Free Press Advocate

A time to give

Published by admin on Tue, 12/05/2017 - 8:43pm

Fundraiser, other opportunities to donate in the season of giving
    There are coat and toy drives, volunteer opportunities, and one of the biggest local fundraisers of the year; all part of the effort of the Kuzma Care Cottage and Christian Help Association to make Christmas seem like Christmas for local families in need.

One road opens, another closes

Published by admin on Tue, 12/05/2017 - 8:37pm

    About the time all of us 9 a.m.-ers got to work Monday morning, contractors were putting a stop line on the southbound Route 53 turn lane to eastbound Coal City Road. By late morning, the intersection’s new traffic signals were active and the Coal City Road railroad crossing was open.
    Wilmington Township Highway Commissioner Bill Weidling reported late last week that the Illinois Department of Transportation planned to activate the traffic signals at the Coal City Road intersection Monday at 10 a.m., with the rail crossing opening soon after that.

Autumn leftovers: Landscape waste pickup ends, lots of leaves left behind

Published by admin on Tue, 12/05/2017 - 8:36pm

    It’s easy enough to get rid of fall’s usual leftovers — the Halloween candy and the turkey dinner — but there’s one leftover that will be hanging around in Wilmington — all those leaves that got raked up but not picked up.
    The City Council suspended the fall leaf vacuum program at the end of the summer. It was a matter of economics. Over the past eight years, Ken Ewenson, the superintendent of public works, says his department spent $15,000 on maintenance and repairs to the machine, on top of weeks worth of salaries for two workers needed to operate it.

River dam ‘uninsurable’: City liability coverage for drownings slashed

Published by admin on Tue, 11/28/2017 - 6:41pm

    The city of Wilmington’s liability insurance coverage against river dam related incidents has been slashed so far that one lawsuit could mean financial ruin for the municipality.
    The city participates in, and was a founding member of the Illinois Municipal Insurance Cooperative (IMIC), an exclusive insurance program offered by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The city’s coverage year runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, and the City Council reviewed the 2018 renewal proposal last week.

Teen artists shine light on local history

Published by admin on Tue, 11/28/2017 - 6:27pm

    The city’s history is coming alive on the walls of the Wilmington House Restaurant through the volunteer efforts of the community’s young artists.
    Warren Miller is the art instructor at Wilmington High School. He is also the yearbook sponsor and last year, formed a student art club. Since then, the students and club members have completed several community art projects, including painting murals on the Wilmington Township road district’s snow plow blades, painting chairs for a Catbackers’ fundraiser auction, and creating scenery for the school’s spring musical.

City will accept infrastructure in good shape

Published by admin on Tue, 11/28/2017 - 6:24pm

    Before the city takes responsibility for the infrastructure at Water’s Edge Estates, city officials want to know it’s in good shape, and want to require the developer, homeowners association and residents to bring the rest up to standard before it becomes the city’s.
    Roy Surdej began the subdivision project in the late 1990s. By the time residents started moving in in 2002, Paul Dresden had taken over, and subsequently started the Prairie Farms Subdivision to the east of Water’s Edge. Dresden went belly up before completing either project.

Bank robbers left a flurry of cash while fleeing

Published by admin on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 9:14pm

Wilmington resident Tom Burns was inside his South Kankakee Street home Saturday, Nov. 18, shortly after 10 a.m., when a man ran past trailing a flurry of dollar bills.
The cash is believed to have been taken during an armed robbery at the nearby US Bank, at 417 S. Water St., that occurred just minutes before. The robbery is under investigation by the Wilmington Police Department and the FBI.

Follow me, and the world will be a better place

Published by admin on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 9:03pm

    They like to send a positive message — “follow my example” — to better their community.
    The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and Industry has named Rick Smith and Denise Issert as its Business Persons of the Year. They are the first couple to receive the recognition that was created in 1999.
    Smith and Issert believe they’ve done well if at the end of the day, or the next morning, they can look in the mirror and like what they see.

Santa is coming to town!

Published by admin on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 8:59pm

    Santa Claus will take time out from his busy North Pole production schedule to help the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcome the holiday season this weekend.
    The jolly old elf will be the featured entry in the Chamber’s Winter Wonderland Lighted Christmas parade, which steps off Saturday, Nov. 25, at 5 p.m., from the middle school campus. He’ll visit with children on North Water Street after the parade, which is just one of a handful of Christmas Candy Land-themed holiday happenings taking place on Saturday:

Wilmington Police, FBI investigating bank robbery

Published by admin on Sat, 11/18/2017 - 12:40pm

Wilmington police are investigating an armed robbery reported at US Bank at 417 S. Water Street shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday.

Police closed off all traffic on Fulton Street and the Main Street entrance to the bank after two male black suspects displayed handguns demanding money and fled out the east entrance with an unknown amount of currency.