Lang reappointed to WIU board
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker reappointed Kisha Lang to the Western Illinois University Board of Trustees.
She was first appointed to the BoT in 2019 and currently serves as its secretary.
The governor’s office said Lang has been the Principal of Bridgescape Learning Academy’s Humboldt Park campus since 2014.
Lang is a graduate of Western and currently resides in Maywood.
She is the fourth person either appointed or reappointed to the board this year.
Carin Stutz of Chicago was also reappointed, and Derek Wise of Venice and Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale are new appointees to the eight-member board. Stutz and Dillard are also WIU graduates.
Wise and Dillard replaced Erik Dolieslager and Patrick Twomey, respectively.
$1M grant for Burlington’s Cascade Bridge
The city of Burlington has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration for work on Cascade Bridge.
The bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been closed for almost 15 years because of structural deficiencies. The city has included improvements to the bridge in its capital improvement plan.
The National Scenic Byway Program grant will pay for design and engineering plans to reopen the bridge to vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic over Cascade Ravine on South Main Street.
New city council seated in Macomb
The swearing in ceremony was held at City Hall on Monday, May 1.
Circuit Judge Nigel Graham administered the oath of office to at-large city council member Don Wynn, the first ward’s Justin Schuch, the third ward’s Byron Oden, and the fourth ward’s Dave Dorsett.
Wynn had been the third ward city council member, and Dorsett served earlier stints on the council.
Schuch and Oden are new to the council.
Also sworn into office were Mayor Mike Inman, City Clerk Renee Lotz, City Treasurer Mac Price, and Fire Chief Dan Meyer.
Inman is beginning his fourth term as mayor.
SCC hires new vice presidents
Southeastern Community College has hired two new vice presidents.
One of them is Cory Gall. He will be the school’s vice president of administrative services. He began the job on Monday, May 1, and replaces Kevin Carr, who retires next month.
Gall is a Burlington native. He earned a Masters of Accountancy from Western Illinois University, and graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s of business in Accounting from WIU.
Gall is a former vice president at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg.
SCC’s other new hire is Dr. Michelle Allmendinger. She will become the college’s vice president of student affairs beginning next month. She replaces Joan Williams, who retired in March.
Allmendinger was most recently a dean at Clinton Community College in Iowa, and previously served as the school’s athletic director.
She holds a PhD in higher education administration from Michigan State University, a master’s degree in human kinetics from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and bachelor’s degrees in English and secondary education from Knox College.
Distracted driving crackdown in Macomb
The police department said it issued 11 citations for hands-free law violations, and citations for 17 other violations – such as speeding and driving with a suspended license – during April.
The citations came as part of a Distracted Driving Awareness Month enforcement campaign conducted throughout the state.
Federal traffic safety funding administered though the Illinois Department of Transportation helped pay for the campaign.
Interim Chief Jeff Hamer said using your phone in anything other than hands-free mode while driving is dangerous, and in Illinois it’s illegal.
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