Coal City Courant

No stopping now

Published by admin on Tue, 09/14/2021 - 4:54pm

For a community that sees (and hears) an abundance of freight trains passing through on a daily basis, news that the Illinois Commerce Commission is close to ordering an exemption of at least two of the town’s 11 crossings is good news.
Every day dozens of commercial vehicles are required to stop at train crossings even though a few of those lines haven’t seen a locomotive pass through in a decade or more.

Coal City Police getting a squad car free

Published by admin on Tue, 09/14/2021 - 4:53pm

The Coal City Police Department is getting a new squad car and thanks to D’Orazio Ford it’s coming with little to no cost for the village.
D’Orazio Ford has been supplying the police department with vehicles for several years. Its recent offer to donate a vehicle will allow the department to extend the usefulness of its fleet.
The department currently has 10 vehicles. The most recent one was acquired this year and already has 12,123 miles.

Dresden saved

Published by admin on Tue, 09/14/2021 - 4:52pm

Monday was a good day.
At about 2:20 p.m. the Illinois Senate approved an energy bill that keeps the Dresden and Byron nuclear generating stations open and stabilizes the Braidwood and LaSalle facilities for at least the next five years.
Not long after the vote was taken, Exelon reported it was preparing to refuel the two nuclear plants based on the action taken by the state legislature to enact an energy bill.
The company was set to begin shutdown procedures at Byron on Monday and Dresden in mid-November.

A new tradition

Published by admin on Fri, 09/10/2021 - 1:42pm

Coal City High School student council has announced its starting a new Homecoming tradition, a parade. The first Homecoming parade will be held Friday, Oct. 8 stepping off at 2:30 p.m. from the intersection of North Broadway and McArdle Road [North Street] the parade will then make its way south on Broadway to Center Street. The Marching Coaler and Marching Warrior bands will participate as will various clubs, organizations and athletic teams from the high school.

House passes energy bill with labor, environmental groups on board

Published by admin on Fri, 09/10/2021 - 8:51am

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House approved an energy regulation and decarbonization bill Thursday, a major step forward for a wide-ranging omnibus bill that had eluded lawmakers throughout the legislative session and the governor’s three years in office.
The measure that aims to bring Illinois’ energy generation sector to 100 percent carbon-free by 2050 and 50 percent renewable by 2040 will still need approval from the Senate, which planned to caucus Friday to discuss the measure, Senate Bill 2408, before a Monday return.

Veterans’ picnic to be held in Coal City

Published by admin on Wed, 09/08/2021 - 1:05pm

Veterans from across the state of Illinois will gather in Coal City next week for the annual event to recognize their military service.
Operation Firm Handshake will host its 8th annual Illinois Veteran’s Picnic at the Coal City Area Club on Saturday, Sept. 11. The event will take place at the club pavilion. Admission is free for all veterans and active duty military personnel and their families.
The event is organized by Grundy County area veterans whose mission is to help fellow veterans.

Nearing a balanced budget

Published by admin on Tue, 09/07/2021 - 2:35pm

A $37 million spending plan was adopted by the Unit 1 Board of Education on Sept. 1 for the fiscal year that began two months ago.
Since early July when the district’s budget process began with the filing of a tentative budget, it changed by about $1.6 million in added expenses and $870,000 in additional revenue.
The final budget also points to a larger starting balance with $18.5 million carried over, a figure nearly $400,000 more than initially anticipated.

School finances in good shape

Published by admin on Tue, 09/07/2021 - 2:35pm

The Unit 1 School District’s Board of Education was told it finances are in such good order that the auditor was issuing a “clean opinion.”
“That means that we didn’t note any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses or find anything that would limit our ability to issue the opinion,” said Cate Moulton, a certified public accountant with Mack & Associates.

50 years and still going strong

Published by admin on Tue, 09/07/2021 - 2:34pm

The first recorded organizational session of the Grundy Area Vocational Center took place in August 1969. Two years later the center opened its doors to students.
In that first year 473 students from four Grundy County high schools were enrolled in the center’s 10 programs including building trades, automotive, welding and health occupations.
Those programs and nearly a dozen more continue to draw students to the center each year to focus on specialized skills like engineering, culinary arts, criminal justice, fire science and more.

Coal City Theatre is Broadway bound

Published by admin on Tue, 08/31/2021 - 5:06pm

The Coal City Theatre Department and Drama Club are heading outdoors once again for two fall performances, beginning with the annual Broadway Bound fundraising concert.
This year’s concert—A Love Letter to New York—will pay tribute to the city and it’s people in observance of the 20th Anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
Broadway Bound will feature some 20 students performing songs based on the common theme of New York.