Letter To The Editor: Report To The People From County Board Three

Report to the People # 136 by Phil Chapman County Board District Three

The purpose of this report is to provide information and to aid in government transparency.

Highland Hospital could be Affected by CON Application #20-017: This application requests Approval of the Metro east Endoscopic Surgery Center: I provide the conclusion of my request for denial. “In conclusion, approval of Con Application #20-017 would adversely affect the quality and cost of health care in Bond, Clinton, and Madison Counties by limiting health care choices and increasing costs for consumers. In addition, the health safety net provided citizens will suffer while cutting health care employment numbers in rural areas. We don’t need fewer service sites, fewer people working in rural health care, and increased health care costs. I discussed this issue with some concerned citizens.

One drew an analogy to the grocery industry. He stated; “Huh, this sounds like taking all the grocery stores out of Breese, Greenville, and Highland and making folks go to one big grocery store in Shiloh. This would put all the smaller stores out of business, make it harder to get groceries, and increase costs for people buying food.” Approval of the Metro-east Endoscopic Surgery Center would essentially make it the ‘only ball game in town’. Approval of such a monopoly doesn’t make much sense from my constituent’s common sense grocery business perspective. Monopolies always seem to lead to too much power and money for a few. Please deny CON Application #20-017. The preservation of full service rural hospitals remains essential.”

Troy Subdivision: Individuals withdrew their request for Variance Z19-0058 (Shadowoods Subdivision Troy) after ZBA’S and P and D’S disapproval due to citizen’s concerns. The proposed development is ‘sandwiched between’ other existing subdivisions and posed traffic and water run off problems. An alternative to a county variance might be annexation by Troy allowing for local planning and control of traffic and water issues.

Tax Cycle Committee: Treasurer: The Treasurer’s Office is on schedule with all tax distributions. Many people are ahead of schedule in paying their county taxes. Recorder Office: Many homeowners are taking advantage of new lower mortgage interest rates and redoing their mortgage. Assessor: The assessment cycle is running on time. The new charges for assessments which no longer allow partial payment for services rendered requested to other government entities moved some governments to do their own assessments.

COVID-19 and Mail in Ballots: The County Clerk states that 25,000 people requested mail in ballots.

PTELL: Some citizens want PTELL while others don’t. Want to know more? https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/PTELL, https://www2.illinois.gov/rev/QuestionsAndAnswers/pages/331.aspx; https://www2.illinois.gov/rev/localgovernments/property/Pages/ptell.aspx, https://www.civicfed.org/civic-federation/blog/..., extension.illinois.edu/lcr/propertytax.cfm, https://advantagenews.com/features/commentary/ptell-fact-or-fiction,

Respectfully, Phil Chapman County Board District Three

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