Sales Taxes

 A  lot of communities in Illinois increased their sales taxes at the start of the year. happily Carbondale was not among them. Unhappily, Carbondale's rate of 9.75% is still higher than all of the communities on the list save 3, at least by my count.

Snow

 Kudos to the city for getting the streets cleared.  I heard from several people that even the side streets, which have been bypassed during the past few snows, got cleared.  Even the alley running paralel  to North Oakland, which has never been plowed in the 20 yars I have lived there, got plowed this time. 

Sidewalks

 

I see the city expects sidewalks cleared by the end of tomorow. I have seen street adjacent sidewalks with 2 feet of snow piled on top of them from the plows. This in addition to the 6 to 9 inches of snow that fell last weekend. Even the city sidewalk on the east side of the civic center parking lot has not been cleared yet. Couple that with a week's worth of below zero temperatures adn it is no wonder most sidewalks have not been cleared. Hope city government sends out another notice giving people another week until the weather has warmed a bit and the heaviest snowfall in 25 years has a chance to melt.

Plowed Streets Map

 Councilperson Roberts put together this map showing which streets in Carbondale have and have not been plowed. I think the city and state did a pretty good job of getting streets and downtown city sidewalks cleared in a timely manner, especially given this was the worst snowfall the city has seen since 1999. Official reports put the accumulation in Carbondale at 9 inches.

Fire Chief

 Well, we got a new fire chief pretty quickly.  Makes sense to appoint the assistant fire chief as he knows the inner workings of the department.  Problem with appointing him is that  he will likely have a blind spot towards any existing problems. From the press release:

City Manager Stan Reno appointed Jay Crippen as the City of Carbondale’s new Fire Chief, effective February 1, 2026. 

Chief Crippen brings more than 27 years of fire service experience to the position, including 24 years with the Carbondale Fire Department. A lifelong Carbondale resident, Crippen is a graduate of Southern Illinois University–Carbondale, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. 

Throughout his career with the Carbondale Fire Department, Crippen has served in numerous leadership and operational roles, including Firefighter, Shift Captain, Training Officer, Emergency Management Coordinator, Arson Investigator, and Assistant Fire Chief. His extensive experience and strong connection to the community position him to lead the Fire Department into the future. 

City Manager Stan Reno expressed confidence in the appointment, citing Crippen’s demonstrated leadership, institutional knowledge and long-standing commitment to public safety in Carbondale. 

The City of Carbondale congratulates Chief Crippen on his appointment and looks forward to his continued service and leadership.  

For more information and media requests contact Public Relations Officer, Eva Fisher, at 618-713-0711 or via email at efisher@carbondaleil.gov. 

Warming Center

 The Carbondale Warming Center will remain open 24 hours a day for the next few days.  The press release did not give a specific period.  I assume lodging is still limited as the Center did not have enough trained staff last week to open the second floor for occupants. Might be something the city could look into funding, especially since there is a need for it and the amount of pushback has stopped the use of the University Baptist Church as a facility.

Snow

 Main streets are passible though the town square parking has not been plowed as of noon and plows have not touched side streets. Looks like we got 6 to 10 inches of snow, depending on the area and how much drifting there is. Not many people driving around last night or today.