To the good people of Logan County,
I first visited Lincoln in 2012 while helping with a story for WICS
(Channel 20) in Springfield. Driving around town, I fell in love
with the city's downtown square with it's beautiful historic
courthouse. Little did I know, I would be falling in love with
another beauty from Lincoln a few years later. We started dating in
2015, became engaged in 2016, and tied the knot in 2017 - all in
Lincoln. We now call it home today.
But now, the Logan County courthouse is in trouble. Big trouble. The
beautiful dome, one of the largest in the state, frequently leaks
when it rains; that has led to problems throughout the building. The
main courtroom on the third floor, one of the largest in the state,
is now unusable after part of the ceiling caved in from water
damage. In fact, safety concerns led to personnel on the whole third
floor being relocated. Millions of dollars in other repairs and
upgrades are also needed to modernize the courthouse's safety,
efficiency, and technology.[to top of second
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Now the county is asking voters to consider a plan
that would mean chipping in an extra 50-cents for every $100 spent
(on everything except food and medicine). It would last for no
longer than 20 years and would be MUCH cheaper than trying to either
find or build a new courthouse (plus being left with the closed
courthouse in the center of the city). I think an extra two quarters
for every Ben Franklin spent is quite a reasonable price to save one
of the most historic courthouses in all of Illinois - and I hope
that you will agree.
Best,
Chris Slaby
[Posted
February 28,
2020]
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