The Normal Town Council on Monday authorized a $5.4 million settlement agreement with Alan Beaman, stemming from his imprisonment from 1995 to 2008.
The council directed City Manager Pam Reece to execute the settlement.
Beaman was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lockmiller, but was released 13 years later. He went on to sue the town and former detectives in 2014.
Lawyers for Beaman had long argued Normal Police failed to consider other potential suspects, and in 2008, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed the evidence against Beaman was tenuous, citing the state’s withholding of evidence favorable to Beaman.
Beaman was released from prison and the charges were dismissed. Beaman was later awarded a certificate of innocence by the state and a governor’s pardon.
In the packet released prior to Monday night’s council meeting, town staff said the town “is defending itself against a claim of malicious prosecution associated with a criminal case from 30 years ago.”
At least $4 million of the settlement will be paid through Normal’s liability insurance pool. The town is looking for coverage from the Municipal Insurance Cooperative Association to cover the remaining $1.4 million of the settlement.
In an interview with WGLT prior to the settlement being approved, Beaman said “no amount of money is going to give me those years back.”
Connect Transit
Connect Transit appears to be riding strong into the next fiscal year, based on a presentation to the council from general manager David Braun.
Braun highlighted a high mark for Connect FLEX ride ratings: a near perfect mark of 4.9 out of 5. Part of that likely stems from the short 10-minute average pickup wait time. He also revealed Connect Transit operated under budget the last two years and still exceeded projected revenues.
One change Connect Transit is making is to service hours distribution. Heading into the next fiscal year, the transit agency will continue to reallocate fixed route hours to its mobility and micro-transit services, said Braun, adding the change started earlier this year.
“This year to date, we were operating peak service until January. Our ridership only increased about 7%,” said Braun. “We were adding a lot more hours, but not getting the ridership gains … we don’t think that the impact will be significant in our ridership by reducing that, but it will allow us to continue to be sustainable in our operations.”
Connect Transit’s approved budget for fiscal year 2025 is about $20 million, a 6% increase from last fiscal year.
A negative note for Connect Transit is the status of its electric buses. The agency has 12 of them, but Braun said only two are currently operational.
He said, ideally, the full fleet of electric buses will be back on the road by year’s end.
In other business, the council:
- Authorized the purchase of four 2024 Ford pickup trucks from Bob Ridings Fleet Sales for just over $210,000.
- Passed resolutions approving bid award concurrence through IDOT for the Gregory Street trail extension from Adelaide Street to Parkside Road, and for West College Avenue from Rivian Motorway to Norfolk Southern Railroad.
- Awarded a $66,500 contract to Stark Excavating, Inc. to fix drainage issues at Ironwood Park.
