Tourism

 Caught on the news today that the state has doubled the amount it spends promoting tourism in Southern Illinois which is good.  How does Carbondale cash in on this? Despite what it might think or want, Carbondale is not a tourist town. People visit Carbondale for two main reasons:  SIUC or health care. Which is fine. There is nothing wrong with people coming to town for those two reasons. Their money is good and they spend it in hotels and restaurants.

What Carbondale Tourism should do, and since this advice is free take it for what it is worth, is position itself as the place to stay while taking advantage of the outdoor opportunities in Southern Illinois. it is easier to get to the Shawnee here than it is from Marion and it is also easier to get to the Southern Illinois Wine Trail(s) as well. Promote Carbondale as the place to stay while enjoying those, not as a tourist destination in itself. 

It is certainly possible to make Carbondale a tourist destination but it will take years and a concerted effort on the part of the city to make us a desirable place for tourists to visit.

SIUC Enrollment

 SIUC's summer enrollment for 2025 is up 5% over that of 2024 and is up 15% over that of 2021. This marks 6 semesters in a row the university  has seen  enrollment increase. Enrollment this summer is 5264 is a far cry from the 9000 students Carbondale used to see during summer session . I remember how quiet people thought the town was with "only" 9000 students here.

Lighting

 From what I understand, part of the grant Carbondale Main Street received from T-mobile will go towards lighting the alleys between Mary Lou's and Aban Kitchen as well as the one just north of Rip's Pizza, /there is one other location scheduled to be lighted but I do not remember where it was.

More lighting in downtown is good. The lighting along South Illinois has really improved the appearance and safety of the Strip after dark.

Fountain

 SIUC is installing a fountain in Campus Lake, which will shoot water 60 feet into the air. While it will look cool, it will also improve the quality of water in the lake which, due to a lake of water movement, has had problems with algae growth for years.

Potholes

 I have noticed the city doing a very good job responding to reports about potholes when I submit them through the See Click Fix application on my phone. I have submitted half a dozen over the last two weeks and all but one have had repairs done to them.

Of course I have been on my bike, which makes it far easier to stop and submit a report than if I were in a car. 

Planning Commission

 The Planning Commission meets next Wednesday night at 6 p.m. to take more public comments regarding updating the city's comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan is more important than you might think as the city is supposed to follow the plan's dictates when making decisions and members of the community have used past versions of the plan to dissuade the city from developing a project that ran counter to it.

Call to Order and Roll Call

2. Approval of Minutes: None

3. Citizen Comments and Questions

4. Report of Officers, Committees, Communications

5. Public Hearings/Plan Review

PC 25-13: Continuation of a public hearing to take testimony and make recommendations to City

Council regarding the City’s Comprehensive Plan update

Vandalism

 The feds are looking for whomever vandalized the Federal Building last week.  Here is a photo of the "person of interest" but apparently they are not looking too hard as the reward is only $1000.  Make it $10,000 and you would have a line out the door waiting to turn him in.

Signage

 Carbondale Main Street announced today a $47,000 grant from T-mobile for downtown signage and lighting. From what I understand the signage will primarily focus on making cyclists aware of the bicycle route running from the square to the SIUC campus. It is there, but most people do not know of it, especially cyclists as I saw a couple riding on the side walks and on highway 51. the new bikeway is much safer than even using the bike lanes on 51 but people need to know about it.

In addition, some of the funding will go towards decorative alleyway lighting. I am not sure where but maybe the alleyway behind Mary Lou's as that one gets pretty dark when the sun goes down but lights along the bikeway would be good as well, especially closer to Mill Street.

This N' That

 According a couple of posts on social media, This 'n That will reopen around June 28th after remodeling. Be glad to see them reopened though I certainly wish they had posted something on the door indicating they had closed but were reopening.I think that will leave the SauSea's location as the only storefront facing S. Illinois looking for a tenant, though the spaces in the Evolve/Storyboard complex next to Insomnia never have filled.

618 Week

 Celebrate 618 week started today and here is a list of participating businesses.  Most of them are offering a discount or special offer tied to 618. Some started Monday and run all week, some are only good on June 18th.

No Kings Protest

No Kings protest today on Highway 51 northbound.  Stretching about 6 blocks north and south and about half a block east and west on East and West 13. 

Federal Building Vandalism

 The Paul Simon Federal Building got vandalized sometime on Tuesday and the DOJ is promising to find whomever did it.  I walked around the building this after noon and, if there was vandalism, it was cleaned up very quickly. The only sign I saw of any vandalism was a sand blasted area on the east side of the building where it looked as if some one had spray pained graffiti. 

Homelessness

 Caught on the news today that US citizens over 50 are the fastest growing segment of the US homeless population. Roughly 50 percent of those people homeless in the US are over age 50, primarily due to a lack of low income housing.

Revised Code Meeting

 Meeting at the civic center this Thursday at 5;30  to discuss proposed changes to the rental section of the Carbondale revised code. If you want to read over the code and the current proposed changes to the code, you can find them here.

Lawn and Garden Tour

 Lawn and Garden tour of Carbondale today starting at the old train depot. Cost is only $5 per person. Self guided so you buy a ticket there and then invade participant's properties this afternoon

Yummy Donuts

I assume they are yummy since it is in the store name but Yummy Donuts is now open at 606 S Illinois Ave in the University Plaza strip on south Illinois. From what I read, a dozen doughnuts runs about $11. Hopefully

Planning Commission and Solar Farm

 Planning Commission is looking to approve ( or disapprove ) a solar farm off West Sycamore.  I have seen a few complaints posted on social media about locating it so close to to residential areas but, as far as I know, there have never been any health or safety problems associated with solar farms. 

In addition, there is another solar farm going on old Highway 13

. Call to Order and Roll Call

2. Approval of Minutes: None

3. Citizen Comments and Questions

4. Report of Officers, Committees, Communications

5. Public Hearings/Plan Review

PC 25-10: Development Services staff are initiating the rezoning of property on parcel

number 15-17-327-023 from PUD, Planned Unit Development, to AG, General

Agriculture, in accordance with §15.2.15.16.C of Carbondale Revised Code. As the

property was never developed as a PUD, the Code calls for it to revert back to its

previous zoning district designation.

PC 25-11: Arena Knight 1 Solar, LLC is requesting a Special Use Permit to construct,

operate, and maintain a 3.8 Megawatt (MW) utility-grade solar project on parcel number

15-17-376-013 at 1914 Sycamore Street in an AG, General Agriculture-zoned District.

PC 25-12: Arena Knight 2 Solar, LLC is requesting a Special Use Permit to construct,

operate, and maintain a 3.0 Megawatt (MW) utility-grade solar project on parcel number

15-17-376-013 at 1914 Sycamore Street zoned AG, General Agriculture, and parcel

number 15-17-327-023 at the terminus of Baine Drive zoned PUD, Planned Unit

Development, contingent on the approval of rezoning parcel 15-17-376-023 from PUD to

AG (PC 25-10).

Meet the Chiefs

 You can meet the candidates for Carbondale's next police chief this afternoon from 3;30 to 5 p.m. at the Carbondale Police Department. Not sure if I should read anything into it but I notice none of the press releases about the candidates have mentioned their names or qualifications.

I would like to hear how each candidate would approach Carbondale's abnormally high crime rate. For years I have though concerns about crime in Carbondale were overblown but with the per capita rate now exceeding that of Chicago, some action needs to be taken.  

Planning Commission

 Special meeting of the Planning Commission on June 25 at 6 p.m.

There will be a continuation of a public hearing before the City of Carbondale

Planning Commission at a special meeting scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on June 25th,

2025, in the City Hall/Civic Center, 200 South Illinois Avenue, Carbondale, Illinois

to take testimony on PLAN Carbondale, the City’s new Comprehensive Plan. The

Plan was presented to Planning Commission at their May 28th, 2025 meeting. The

Commission requested that staff return with a revised version of the Plan and

comments addressed to the special meeting scheduled for June 25th, 2025. 

Funko and hangar 9

 One of the new owners of Hangar 9 is Andrew Perlmutter, who was the CEO of Funko until stepping down in February of 2024. Funko, for those who don't know, makes POP figures, those little plastic models of characters from popular culture with oversized heads as big as their bodies.

Pizza Hut

 Remodeling taking place at the long shuttered Pizza Hut on East Main. From what I understand, yet another licensed marijuana store ( I am not going to call them dispensaries, since most people do not shop there for medicinal purposes) is going in. That will make three licensed stores in town so far and at least four that sell CBD that are not licensed.

Carbondale Railroad History

 While looking up the amount of rail traffic that used to come through Carbondale (just over 50 passenger trains a day during the 1920s), I ran across this history of the railroad in Carbondale, written by former city manager AND city councilperson Jeff Doherty as part of the requirements for his MPA degree.