Illinois Fifth Appellate Court Justice Judith Lynn Cates

Area judges vie for state supreme court

Illinois Fifth Appellate Court justices David K. Overstreet of Mount Vernon, John B. Barberis, Jr. of St. Jacob, and Judith Lynn Cates of Swansea are all hoping to land a spot on the Illinois Supreme Court.

Judges Overstreet and Barberis will compete in the March 17 Illinois Republican.

The winner will face Democrat Cates in the Nov. 3 general election.

At stake is the Fifth Judicial District seat on the state Supreme Court, which is to be vacated in December by retiring Judge Lloyd A. Karmeier of Nashville.

Vying for a vacant seat on the Fifth Appellate Court, created last year by the departure of Melissa Ann Chapman of Granite City, are incumbent Appellate Judge Mark M. Bolie of Anna, Swansea elder law attorney Katherine Ruocco, and former Army Reserve Corps attorney Sarah Smith of Edwardsville.

Judge Boie was assigned to Judge Chapman’s place on the Fifth Appellate Court on May 1, 2019.

He will face Ruocco in next week’s GOP primary.

Illinois Fifth Appellate Court Justice John B. Barberis, Jr.

The victor will meet Democrat Smith in the fall general.

Bolie and Smith are both rated ‘highly recommended’ in a recent Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) judicial evaluation survey. Both were also recommended in the ISBA’s Judicial Advisory Poll.

Roucco was not recommended in either survey.

Noting the ISBA now represents only about 25 percent of Illinois attorneys, Roucco said she simply opted not to take part on the association’s evaluation program.

Illinois appellate judges serve terms of 10 years. The Mount Vernon-based Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court spans 37 counties across the central and southern part of Illinois, including Madison, Monroe and St. Clair.

In the Illinois Circuit Court’s Third Judicial Circuit, incumbent Associate Judge Republican Steve Stobbs, a Republican from Godfrey, has filed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of longtime at-large Circuit Judge A. Andreas Matoesian — the longest serving judge in Illinois history. No Democrat has filed for at-large judge in the circuit.

Longtime Madison County Prosecutor Amy Maher, a Republican from Worden, and Amy Maher and retiring Madison County State’s Attorney Democrat Tom Gibbons will compete this fall to become the Third Circuit’s Madison County Resident Judge. The election will fill the vacancy of the Hon. David A. Hylla, who retired Jan. 2.

Illinois Fifth Appellate Court Justice David K. Overstreet

In the 20th Judicial Circuit, Monroe County State’s Attorney Christopher Hitzemann is leaving his county office to become the circuit’s Monroe County Resident Judge.  The position is currently held by retiring Judge Dennis Doyle.

Hitzemann, a Republican from Columbia, is the only candidate to file for opening.

Longtime Judge Dennis Doyle, a Democrat, last week announced his retirement date of Dec. 6, 2020, although the vacancy wasn’t officially posted by the court until Thursday. This leaves Hitzemann until Dec. 2 to acquire the needed signatures and file his judicial candidate petition.

It is the only open judgeship in the 20th Judicial Circuit on the March primary ballot.

The 2Oth Judicial Circuit covers Monroe, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair, and Washington counties.

Local issues: cannabis, $7.4 million street project

Local issues will appear on the ballots in a handful of Metro East communities during the March 10 elections. Among them is Glen Carbon, where voters will be asked to approve a $7.4 million general obligation bond issue to improve village streets and, Highland, where voters will be asked whether to allow the licensing and operation of a cannabis dispensary in the city.

Prairie DuPont board members seek reelection 

The members of Prairie DuPont Levee and Sanitary District board of directors are seeking reelection unchallenged.

The five — Dennis E. Foutch of Carondelet, Michael H. Lindhorst of Columbia, David E. Walster of Dupo, Randy C. Bolle of Dupo and Michael E. Sullivan of Dupo — appear on the March 17 Democratic primary ballot in the district, with no Republican or other Democratic candidates filed in the district.

The district serves the Dupo, East Carondelet and Columbia areas.

It is the only special purpose district election in the state this year, according to sample ballot information from the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Merchants Bridge gets federal grant after all

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) on Feb. 28 awarded a $21.4 million grant to the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) for major repairs on the Merchants Bridge between Metro East and St. Louis crossing the Mississippi at Venice.

The USDOT, in June 2018, denied an application from the TRRA for federal infrastructure improvement funding to help rebuild the railroad bridge, which crosses the Mississippi River at Venice.

The TRRA shortly thereafter announced plans to proceed with the bridge reconstruction – self-funding the project with help from a couple of federal loan programs.

The 130-year old bridge is one of the busiest crossings on the Mississippi River, and the oldest according to the TRRA.

It is the only span on the Big Muddy used by six major freight railroads and Amtrak, according to the TRRA.

Last month’s grant was awarded by the transportation department’s Federal Railroad Administration, through its Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of intercity passenger and freight rail.

The department snubbed the Marchant’s Bridge grant request two years ago despite considerable prodding from congressmen and senators representing both Illinois and Missouri.

Last month’s grant was announced, in a riverfront press event, by Republican U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis, Mike Bost and John Shimkus.

Planned improvements to the bridge will double its capacity of the bridge from 38 trains per day to 76 trains per day.

Reconstruction of the bridge was originally slated to begin last year with completion in 2021.

The TRRA, which owns the bridge, is a consortium of the six Class 1 railroads serving the St. Louis area.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded a $21.4 million grant to the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis for major repairs on the Merchants Bridge. (Photo courtesy of transystem.com)

Metro East Coalition sets planning meeting

A new coalition of private lenders, local government representatives, and community-based nonprofit organizations will meet this week to work up a set of specific community development priorities for the Eastern-most sections of Madison and St. Clair counties.

Part of the 70-member Community Builders Network of Greater St. Louis, the Metro East Coalition was established in 2017 to foster collaboration across public, private and nonprofit sectors on development projects benefiting the Metro East region.

Expanded to include more than 40 community development stakeholders last year, the organization plans to focus efforts on Greater Alton, the Route 3 Corridor of Venice, Madison, Granite City, and communities in East St. Louis School District 189.

The planning meeting is set for Thursday, March 12, 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the Gateway Pet Guardians building, 725 N. 15th St., East St. Louis.

The meeting is open to the public. Attendees can register in advance by emailing to Gary@communitybuildersstl.org.