Peoria County Sheriff’s Office Lt. John Huston accepts the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve’s Patriot Award during a ceremony Dec. 16 at the sheriff’s office. The award recognizes those supervisors who demonstrate exceptional support towards service members and their families. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Aaron Ritter, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs)

COUNTY

Sheriff lieutenant cited for work with military

A lieutenant with the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office was recently honored for his support of employees who also are members of the military. The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve presented Lt. John Huston with the Patriot’s Award at a ceremony earlier this month. Huston is the lieutenant in charge of the third-shift patrol,

Huston, the son of Tazewell County Sheriff Robert Huston, said he was honored to receive the award and the entire Sheriff’s Office stands behind its service members.

Huston was nominated by a deputy serving with the Illinois Army National Guard as a helicopter pilot. The deputy, who didn’t want his name used for security reasons, credited Huston’s unwavering trust and understanding of service members’ commitment and additional duties outside of their normal line of work, according to a news release from the National Guard.

Service members in the National Guard or Army Reserve, or their spouses, may nominate individual supervisors for their exceptional support of service members and their families. Support may be in the form of flexible scheduling, time off prior to or after deployments, providing care for families and granting leaves of absence as necessary. In this case, the deputy who nominated Huston has been off work while serving a deployment.

Judges start new year with new assignments

Judges in the 10^th Judicial Circuit — which includes Peoria County — have received their new assignments for the year.

The biggest changes come with Judge Steve Kouri stepping down as chief judge after three years and switching assignments with the new chief, Paul Gilfillan. He comes from Pekin, where he was presiding judge and sat in that county’s sole felony court. Gilfillan will now take over as chief judge of the entire circuit and will preside in one of Peoria’s three felony courts. Kouri will move across the river into felony court.

Judges Kim Kelley and David Brown will preside in Peoria County’s two domestic relations courtrooms.

Rounding the other felony courtrooms in Peoria County are Judges Kevin Lyons and John Vespa. Judge Albert Purham Jr. will leave his felony courtroom and take over Peoria’s sole misdemeanor courtroom.

Judges Jodi Hoos and Michael McCuskey will preside over the two civil courtrooms in Peoria County, while Judge James Mack will handle the county’s small claims and landlord-tenant courtroom.

Judges Alicia Washington and Lisa Wilson will preside in Peoria County’s two traffic courtrooms.

With Brown and Cusack leaving the two juvenile courtrooms in Peoria County, their replacements are Katherine Gorman in the county’s abuse and neglect courtroom while Judge Mark Gilles will preside in the county’s juvenile delinquency courtroom.

Judge Tom Keith leaves Peoria County to be the presiding judge of the circuit’s northern three counties, Marshall, Stark and Putnam.

Judge Suzanne Patton will continue to preside over orders of protection, paternity, adoptions, mental health and other civil matters in Peoria County.

Each year the judges undergo assignment changes. Such changes tend not to reflect upon the judge.

PEORIA

Rauner extends income tax credit for city

Peoria has received a one-year extension of a state income tax credit for the restoration and preservation of qualified historic structures in the River Edge Redevelopment zone. Governor Bruce Rauner signed the amendment to extend Senate Bill 1488. These credits, provided in the bill, have aided the redevelopment of Peoria’s Warehouse District as older buildings have been turned into new residential and business places.

Over the past two years, the City of Peoria has seen six projects take advantage of the State Historic Tax Credit. These projects reclaim and renovate abandoned and unproductive buildings in Peoria’s Warehouse District and Central Business District. The historic tax credits helped to leverage more than $32 million in investment to create 154 new residential units and thousands of square feet of retail and office space. Hundreds of construction jobs have also been created in the renovation of these projects.

Peoria developments benefitting from the tax credit include: Murray Place, 100 Walnut; Cooperage 214, 214 Pecan; Persimmon Lofts, 1028 SW Adams; Winkler Lofts, 733 SW Washington; and Marquette Apartments, 701 Main St.  All of these developments are a combination of residential and commercial space. An additional project, Obed & Isaac’s, converted a historic church into a restaurant and microbrewery. The Marriott Pere Marquette Hotel also benefitted from the tax credit.

Throw Christmas trees out with the trash

Christmas tree disposal is part of Peoria’s regular garbage collection service provided by Peoria Disposal Company. No special pick-up service is scheduled; however, residents are encouraged to bag trees and place them out before 6 a.m. for collection with their other trash on their scheduled collection day. If the tree is oversized, it needs to be cut in sections of less than 5 feet in length. All lights and ornaments must be removed.

Christmas trees are not considered landscape waste, so they will go into the landfill. For more information, go to www.pdcarea.com or call Peoria Disposal Company at (309) 674-5176, Ext. 1.

Workshop to teach how to start a business

A workshop, Starting A Business in Illinois, will be held Jan. 10, at the Peoria NEXT Innovation Center, 801 W. Main St., Peoria. The workshop will be led by the Illinois Small Business Development Center of Bradley University.

The free workshop is designed for individuals wanting to start a small business. Instructors will explain how to get a business name registered, where to obtain a tax ID number, which legal form to choose, the importance of a business plan, what taxes to pay and more. The session will be held 3-6 p.m. For more information, call (309) 677-2992.

–Peoria County News Briefs–