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Almost all are obsolete Small
Except for Spring Valley, most area police stations are 50+ years old and substandard By Tom Collins
NEWSTRIBUNE SENIOR REPORTER
How old is La Salle’s police station? Chief Rob Uranich isn’t sure. Police have shared a city hall built decades before he was born and the only date he could pinpoint was a remodeling in 1973. Uranich isn’t pushing for a new police station — he knows the city doesn’t have that kind of money on hand — but when asked if La Salle’s station was outmoded, he didn’t pull any punches. “Could we use a new one?” Uranich said. “I think every police department could say, ‘Yeah, we could use one.’” With the notable exception of Spring Valley, every police chief interviewed said their force is working from an aged, deficient or obsolete building that was not designed to function as a police department, at least not by contemporary standards. Most also said their stations need significant upkeep and, if the money were there, would welcome new quarters. Peru police ignited red-hot debate this year when they proposed leaving the current station — a former car dealership the city moved into about 1967 — for a complex targeted for construction next year on land west of Hy-Vee. But the NewsTribune inquired of other police departments and found most are located in buildings that are as old (average age: 58 years) and as ill-suited as Peru’s. In La Salle’s case, Uranich estimated the building is at least 75 years old. La Salle police have no garage and no sally port for the secure entry of prisoners. On the other hand, Uranich said his space is adequate and the station’s two holding cells are sufficient. Here’s what the other police chiefs had to say.
Oct. 22 program planned to help guide economic development in Starved Rock Country By Brent Bader SHAW MEDIA
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What’s it like working at a police station that’s at least 75 years old? La Salle officer Brian Camenisch can’t say because virtually every station he’s worked at in the Illinois Valley is as old or ill-suited to be a police station as La Salle’s aged headquarters. Peru police have gotten pushback on their plans for a new, centrally-located station but a NewsTribune inquiry revealed most departments (except Spring Valley) work from aged buildings that weren’t designed by contemporary police standards. That said, Knoblauch acknowledged that Oglesby lacks a sally port and garage for his fleet. These are deficiencies the city does not need to fix on a short-term basis but nonetheless would improve security for him, his officers, suspects in custody and the public as a whole. “The building is about 80 years old and it wasn’t designed to be a police station by today’s standards,” he said.
MENDOTA Chief Greg Kellen said he doesn’t need a new police station right this minute, but he’d like to kick start that discussion no later than 2024. OGLESBY The Mendota police station Chief Jim Knoblauch also isn’t was constructed in 1977 and pushing for a new police station recently was remodeled, both and said his space and holding to enhance the professional cells (two) are adequate for a See STATIONS Page A2 community of Oglesby’s size.
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towns, ‘Strong Towns’
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Which of our towns could use a new police station? Almost all. Police departments typically work from old buildings retrofitted for police duty and most in need of updating. One exception is Spring Valley. Mayor Walt Marini, standing outside one of the area’s newer (2000) police stations, said the current dispute over building Peru a new station reminds him much of the red-hot question to replace Spring Valley’s in the late 1990s.
La Salle County voters can decide whether to keep an auditor Board puts the question on November 2020 ballot By Derek Barichello SHAW MEDIA
OTTAWA — On the Nov. 3, 2020, ballot, La Salle County voters will be asked: “Shall La Salle County eliminate the office of the elected County Auditor?” The County Board voted 20-5 Thursday in favor of putting the question on the ballot. Board members Mike Kasap (D-La Salle), David Torres (D-Oglesby), Tom Walsh (D-Ottawa), Douglas Trager (D-Ottawa) and Brian Dose
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(D-Ottawa) voted against putting the question on the ballot. The referendum is binding, meaning the county board will have to abolish the position if a majority of voters say yes. If the majority of voters say yes, La Salle County Deputy State’s Attorney George Mueller said the last day of the auditor’s position would be Nov. 30, 2020, when current Auditor Jody Wilkinson’s term expires. County Chairman Jim Olson, D-Seneca, said he believed the two positions in the auditor’s office would remain. An election for a new auditor will run concurrent with the ref-
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erendum on the Nov. 3, 2020, ballot, but a new auditor will only be seated if voters decide to keep the auditor position. “They’ll be running at their own risk,” Mueller said. Olson said the item was put on Thursday’s agenda after 23 board members signed a petition to do so. Russell Boe (R-Ottawa) said he wanted to put the question on the ballot early enough for potential candidates to know they would be running at their own risk of the position possibly being eliminated. See VOTERS Page A3
OTTAWA — The future of economic development in communities such as Starved Rock Country may lie in the already established infrastructure rather than larger, outside investors. At least that’s part of the message expected to be shared with both public and private community members during a local economic development summit this month. Chuck Marohn Jr., founder and president of Strong Towns, will speak at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22, at Illinois Valley Community College’s room 124-125 to share his thoughts on how small communities cannot just survive but thrive in the current economy. Rick Brooks, Princeton resident and co-founder of Little Free Library, has been a supporter of Strong Towns ever since moving to Princeton five years ago. “The fundamental concepts that Chuck talks about and has done his research on, those concepts of economic development are somewhat counter-intuitive or at least not traditional. It’s good to see someone challenge the traditional strategies to economic development and have the data to support different approaches,” Brooks said. Marohn wrote a book on the subject and the Strong Towns organization produces a podcast and newsletters to share with communities interested in the ideas, a core component of which is re-assessing how economic deSee ECONOMIC Page A4
Topics expected to be covered at the summit
Why are cities and towns slowly declining and how to approach the problem in a rational way? Why inducing growth and development just doesn’t work anymore. Why old and blighted areas are often more financially productive than shiny new ones. The power of “little bets” to strengthen communities and improve the lives of citizens. How humble public engagement can create amazing insights. The surprising ways that strong neighborhoods make us better people.
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