Henderson County Board

Henderson County Board Votes to Put ‘New Illinois’ on November Ballot

Andrew Postle, The Quill

The Henderson County Board convened on March 10 for its regular meeting at the Henderson County Courthouse in Oquawka. Present were Brad Flatt, Kim Gullberg, Bill Knupp, Kurt McChesney, Jon Corzatt, Patty Daniels, Janet Stubbs, Deborah Pflasterer, and Richard Bigger.

The board accepted the resignation of Will Pruett, effective March 3, and approved the resolution appointing Dan Jack to fill Pruett’s vacancy. The board also approved the resolution appointing Sean Meyer to the board to fill the vacancy left by Todd Miller.

After Meyer and Jack were sworn in, the board swiftly approved the February 10 meeting minutes, as well as claims paid and the monthly report of the County Treasurer for February.

The board approved the resolution for the engineering agreement for the Lock and Dam Road project and a petition for County Aid to build or repair a bridge, culvert, or drainage structure in Raritan Township. The board approved the Illinois Emergency Management Mutual Aid System Agreement. 

The agreement allows counties to pull resources from other counties in times of crisis. It is voluntary for the county to offer aid.

Rich Whitman returned again representing the “New Illinois” referendum. It was briefly discussed that if the board did not pass a resolution to add it to the ballot, signatures would need to be collected to get it placed on the November ballot. 

The board voted to include the referendum on the November ballot. Flatt, Gullberg, Knupp, McChesney, Corzatt, Stubbs, and Pflasterer all voted yes, while Bigger and Daniels voted no. Meyer and Jack both abstained.

The board approved the agreement with Kurt Dittmer to act as administrative law judge in property fraud cases. This is a requirement for the Recorder’s fraud and review process that was approved in January. 

Dittmer is requiring no retainer and will be paid case by case, but County Clerk Amanda Van Arsdale believes that cases are unlikely to arise.

The board reappointed Brad Arnold as Trustee of the Raritan Fire Protection District for a three-year term.

It was noted that not much has progressed on the Solid Waste Management Plan. The county was granted a six-month extension.

The board also approved Bob Cravens to continue mowing Kemp Cemetery for 2026.

An update on the county ambulance service was given. Oquawka remains out of service, so Stronghurst and Biggsville are continuing to pick up the slack. 

Biggsville’s new cot was to be shipped to them around March 20. Glenda Ehlen noted that the Biggsville ambulance has a couple of new first responders they are training. 

She reported that the Biggsville ambulance completed 27 runs in January and 25 in February. This is way up compared to last year, when the crew made a total of 139 calls for the year.

Dalton Pullen spoke about the Oquawka ambulance still struggling with internal conflict between volunteers and Oquawka Ambulance officers. 

The state EMS director is asking for a schedule, and as of the board meeting, they have not been able to get volunteers to sign up.

Corzatt noted that the county is at a crossroads. The volunteer ambulance system does not appear to be sustainable. 

The board discussed their frustration with the politics surrounding the Oquawka ambulance and the stress it is putting on the other two services to pick up the slack while Oquawka is out of service.

The board went into executive session around 9:30 p.m. to discuss real estate acquisition. 

The next county board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, at 8:30 a.m. at the Henderson County Courthouse.