Free Press Advocate

Council creates new supervisory position

Published by admin on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 7:04pm

    There’s a new boss in town, and the City Council intends for him to be the go-to guy for all things public works.
    Darin Fowler, the superintendent of the wastewater system, was named to the position of director of public works that the City Council created during it’s June 19 meeting. He will be responsible for the administration of the public works (streets, alleys and infrastructure), water and wastewater departments, and will be the person to address citizens’ concerns.

Park Board approves $835,000 budget

Published by admin on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 6:59pm

    The Island Park District Board of Commissioners last week approved its combined budget and appropriations for Fiscal Year 2019, which began  May 1, and expects to spend almost $835,000 this year on operations, almost $70,000 more than it will receive.
    The district started the fiscal year with  $67,096 in reserve, which did not include the first installment of 2017 real estate taxes. It began last fiscal year with almost $104,000 in reserve.

It pays to go fishing!

Published by admin on Fri, 06/29/2018 - 11:53am

For the next 10 days, it very well could pay to do a little fishing in the Kankakee River. That's because the 35th annual Kankakee River Valley Fishing Derby is underway, offering thousands of dollars in prizes to pre-registered anglers who land any  95 tagged fish that are worth $500 or more in cash and/or merchandise.

Excessive heat warning in effect - 11 a.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Saturday

Published by admin on Fri, 06/29/2018 - 9:01am

The National Weather Service in Chicago has issued an Excessive

Truck terminal approved by county

Published by admin on Tue, 06/26/2018 - 8:01pm

    The Will County Board approved a special use permit for 8.2 acres just outside of the city limits, which will allow the property owner to sell the land and the buyer to develop a truck terminal.
    Although the site is within the city’s 1.5-mile planning jurisdiction, city officials were unaware of the action until the public comment period of last week’s regular meeting.

Fireworks sales fizzle in Wilmington

Published by admin on Tue, 06/26/2018 - 7:58pm

    There will be no fireworks tent in Wilmington this year for the second year in a row.
    And in the future, neighborhoods will be missing the snap and twinkle of Fourth of July noisemakers as the city steps up its regulations on most basic devices.

The heat is on

Published by admin on Tue, 06/26/2018 - 7:55pm

Summer became official on June 21 — less than a week ago. The area saw some extreme heat over the hottest Memorial Day weekend since 1977, with the high reaching 100 in Morris, and the start of the Independence Day holiday is looking to return us to that hot and humid trend.
As of press time, Chicago area meteorologists were predicting Chicago’s high temps on Friday to be about 94 degrees, with a “real-feel” temp near 100. Saturday’s on trend to be nearly as hot and humid. It’ll cool down a little by the Fourth of July, if 87 degrees is truly a cooldown.

Downtown plan envisions riverwalk, public plaza

Published by admin on Tue, 06/19/2018 - 9:02pm

    The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning will hold an open house on Tuesday to give residents a chance to view a draft plan for the future of the downtown business district.

Cops close contentious township meeting

Published by admin on Tue, 06/19/2018 - 8:56pm

    If the banging of the gavel, or the board members walking out didn’t bring last week’s Wesley Township Board meeting to an end, the arrival of three officers from the Wilmington Police Department and the Will County Sheriff’s Department certainly did.
    The Wesley Township Board has been battling with residents almost since they took office last year, and despite thousands of dollars spent on attorneys and consultants, there’s no sign of an armistice.

School District supports ‘local control’

Published by admin on Tue, 06/19/2018 - 8:52pm

    It was not without some reservations that the Board of Education approved a resolution seeking more control of student safety, one that could ultimately arm teachers for school protection.