworks storage approved, and other matters 

06/05 - Plan process begins in recovering Logan County Courthouse from water damages 

07/12 - Logan County gets update on funding options for courthouse renovations 

07/19 - Logan County Board discusses financing courthouse restoration

07/24 - Logan County board determines how to fund courthouse repairs 

08/19 - Logan County Board revote leaning toward Public Facilities Tax vs Public Safety Tax 

08/27 - Logan County Board votes to put Public Facilities Tax referendum on the March ballot 

10/18 - LOGAN COUNTY COURTHOUSE DOME RAISES GREAT CONCERNS 

10/28 - Logan County Courthouse dome deterioration concerns grow  

11/18 - Logan County Board to consider courthouse dome repair costs and new laws

12/05 - Logan County Courthouse comprehensive restoration estimated $8.6 million 

12/06 - Restoric approved to begin Logan County Courthouse interior dome mitigation 

 

Legalization of recreational marijuana 

In 2019 the state of Illinois passed a monumental law regarding the legalization of recreational marijuana.  Starting the first of January, consumers will be permitted to purchase recreational marijuana for personal use through a registered and state approved retail facility. 

Illinois now joins a handful of other states in the nation that are going to be recognizing marijuana as a taxable product with the demand for the drug adding to the coffers of the state as well as local communities. 

For Logan County this was a highly controversial topic as many spoke out in favor and also against our community becoming a home for such a retail establishment. 

The state is regulating how many retail establishments can be placed in a given region.  Lawmakers have split the state into regions and assigned a number to each region indicating how many retail establishments may set up shop in any given area.  In highly populated areas such as Chicago there are more retailers allowed, while in less densely populated areas such as Logan County and the other counties within the assigned region, fewer retailers will be allowed. 

To date, one company has expressed an interest in setting up a shop in Lincoln, but no applications to the state have been made yet, thus none have been approved. 

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Labeled the ‘West Central Region”  Logan County is grouped off with Adams, Brown, Cass, Christian, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, Livingston, Mason, McDonough, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Pike, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby and Warren Counties. 

Within this 21 county region the state will permit three retail establishments.  Because of this, the odds of any retailer landing in Lincoln are narrow.  However, what this area does have going for it, if you will, is that it is a hub area with interstate connections to nearby communities that are in other state designated regions. 

While it is believed that there will be many local consumers, the desire of the company considering coming to Lincoln is that there would be those who do not want to purchase Cannabis in their hometown, thus they will travel a few miles to get what they want. 

The city of Lincoln debated this issue long and hard as did the Logan County Board and the city of Mount Pulaski. 

The county voted not to allow retail sales establishments in the unincorporated areas of the county.  The city of Lincoln aldermen were split in their decision as were the aldermen for the city of Mount Pulaski.  In both cases the mayors had to settle the vote.  Mount Pulaski Mayor Matt Bobell and Lincoln Mayor Seth Goodman both voted in favor of allowing retail establishments within city limits. 

For those in both communities who voted in favor of the retail establishments, the consensus was that the state had done this, no matter where it is purchased the drugs are going to be in our community legally and our local law enforcement is going to have to deal with the fallout anyway.  Therefore, the communities might reap the benefits of the tax money – up to three percent – that the state is going to permit to those communities with a resale shop. 

For those opposed to the allowance of retail establishments, the argument was based on the kind of message we are sending to our children.   

Many noted that they did not want our historic community with roots to Abraham Lincoln – one of the most honorable Presidents of the United States ever – to be overshadowed by legalized drugs.   

Some also noted that the allowance of gambling in the community had already been detrimental to the county’s reputation and now legalizing marijuana was only going to put another black spot on the image of the communities. 

After the initial passing of the state law, which started out with severe restrictions on where the drugs could be consumed, the state modified its laws and loosened the reigns a bit, allowing for public consumption in designated areas such as hooka bars and “sampling” inside retail establishments. 

The city of Lincoln voted not to allow sampling nor hooka bars, and talked at length about the terminology to assure that citizens understood they could not use the product in public. 

Some of the interesting questions that came out considered the “privacy of one’s own home.”  Does that include outdoor areas?   

Another interesting point made was that marijuana is not legal according to the federal government.  Therefore, properties funded by federal dollars such as public housing will be under federal jurisdiction, and use of cannabis within those properties will be strictly against the law. 

Lincoln will also not permit personal or greenhouse growers in the city while the Mount Pulaski vote included allowances for growers. 

In addition to gaining tax revenue from the legal sale of marijuana, at its December 16th voting session the city of Lincoln approved the licensing fees for such retailers.  The city also established fines for ordinance violations for retailers and buyers. 

To date, the only retail establishments that have been approved by the state of Illinois are those that were already selling medical marijuana.  Sale of recreational marijuana began in Springfield on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. 

05/14 - Logan County Sheriff Mark Landers:
Sheriffs and Chiefs Raise Safety Concerns About Marijuana Legalization Proposal
Recreational Cannabis Bill Contains Known Public Safety Threats And Loopholes


08/29 - Potential recreational marijuana dispensary entrepreneurs approach city of Lincoln

Part one: Business developers request support for retail establishment

Part two: City constituents and aldermen raise questions 

9/12 - Lincoln aldermen prepared to vote on recreational marijuana next week

09/20 - Lincoln aldermen split on legal sale of recreational marijuana
Mayor left to make the decision 

10/11 - Logan County Board to vote on whether or not to allow marijuana dispensaries 

10/17 - Logan County Board says no to marijuana dispensaries and hooka lounges; prepares to ask voters to approve funds for courthouse repairs

12/02 - Lincoln aldermen to vote on in-store recreational marijuana consumption

12/04 - Mount Pulaski mulls marijuana grower and retail sale ordinance

12/10 - Mount Pulaski City Council votes on marijuana proposition 

12/11 - Mayor breaks tie as Mount Pulaski City Council decides recreational marijuana businesses 

12/12 - Lincoln aldermen labor over establishing fees and fines related to recreational marijuana

[N SMITH/LDN ARCHIVES]

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