Coffee with the Mayor
Part One - Welch fields questions about Logan Correctional and his personal goals for Lincoln


 

[April 05, 2024] 

On Saturday, March 30th, Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch hosted Coffee with the Mayor at Guest House Coffee and Pastries. Joining the mayor were Ward 3 alderpersons Kevin Bateman and Wanda Lee Rohlfs and Lincoln Waste Treatment Manager Andrew Bowns.

This month there were several in attendance to talk to the mayor about topics that were prevalent on their minds in regard to the city of Lincoln.

Welch began by introducing Bateman and Rohlfs. He introduced Bowns, noting that he had driven from his residence in Litchfield to be at the 9 a.m. meeting. Later in the meeting it was also mentioned that Bowns in originally from Lincoln. He is the grandson of Judy Busby and the late Buzz Busby who served for many years on the city council, and the son of Cince Bowns and the late Jerry Bowns of Lincoln.

The waste treatment plant is owned by the city of Lincoln, and its management is contracted to Veolia Water. Bowns is employed by Veolia.

Welch began by saying that the purpose of the bi-monthly coffee with the mayor meetings was to provide constituents with an opportunity to ask questions and offer opinions on matters involving the city. He said the floor was open to the guests for whatever topic they wished to explore.

The first topic of the day was the situation at Logan County Correctional (the women’s prison just south of Lincoln). Welch delivered a blow-by-blow on the events that led to the public announcement from Governor JB Pritsker’s office.

He said that his office had received notice from the governor’s office asking for a meeting with Welch and Logan County Board Chair Emily Davenport and others. Welch and Davenport contacted Senator Sally Turner’s office and she was unaware of the request. Turner and Representative Bill Hauter contacted the governor’s office and asked to be included in the meeting. They were granted a meeting, but it was held separately.

What it boils down to is that the state has decided to invest $900 million in “upgrading” two Illinois prisons. The official press release issued by the governor’s office said that the prison in Stateville would be torn down and a brand-new facility built on the same site.

However, the comments pertaining to Logan were quite vague, and concerning, “The status of Logan in the interim is still to be worked through with various stakeholders, and the location of the new facility is still being finalized.”

Welch said that the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CoGFA) will be sent to evaluate the Logan facility and will make a recommendation to the governor’s office on how to proceed.

Welch said that Turner and Hauter have a meeting scheduled with the Deputy Governor. That office oversees Public Safety, Infrastructure, Environment, and Energy in Illinois. Welch and Davenport have not been invited to join that meeting.

Welch noted that the press release said that Logan employs 452 people. He said that it has been stated that those employees will be offered work in other locations.

Andrea Runge with the Lincoln Economic Advancement and Development has contacted the University of Illinois to do an impact study on the loss of the prison if it is not rebuilt in Logan County. It was mentioned from the constituents that it is noteworthy that Logan County is traditionally a Republic voting county while the state overall is Democrat voting and the current governor is Democrat.

Welch said that no decisions have been made public at least concerning the future of the prison, but he feels that the city and county are responsible for continuing to push for the retention of the prison in the county. He said that he would continue to pursue this because “My fear is that they will forget about us if we let off the gas.”

It was mentioned that the two prisons, Lincoln and Logan, are connected to the city via the sewer system. The prisons are on city sewers, and Bowns said that Logan constitutes about 8 percent of the total revenue posted to the sewer fund. Bateman noted that the state is historically slow in paying, but they do pay. If that revenue is lost, it will have an impact on the sewer fund.

Other thoughts on the topic included a question as to why the state has estimated that it costs almost twice as much per prisoner to house a female inmate over a female. There was also talk of could the state owned land at the former Lincoln Developmental Center be a viable option for a new prison. Welch said if that were a possibility it would take a lot of public education and careful consideration for the residents who live in that area.

It was also suggested that there could be community awareness rallies to show support for the prison remaining in Logan County.

Moving on to another topic, Welch was asked what his personal and political goals are. He said that his goal is to see this community thrive and grow. He said he wants to grow the population and he wants to be one who will always listen to the people of the city. He said that he wants Lincoln to be a place where people say “I love it here, I want to live here.”

He said his office spends a lot of time “putting out fires.” And he said sometimes it is the focusing on the little things that make a big difference. He said he was recently contacted by a professional photographer who wanted to know why photographers have to pay an annual registration fee with the city while other businesses don’t. It was a good question. He said the end result, the licenses for professional photographers has been suspended for this year, while city governance looks into the question more thoroughly.

Welch said there are always big ongoing issues, such as the city sewer system. The system in most parts of the town are antiquated. He spoke about an issue on Campus View Drive that is going to have to be addressed by the city. He said the houses on Campus View were originally built on Lincoln Christian College property. The sewer lines were run with no consideration for future development and as a result sewer lines are running under houses and other structures, making them difficult to address. He said he believes something needs to be done to help those people and that will be a challenge.

The Saturday morning coffee with the mayor lasted nearly two hours, with the second part of the event addressing questions about the Lincoln Police Department, the city sewer system, and other topics.

That portion of the discussion will be covered in part two of Coffee with the Mayor.

[Nila Smith]