Newly appointed Road Commissioner Michael (Mike) Karns speaking to those in attendance.
SALINE CO., Ill. — A hearing on the closure of Cottage Grove Road last night left locals feeling a mixture of relief and uncertainty after the newly-appointed road commissioner made his first public speech.
Newly appointed Road Commissioner Michael (Mike) Karns addressed the listening crowd of both locals on Cottage Township and miners with Peabody Arclar Mining, quickly informing them that he would be postponing the hearing for an additional eleven days. This was the result of having only held the post for less than 48 hours.
As Karns has only held the post for two days, he told those in attendance “I require adequate time to familiarize myself with the Illinois Statutes and Rules pertaining to this matter,” referring to closure of a road.
Peabody Arclar has requested the closure of Cottage Grove Road for the purposes of the surface mining activities. Former Road Commissioner Tim Tuttle resigned his position due to potential conflicts of interest, and telling others that he simply couldn’t take the stress of the pressure from the massive corporation.
Now, Karns has stepped up and is willing to face the pressures of Peabody, telling Disclosure that he is “ready to try to help the township,” saying that he feels it is his duty to serve the best interests of both the roads and the people of the township.
However, Karns may face problems before he can serve his duties. Tuesday’s meeting of the Cottage Township Board of Trustees was allegedly held illegally, as it has been reported that only one of the Township Trustees held proper certification. Upon being notified that the meeting could not be held with uncertified members, and that they were also in violation of the Open Meetings Act for having no agenda or posted notice 48 hours before the meeting was to be held, the board held the meeting anyway. Members have been reported as saying that they did not believe that anyone would do anything about the illegal status of the meeting, and as such carried on, even taking action during the meeting, including appointing Karns as Road Commissioner.
Now, those alleged violations have been reported to both the Saline County State’s Attorney and the Illinois Attorney General’s offices. Now, there is a very real possibility that everything the board has done for months, or even years, would have to be redone, as the meetings would become null and void if they are found to have been in violation of the Open Meetings Act.
Last night’s postponed meeting has been called to be held 11 days from now, on Monday, June 23, 2014 at 6:00 PM. Again, the meeting will be held on the road that is under discussion; Cottage Grove Road in Saline County.
We will continue following the developments in Cottage Township, and will bring you more as it happens. Don’t forget to click our RSS Feed so you never miss out on posts on this and more from Disclosure NewsOnline.