Site plan for the new Edwardsville Town Center (Photo courtesy of Edwardsville)

Edwardsville Town Center Business District approved

The Fresh Thymes Farmers Market, McAlister’s Deli, and the Global Brew Tap House will be tenants in the planned $34 million Edwardsville Town Center development, on a 26-acre site near Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.  The shopping complex at 1 Mutual Court, near the intersection of Governor’s Parkway and Ill. Route 157, will offer 130,000 square-foot of retail space, according to marketing material from NAI Desco, the project developer. Chicago-based Fresh Thymes already has stores in Fairview Heights, as well as Baldwin and O’Fallon, MO.

The Edwardsville City Council March 15 approved an ordinance establishing the Town Centre Business District, which will facilitate development of the new shopping plaza. The district will allow assessment of a 1 percent sales tax at the site to help pay for the development. Food and prescription medicine will be exempt from the sales tax. Creation of the district was approved by the Edwardsville Finance Committee on Jan. 12.

SIUE targets 20 percent budget cut

A week after Southern Illinois University (SIU) President Randy Dunn outlined plans for $45 million in fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget cuts across the university system, SIU Edwardsville Chancellor Stephen Hansen is proposing a 20 percent budget reduction for the campus.

The university has been operating without state funding for eight months as a result of the budget dispute between Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois Legislature, Hansen noted.

SIUE administrators cut the university’s FY 2016 budget by 9 percent and originally called for a 30 percent cut this year.

The university hopes to continue increasing student enrollment at a rate of 1 percent each year, thereby increasing cash flow, Hansen said. Administrators are also looking to better monetize university assets and increase gift-giving.

No tuition increase is planned, Hansen said.

The proposed SIUE cost reductions were developed in conjunction with a “congress” of staff, students and faculty, convened by Hansen over recent months to develop long-term solutions to the campus’ financial problems and establish program priorities.  More than 200 faculty members, administrators and students, including the SIUE Faculty and Staff Senates, took part in three discussion sessions, he said.

SIU President Dunn’s plan for a system-wide spending reduction of 20 percent, would cut SIUE’s budget by $14 million and it includes the first faculty layoffs in SIUE history.

SIUE administrator are still trying to decide if the university will again offer MAP grants to students this fall, Hansen said.

During annual testimony before the Illinois Senate Appropriations Committee, earlier this month, representatives state-supported universities called for, not a return to full budget funding, but a “patch” appropriation that would allow them to repay loans or restore fund transfers, Dunn reports.

70-year sentence handed down in child beating death

A Madison County man will serve 70 years in prison after being found guilty of beating a 21-month-old toddler to death.  John Holmon III was sentenced March 16 in Madison County Circuit Court, after being convicted in the February 2012 beating death of Jaesean “Bug” Rusher at the child’s Granite City home. Holmon, described in court documents as the boyfriend of the deceased child’s mother, was allegedly watching the boy at the time of the beating.  Holmon could have faced a sentence of up to 100 years.

Remains of missing flood victim found

Autopsy results have positively identified a body found March 10 at Piasa Harbor as that of 42-year-old Grafton resident Heather L. Bardsley, who was reported missing during torrential flooding along the Mississippi River in December.  Bardsley was last seen Dec. 26, at a creek crossing near her North Cedar Street residence.  The autopsy found no evidence of foul play.

Revenues up at Casino Queen, down at Alton Belle

The Casino Queen in East St. Louis saw net gambling receipts rise 11.2 percent in February, according to the Illinois Gaming Commission.  The East St. Louis casino took in $9.6 million in revenue last month.  At the Alton Belle Casino, revenues decreased 5.1 percent; totaling $4.2 million for the month.  The Missouri Gaming Commission reports revenue data for other St. Louis area casinos as follows: Hollywood (Maryland Heights) – $18.9 million (up 5.4 percent); River City (south St. Louis County) – $19.1 million (up 12.1 percent); Lumiere Place (Downtown St. Louis riverfront) — $12.2 million (up 7.2 percent); Ameristar (St. Charles)— $21.7 million (up 2.2 percent).

Hightower, Collins win community service awards

The 2016 Madison County Living Legends Community Service Awards were presented to Dr. Edward Hightower of Edwardsville, and Bobby Collins, Sr., of Alton, at the Feb. 17 meeting of the Madison County Board.

A retired Olin Corporation manager, Collin has served on the Madison County Housing Authority Board, Madison County Regional School, Alton Police Department Community Advisory Board, and the board of the American Red Cross.  He is a past president of the 100 Black Men of Alton and the Madison County Urban League. He is the current treasurer of the Alton Branch of the N.A.A.C.P. He has also been active in youth sports programs.

A former superintendent of both the Alton and Edwardsville school districts,  Hightower has served on the boards of Southern Illinois University, Lewis and Clark Community College, and St. Anthony’s Hospital.  He is currently executive director of the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities Foundation.

The Madison County Living Legends Community Service Award is annually presented to county residents who have made extraordinary contributions to their communities and fellow citizens. Nominations for the award are made by members of the Madison County Board.

–Metro East Area News Briefs–