It’s been about six months since last November’s election shook things up on the McLean County Board. That took the body from a 10-10 party split to a Democratic majority, and heralded a new board chair, Elizabeth Johnston.
Johnston spoke to WGLT this week on some of the board’s recent work.
Connect Transit takes over rural transit
The board has for some time planned to transfer rural transportation services from Show Bus to Connect Transit. The switch is officially slated for this summer and saw another official step this week.
Johnston said the aim is to revise the system over time in response to feedback.
“We’re trying to have a more organic approach to what it’s going to become, rather than trying to rush massive changes. When we brought it to Connect Transit the intention was to replace the current services, and then over the next six months to a year to start exploring what other needs are in our rural areas,” Johnston told WGLT.
That includes those who need to commute into Bloomington-Normal as well as those using services in Pontiac and Gibson City, Johnston said. Some key needs Johnston identified also included travel for groceries and veterans reaching the VA clinic.
Johnston says the county won’t need all the state funding it’s getting to re-establish the basic service, so extra funds can be used to refine the system in response to resident needs.
Homelessness
The planned unhoused shelter village The Bridge in Bloomington is making progress, recently being endorsed by the city. Johnston said operations of the site could receive financial backing under the county’s Behavioral Health Action Plan.
“It is a housing-first kind of initiative,” Johnston said. “The idea is that there will be supportive services that will be available and can be facilitated for people, to continue to assist them on that journey.”
Exactly what structure for those services will look like remains to be seen with the project in its nascent stages.
Johnston said the board is open to considering more projects to help unhoused people in the community going forward.
Carbon sequestration
The Illinois General Assembly, already sitting on a carbon sequestration moratorium that expires next summer, is considering a ban on sequestration drilling near the Mahomet Aquifer. That water source is important to many Central Illinois communities, including Bloomington-Normal.
The ban currently contains exceptions for a number of areas, including a spot in McLean County where power company One Earth wants to build a sequestration well. One Earth’s efforts in rezoning the property drew massive public attendance from residents hoping to keep the project away, citing the risk to drinking water. The county board passed a resolution in the aftermath vowing to protect the aquifer.
It’s not the county’s role to give such a project a green light, as that’s done at the state level, but county-level bodies could expedite or hamper the process. Johnston said having seen One Earth’s pitch, she still has concerns, especially as it seems the ban would no longer protect some zones that feed into the aquifer.
“Unfortunately I was not privy to those conversations on why it [the ban area] got changed, but that was very disheartening for me. But safety is still going to be my No. 1 priority as they go through this process. That’s where I stand; if I don’t feel like it’s safe, I’m not sure I can vote for it,” Johnston said.
Johnston referenced multiple leaks at a Decatur sequestration facility, and the lack of transparency regarding them, as an undesirable example.
Comprehensive plan
Johnston said one goal she’d like to achieve is a new comprehensive plan for the county. She hopes the document will be accessible for community members and help target the county’s funds toward improving life for residents.
“We have our five-year capital improvement plan, and we have our annual year-to-year budget process, but as far as long-term goals, it’s not something that we’ve really taken time to build out,” Johnston said.
Johnston said the plan would likely work in three to five-year increments and be “revamped” as board members come and go.
The county is also working on:
- Expanding accessibility to ADA compliance, with a focus on reworking online county resources
- Planning to complete a new animal shelter in July with the facility entering service in August
