Heather Heaslett

 I saw the Heather Heaslett campaign using an old fashioned method of compaigning today. Guy walking around the downtown area with campaign signs on his front and bank and using a bullhorn to solicit votes.  Have not seen that method of campaigning in years.

Meet and Greet

 I stopped by Sunday's candidate Meet and Greet. Suprised at the lack of information there about the candidates. Only two had brought any campaign literature and there was not a lot of information about postions on it. I did see Tamiko "TC" Mueller there, who is running in the Democratic primary for the 59th State Senate seat.  Here is her Balletpedia page as well as her Facebook campaign page.

Nobody approached me as I walked around, though to be fair, I did get there late in the evening and did not approach anyone either.

Judges

 Since there are a whole lot of signs  up soliciting your vote for a replacement judge for the 1st Circuit, which encompasses Carbondale, here is what the Illinois State Bar Association has to say about each candidate. The short form is:

Ben Reed--Recommended

Casey VanWinkle-Not recommended

Heather Heaslett and Leonard Snyder each had too few responses for the ISBA to Recommend or Not Recommend

New City Council Members

The city council welcomed three new city council members this week. While things like the new entertainment complex and train station are cool, I really hope their focus is on repairing a number of the side streets and reducing the level of crime in the city.  When you compare the two, per capita, Chicago is safer than Carbondale.

Council Election Results

 1741 ballots were cast in yesterday's city council election, about 14% of registered voters in the city. Dawn Roberts, Nathan Columbo and Brian Stanfield secured seats on the council, beating Lee Fronabarger and James Endicott. Incumbents LaCaje Hill and Ginger Rye-Sanders, who ran for second terms as write in candidates, did not receive enough votes to appear in the final results.

Polling Place

 Early voting takes place this week at the Civic Center from 9 a.m to 3 p.m. through this Friday. After that, you will have to wait until April Fool's Day

Brian Stanfield Responses

 Below are the responses I received from city council candidate Brian Stanfield

 

1. Why are you running for city council?

I came to Carbondale for graduate school at SIU and I loved the city so much I never left. Now that I am a professor of philosophy at John A. Logan College and own a house in Carbondale, I want to be more engaged and give back to the community that I’ve made my home.

 2. What do you hope to accomplish during your term on council?

I want to promote a city council that will be more accountable and transparent in its deliberations and decisions. With problems in housing, homelessness, crime, and economic stagnation, Carbondale’s city council must take the lead in generating accurate and widely available data about these issues. We need to create specific task forces to tackle each unique problem and recommend data-driven solutions for the council to enact. These efforts must be a collaboration of city, public, and private entities to ensure that the best possible outcomes are achieved.

 

3. The city has embarked on some major projects during the last several years. (multimodal transit station, demolition of blighted properties, entertainment plaza, upgraded downtown lighting, upgraded downtown sidewalks). Is there a project you would like to see the city undertake?

Now that Carbondale Community Housing has announced an executive director, I’d like to see that organization work collaboratively with the city to promote first-time homeownership for our citizens who might otherwise not have that opportunity. Converting vacant rental properties into single family homes should be a top priority. In addition, the city should incentivize filling vacant downtown buildings with locally owned businesses. The city must also streamline its existing procedures, such as rental property inspections, so that enforcement for habitual violators can be achievable.

 

4. Given how much the health of Carbondale and SIUC intertwine, how can you see the city and university working together for the benefit of each?

As a former SIU student, I would love for both Carbondale and SIUC find ways to entice students to stay and build careers in Carbondale. The collaborative efforts among Carbondale, SIU, and also SIH will be essential in creating an atmosphere of job creation, economic development, and home ownership. There are already some templates for city/university collaborations, such as the Sunset Concert series each year, that can inspire more ways to work together to revitalize our city.

 

5. What additional steps (if any) should the city take regarding rental properties?

I’ve already outlined several specific steps above, but in general the city must centralize and rationalize its already existing code for rental properties to become more transparent and accessible to both tenants and property owners. The city should be focused on enforcing the existing rules in ways that will punish habitual irresponsible property owners. Responsible property owners should also be supported by the city to help maintain and improve their properties through grants and tax incentives.

 6. In the 90s, downtown Carbondale was a shopping district. Today, most visitors to downtown Carbondale visit one place and leave. Is there anything the city could/should do to change this or is this a natural progression of behavior?

One of the mistakes Carbondale made, decades ago, was to promote chain stores and restaurants that built up on the outskirts of town, to the detriment of its local downtown businesses. While it appeared to be a shrewd move to generate a growing tax base, we’ve now realized that there are certain demographic triggers that result in these stores to pull up stakes, cut their losses, and leave the area.

 Our two eclipse events over the past decade have shown that Carbondale could recapture that downtown feeling if we all are pulling in the same direction. The city should prioritize a clear and effective vision for revitalization of its downtown properties and locally owned businesses. We need accessible parking available in more inviting areas in order to encourage people to stay, with better signage in the downtown area to direct visitors to parking and other specific landmarks.

 7. How do you visualize Carbondale and what steps can the city take to achieve your vision?

I envision a vital community that people will enjoy visiting, investing, working, and living. Carbondale must explore new kinds of business development opportunities such as clean industry, manufacturing, and tourism. Many of these opportunities already exist throughout the area but must be brought together to work collaboratively for Carbondale’s growth. I’d like to see a community where homeownership is an achievable goal, where people can become more invested in their homes, become part of a more stable tax base, and to feel engaged in their communities. Engaged citizens will also create a safer community composed of neighbors who know each other, not just anonymous property owners.

Lee Fronabarger

 Here are council candidate Lee Fronabarger's answers to several questions about his candidacy.

1. Why are you running for city council?

I am running for City Council to get Carbondale BACK ON TRACK for growth and progress. Council

needs to focus on those issues which will make Carbondale more attractive to new and expanding

businesses and services in order to create more jobs and money flowing throughout the local economy.

Will continue advocating for fiscal responsibility, providing quality city services, and for the city operating

with a balanced budget.

2. What do you hope to accomplish during your term on council?

I want to work with city staff and fellow councilmembers to tackle the issues of a stagnant economy with

many empty commercial buildings in town, housing issues and boarded up properties in highly visible

areas of town, reduction of crime by working with the Public Safety Department and other area law

enforcement, focusing on stopping the illegal supply of guns to underage juveniles and felons.

3. The city has embarked on some major projects during the last several years. (multimodal transit

station, demolition of blighted properties, entertainment plaza, upgraded downtown lighting, upgraded

downtown sidewalks). Is there a project you would like to see the city undertake?

I would like the city to intensely concentrate on economic development and job growth for Carbondale.

Diversifying the local economy is of major importance, as everything revolves around the economy. Work

closely with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, making sure Carbondale

meets all the criteria and has everything in place a new and expanding business is looking for to relocate

in or move to Illinois. Also work with other local economic development groups like Jackson Growth

Alliance, SI Now, and the SI Airport Development group to present a unified approach.

Would also like the City to set up a Business Start-Up Grant with Seed Money which would have

stipulations attached, like completing the Business Start-Up Program at the SIU Small Business

Development Center.

4. Given how much the health of Carbondale and SIUC intertwine, how can you see the city and

university working together for the benefit of each?

Work on a unified marketing campaign/strategy, highlighting the many pluses and advantages of

attending school at SIU and residing in Carbondale. Note the lower cost of living in Carbondale area,

close proximity to major cities of St Louis, Memphis, Nashville, most beautiful scenic landscape in the

three-state region providing for a variety of outdoor adventures, student focused approach to education,

practical experiences immersed into classroom instruction, internship programs, multiple opportunities to

join and volunteer with student and community organizations.

5. What additional steps (if any) should the city take regarding rental properties?

Research what other cities in the Midwest have done to tackle the issues of rundown or abandoned rental

properties and how to deal with bad landlords that have the reputation of being slumlords. Stricter

enforcement of ordinances already on the books and make changes to intensify ordinances if needed to

be more effective and produce results.

6. In the 90s, downtown Carbondale was a shopping district. Today, most visitors to downtown

Carbondale visit one place and leave. Is there anything the city could/should do to change this or is this a

natural progression of behavior?

The city should do everything it can to encourage local developers to invest in constructing commercial

buildings on vacant lots in the downtown district to present a more contiguous business district. There

are too many open spaces that cause visitors or shoppers to not venture throughout the downtown

business district. More retail boutiques and specialty shops are needed in downtown area to add to the

mix of restaurants and bars.

7. How do you visualize Carbondale and what steps can the city take to achieve your vision?

I visualize Carbondale to continue as the center or hub of the Southern Illinois Region for shopping,

education, healthcare, transportation, arts & entertainment. City staff should survey the community to find

out what outages we experience for products and services, causing citizens to go elsewhere for those

items and thus that revenue leaving the Carbondale community to be recycled into the community.

There is no longer any retail establishment in Carbondale to purchase finer lines of clothing for special

occasions and high school students have no place to shop for prom attire locally are just two examples of

outages and revenue lost to Carbondale. Within a 20-mile radius of Carbondale, which is easily within

the local trade area, the 2020 population reaches the figure of over 76,000. The 30-mile radius figure is

just under 125,000 residents. Carbondale has the potential, but it will take a refocused effort to make for

a thriving, healthy, growing community. Let’s Get Carbondale Back on Track.

Dawn Roberts

 I sent city council candidate the questions I sent to Nathan Columbo. Below are her responses

1. Why are you running for City Council?

I am running for City Council because I care deeply about Carbondale and want to see it thrive. My family has been part of this community for three generations, and I’ve seen both the challenges and opportunities our city faces. I want to bring fresh ideas and a problem-solving mindset to the Council, focusing on practical solutions that make a real difference in people’s lives. With my background in public health, research, and data-driven decision-making—including experience managing complex projects at IBM —I bring a problem-solving approach to addressing Carbondale’s challenges. I believe I can help bridge gaps, advocate for responsible growth, and help Carbondale become a stronger, more vibrant place to live, work, and do business.

2. What do you hope to accomplish during your term on Council?

If elected, my focus will be on revitalizing Carbondale by improving housing, supporting local businesses, and promoting greater transparency and accountability in city government. I want to address rental property issues by holding absentee landlords accountable and ensuring safe, quality housing for residents. I also want to streamline processes for new businesses, making it easier for entrepreneurs to invest in Carbondale. Additionally, I would like to improve collaboration between the City, SIU, SIH, and local organizations by encouraging better communication and shared problem-solving on key community issues like housing and economic growth.

Above all, I want to bring transparency, accountability, and thoughtful leadership to the Council.

3. Is there a project you would like to see the city undertake?

I would like to see the city prioritize affordable and quality housing initiatives. Many rental properties are in poor condition, with issues like mold, fire hazards, and general neglect from landlords who fail to maintain their properties. I would advocate for stronger rental inspections, balanced tenant and landlord protections, and incentives for responsible property owners to improve and maintain housing. Improving our housing stock will make Carbondale more attractive for people to live, work, and invest in, strengthening our local economy. Additionally, addressing neglected and vacant properties can help prevent trespassing, reduce crime, and contribute to a safer, more welcoming community.

4. How can the city and university work together for mutual benefit?

Carbondale’s success is closely tied to SIH and SIU’s success. The city and these institutions should work more closely to support local businesses, improve housing options, and create job opportunities that encourage graduates to stay in Carbondale. Strengthening collaboration on economic development, infrastructure, and community initiatives will benefit both residents and students, making Carbondale a more vibrant and sustainable place to live.

5. What additional steps (if any) should the city take regarding rental properties?

The city needs to take a more proactive role in ensuring rental properties are safe, well-maintained, and not contributing to neighborhood decline. This includes stronger enforcement of housing codes, holding negligent landlords accountable, and improving rental inspections to be thorough, consistent, and transparent. At the same time, we should support responsible landlords who maintain quality housing by offering incentives and streamlining compliance processes. Additionally, I support strengthening the Community Housing Trust to help rehabilitate neglected properties and expand affordable, high-quality housing options.

6. Downtown Carbondale was a shopping district in the '90s but now sees visitors come for single stops. Should the city try to change this?

While shopping habits have changed, the city can take steps to make downtown more inviting and encourage people to visit multiple businesses rather than just making single stops. Improving walkability, supporting local businesses, and hosting events or markets can help create a more vibrant and engaging downtown. By fostering a welcoming atmosphere, we can make Carbondale’s downtown a place where people want to spend time, boosting local businesses and strengthening community connections.

7. How do you visualize Carbondale, and what steps can the city take to achieve your vision?

I see Carbondale as a welcoming, thriving community where people want to live, work, and invest. To achieve this, the city needs to focus on improving housing, supporting local businesses, and fostering stronger collaboration with SIU and other key partners. Strengthening public safety, maintaining infrastructure, and making downtown more inviting will also help attract new residents and businesses. By prioritizing transparency and accountability in city government, we can build a stronger, more connected Carbondale for everyone.

Questions for Nathan Columbo

 I emailed some questions to candidate for city council Nathan Columbo.  Here are his responses:

1. Why are you running for city council?

I'm a fourth generation Carbondale resident with a vision for our town and the motivation to put in the work. 

2. What do you hope to accomplish during your term on council?

I intend to contribute to the restoration of a functioning council that is less combative with the public, city staff, and one another.

I also intend to drive the resurgence of Carbondale's notoriety as a scrappy, fun, cultural destination in the Midwest.

3. The city has embarked on some major projects during the last several years. (multimodal transit station, demolition of blighted properties, entertainment plaza, upgraded downtown lighting, upgraded downtown sidewalks). Is there a project you would like to see the city undertake?

While financially unviable, I wish we could find a way to fix the sidewalks again. The current sidewalks are nearly impassable. If our intent is to increase downtown foot traffic our freshly built sidewalks are not proving a way, they're in the way.

4. Given how much the health of Carbondale and SIUC intertwine, how can you see the city and university working together for the benefit of each?

A viable working relationship between SIU and the city has been a sought for several decades to no avail. I don't believe the city should continue attempting to invest a significant amount of time and energy into an institution that is focused on its internal operations.

The best thing the city can do is work on making itself more appealing for those who wish to attend or work at SIU, and the best thing SIU can do is continue appealing to those they hope will attend or work at SIU.

We should focus on our individual efforts, understanding the mutual benefit of our individual efforts, and quit worrying about the long-standing myth of the city and university working together. 

We already know where our individual institutional interests align and we should do our respective jobs.

5. What additional steps (if any) should the city take regarding rental properties?

When we write tickets to enforce our codes we should see that more than 10% of those enforcement tickets are fully exercised through the court systems.

6. In the 90s, downtown Carbondale was a shopping district. Today, most visitors to downtown Carbondale visit one place and leave. Is there anything the city could/should do to change this or is this a natural progression of behavior?

Tear out the parking meters.

7. How do you visualize Carbondale and what steps can the city take to achieve your vision?

I see Carbondale as the Midwest’s best little routing stop for music, movies, and merchandise. 

We should be attracting artists to live here and leverage our cost of living and major metro accessibility to build their creative careers. 

We should be attracting movie and television production to operate out of Carbondale, work with the Illinois Film Office, SIU College of Media Arts, and a local workforce, and leverage the wide array of scenery throughout Southern Illinois and the Midwest. 

We should be retooling our empty retail spaces to adapt to the world of creator economies and live shopping.

City Council Candidates

 The League of Women Voters of Jackson County will host a forum with questions for this year's city council candidates this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT  .  It is on Zoom so here is the link to register.

Candidate Petitions

 It looks as if three of the candidates for city council, Rye-Sanders, Hill and Reed, did not follow the directions for submitting their petitions for getting on the ballot and former councilman and local businessman Navreet Kang has filed an objection and there will be a hearing by the Municipal Officers Electoral Board at an unspecified date in the future.

Election Results

 Here are the final results for the 2024 election for Jackson County. Final results posted about 2 a.m. Wednesday morning.  Harriz/ Walz beat Trump/ Vance by a surprisingly small margin 50.1 to 47.7% and Mike Bost beat Brian Roberts by 3%. The Republican candidates for state office, Bryant, Jacobs and Friess won with no Democratic candidate opposing them. States' Attorney is still too close to call tonight., but other county offices and 5 of the 7 county board seats went Democratic.

Mike Bost

 Looks like Rep. Mike Bost keeps his seat for another 2 years as he defeats Brian Roberts 76% to 24%. Never saw any indications of a campaign by Roberts: no yard signs, no ads, no social media. Even the Southern Illinoisan said the paper reached out to his campaign multiple times for an interview and never received a response.

Election Day

 Town Square Parking lot is packed for voting at the civic center. So is the civic center parking lot. Waiting time is 30 to 45 minutes I heard while precinct wait time is about 10 minutes 

Advisory Referendum

 apparently the three advisory referendum items on the Illinois ballot were put there because Democrats wanted to block out any competing referenda that others would try to put on it, such as one addressing parent's rights for which a Republican politician had advocated.

the one calling for a tax on incomes over $1 million , to be used for property tax relief, is markedly similar to a advisory referendum that passed 64% to 36% a decade ago. However, when the proposed income tax increase actually came up on the ballot to go into the constitution, a strong campaign against it caused the measure to fail.

City Council Candidates

 Here are the candidates for the 3 open seats on the city council.  LaCaje Hill and Ginger Rye Sanders are seeking a second term on the council. Jeff Dougherty opted not to seek re-election.

Fronabarger has served on the council previously but was defeated when he sought re-election. Colombo has run for mayor before but was defeated. Dawn Roberts recently moved back to Carbondale, I believe, after living elsewhere for a number of years.

Lottery - Nathan Colombo, 229 Hunt Road                          8:00 a.m., October 21

Lottery – Lee M. Fronabarger, 1140 S. Morningside Drive  8:00 a.m., October 21

Lottery - Dawn Roberts, 405 N. Allyn Street                        8:00 a.m., October 21

Lottery – Brian Stanfield, 604 W. Pecan Street                      8:00 a.m., October 21

5 – LaCaje Hill, 603 S. Skyline Drive                                    8:10 p.m., October 21

6 – Ginger Rye Sanders, 405 E. Willow Street                       10:52 a.m., October 21

7 – Jason M. Endicott, 707 N. McKinley Street                    12:37 p.m., October 28

8 – Dr. Ryan James Reed, Sr., 1704 W. Taylor Drive             3:57 p.m., October 28

Early Voting

 Early voting in Carbondale will take place the last week of October with the polling place open MWF in the Civic Center and Tues and Thursday and the following Monday in the SUIC Student Center. You can also go to the Jackson County County Clerks office in Murphysboro to vote or drop off a ballot as well.

Nomination Petitions

 The city starts accepting nomination petitions for the three open City Council seats on Oct 21. From what I understand, Councilman Doherty will not run again, leaving an open seat. Also, I have heard former mayoral candidate Nathan Colombo and the daughter of former councilwoman Jane Adams, Dawn, will both seek a council seat. 

Announcing that the Carbondale City Clerk’s Office, located at 200 South Illinois Avenue, Carbondale, Illinois, will accept nominating petitions for three (3) four-year CityCouncil member terms for the 2025 Consolidated Election held on April 1, 2025 (or the Primary Election held on February 25, 2025, if necessary).

This election will be for the seats presently held by Councilmembers Jeff Doherty, LaCaje Hill, and Ginger Rye Sanders.

Informational documents and petition forms are available in the City Clerk’s Office; these same forms and other useful information are available in the 2025 Candidate’s Guide, which can be found on the Illinois State Board of Elections website. Signed, completed forms are to be submitted to the City Clerk’s Office during the statutory filing period of Monday, October 21 through Monday, October 28, 2024 (circulation and filing dates amended by Public Acts 103-0586 and 103-0600).

Candidates should carefully examine the 2025 Candidate’s Guide available through the Illinois State Board of Elections’ website at www.elections.il.gov and are strongly advised to obtain legal counsel regarding their qualifications for office and how to correctly circulate, complete, and file their petitions.

The dates and hours during which petitions will be accepted are as follows:
Monday, October 21 8:00 am – 12:00 pm 1:00 pm -5:00 pm
Tuesday, October 22 8:00 am – 12:00 pm 1:00 pm -5:00 pm
Wednesday, October 23 8:00 am – 12:00 pm 1:00 pm -5:00 pm
Thursday, October 24 8:00 am – 12:00 pm 1:00 pm -5:00 pm
Friday, October 25 8:00 am – 12:00 pm 1:00 pm -5:00 pm
Monday, October 28 8:00 am – 12:00 pm 1:00 pm -5:00 pm

Simultaneous Petition Filing Lottery:
If a lottery is required due to two or more petitions being filed simultaneously at 8:00 a.m. on
Monday, October 21, or if two more petitions are filed between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on
Monday, October 28, such lottery will be held in the foyer of City Hall at 3:00 p.m. on
November 5. Lotteries are open to members of the public.

Bost Vote

 Not a huge surprise but Rep. Mike Bost voted against the short term funding bill keeping the government open until December, since it did not have provisions in it requiring proof of citizenship to vote. Meanwhile, the Heritage Foundation found about 2 dozen instances of people actually voting illegally in the 2020 election. Certainly a crime, but not the widespread fraud touted by Rep. Bost and others.