Madison County Macy’s, Kmarts closing

Officials with department store giant Macy’s have announced they will be closing their 180,000-square-foot location in the Alton Square shopping center. The announcement came just a day after Sears Holdings announced plans to close Kmart stores in Alton and Granite City.

The Alton Square Macy’s, at the intersection of Illinois State Highway 3 and Alton Square+Mall Drive, is among 68 underperforming locations the retailer plans to shutter due to declining sales. The company announced a clearance would begin Jan. 9 at the Alton store. The store is expected to close in about six to eight weeks, following liquidation of remaining stock and fixtures. The Macy’s store at St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights will remain open.

The Alton Kmart, 2851 Belt Line Parkway, and Granite City store, 3655 Nameoke Blvd., are among 108 Kmarts targeted for closing over the past two weeks by parent company Sears Holdings, along with 42 Sears stores. Liquidation sales were slated to begin Jan. 6.  The two store are expected to close by the end of March. The Belleville Kmart will now be the discount retailer’s sole location in Metro-East.

The Alton Macy’s is the second anchor department store to close at Alton Square in recent years. Sears closed its Alton store in 2012. J.C. Penney will now be the last remaining anchor department store at the mall.

However, Alton Mayor Brant Walker told multiple news outlets last week that conditions at Alton Square have improved over the past 18 months, since the shopping center was acquired by Hull Property. The complex has several new tenants including Hibbett Sports and Ross Dress For Less, he notes.

O’Fallon special census begins

The City of O’Fallon is growing so quickly municipal officials will Jan. 11 begin a special census designed to provide the State of Illinois with the most up-to-date population count possible.  The move is intended to maximize state funding allocated to municipalities on a per-capita basis.  

Municipalities receive shares of the state’s income tax, motor fuel tax, and use tax revenues based on population.

The 2016 U.S. Census found O’Fallon had a population of 28,281. However, the city is among the fastest-growing communities in the state.

The special census is expected to take about four weeks, ending in mid-February. Census takers will visit households in selected neighborhoods every day during the census period, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Interviews are expected to take no more than a few minutes. Information is confidential and will only be used for the special census, city officials say.

Census workers will wear clearly-displayed identification. Residents are encouraged to ask to see census takers’ badges.

If necessary, census takers will make several attempts to contact each residents in the targeted areas. Census workers will leave a card with telephone contact information, should they ultimately be unable to reach a resident in person.

The special census project is headquarters in the City Hall Annex, 200 S. Lincoln Ave. Hours of operation for the headquarters will be from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.

Christmas lights help raise $1,700 for cancer patients

Voluntary donations left at a Carrollton, Ill., residence known for its extravagant Christmas lights display will benefit Thomas H. Boyd Memorial Foundation’s Gas Card Program for Cancer Patients.

After receiving, and refusing, many offers of donations for their annual holiday display over the years, Denny and Sherry Vetter decided to this year accept donations for the Gas Card program, which helps Greene County cancer patients afford transportation to out-of-county treatment.

The program received a total of $1,700 over  the holidays season from the Vetters, Nolan’s Exotic Petting Zoo on Carrollton and a Wrightsville Trotters trivia night.

–Metro-East Area News Briefs–