Quincy City Council
Tax increment financing is effective. It has led to economic development and increased growth in our historic downtown business district. As mayor, I was proud to propose and implement TIF East in 2010 with the help of our terrific city planner, Chuck Bevelheimer. A multitude of infrastructure improvements have occurred since then, and private investment…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Aldermen approved an ordinance at Tuesday’s Quincy City Council meeting that waived city regulations preventing the sale of alcohol within 500 feet of a park. By an 8-5 vote, aldermen approved granting a liquor license, which is necessary by state law to operate video gaming terminals, for 1002 N. 24th and 1006 N.…
Read Full Article QUINCY – Quincy city officials have been in discussions with social service agencies to consider how to handle a possible influx of immigrants should buses from the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas arrive in the Gem City. At Monday’s Quincy City Council meeting, Mark Philpot, who chairs the city’s Human Rights Commission asked what the plan…
Read Full Article We will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 15. We honor his dedication to civil rights, justice and non-discrimination in schools, workplaces and housing. My wish on this MLK Holiday is that this year the Quincy City Council will pass a rental registration, licensing and inspection ordinance. All…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Aldermen agreed with the recommendation of the denial by the Plan Commission of a special permit to operate a nightclub at 601-603 Hampshire, the site of the Little D Sports Club, during Monday’s Quincy City Council meeting. Owner Michael Erwin told aldermen he would like to take the name “nightclub” off the ordinance.…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy City Council approved an ordinance for an $8.5 million loan from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for needed work to upgrade water plant equipment, some of which has been in use by the city since the 1950’s. “That’s one of the things that keeps me up at night, thinking about that water…
Read Full Article My wife, Paula Wallace, and I both shared words of advice on Tuesday night at the Quincy City Council meeting, along with many others who were standing against the abortion racket being perpetrated in Illinois. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful, even though the message and appeal for life and blessing was clearly with the pro-life people…
Read Full Article Letter to the Editor: Let's spend more time making this world a place where it's safe to go to sleep
Two caveats toward Quincy City Council aldermen using their governmental offices to continue seeking an overturn of the Reproductive Health Act in Illinois: 1. A large part of what bothers me so much is people claiming to be so “pro-life” do so with such a feeling of self-satisfaction that they are morally superior in their…
Read Full Article As I awakened at 4 a.m. the day after the marathon City Council meeting, I experienced an epiphany so profound that I had to put pen to paper (or fingers to keypad — few of us write anymore). I witnessed more of my neighbors taking time out of their busy lives to speak at a City…
Read Full Article It has come to the attention of Students for Life of America that the attorney advising the Quincy City Council on the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance has voiced opposition to making Quincy a sanctuary city for the unborn while also claiming to hold pro-life values. The aldermen and alderwomen who passed this very…
Read Full Article Today, many stand with you in this effort to “preserve the safety, health, peace, good order, comfort, convenience, morals and welfare of all inhabitants within the city of Quincy, and to ensure the federal prohibitions on the shipment of abortion pills and abortion-related paraphernalia are obeyed.” The negligence of the abortion industry has been tolerated…
Read Full Article I am the oldest of five daughters, and three of my sisters live in Quincy. The “Sanctuary City for the Unborn” ordinance before the Quincy City Council would affect the level of healthcare my sisters would receive. It would also affect me, as all my healthcare needs are covered in Quincy. Let’s be so for…
Read Full Article On behalf of Springfield Right to Life, its Civic Action Committee and Two Hearts Pregnancy Help Center, we strongly support the passage of the “Sanctuary City for the Unborn” ordinance. In reviewing the ordinance summary, it looks to be a mere adoption of the Comstock Act of 1873 (18 USCA 1462 & 1463) which, in…
Read Full Article My son Carl would be 16 years old today. I should be taking him to get his driver’s license and maybe to his first job. He should be driving me bonkers by being too loud with his friends and playing video games past his bedtime. But I never got that chance, because 16 years ago,…
Read Full Article I am writing in response to the letter from Nicholas Scholz, which said the proposed “Sanctuary City for the Unborn” ordinance would make Quincy less competitive in the market for young, educated workers. Perhaps Mr. Scholz would prefer only people with college degrees to vote? I am reminded of William Buckley’s famous saying that he…
Read Full Article On Tuesday, Oct. 10, the Quincy City Council will be weighing the possibility of making Quincy a “Sanctuary City for the Unborn.” An ordinance has been placed on the City Council’s agenda, and there is some concern that it might be voted on after a single reading. That the text of this ordinance has only…
Read Full Article The attempt to turn Quincy into a “sanctuary city” may have unintended consequences for its proponents. Legal abortions in the U.S. were nearly halved from 1990-2017 (Guttmacher Institute) due in part to changes in the 90s to sex education and prophylactic availability (NIH). Since then, a record number of abortion providers have shuttered, and states…
Read Full Article Why has the Quincy City Council decided it is within their scope of responsibility to make Quincy a sanctuary city, preventing abortions and medications related to abortion from being available in the city of Quincy? In attempting to make the city a “safe haven,” this ordinance will make the city unsafe for many current residents…
Read Full Article The proposed “Sanctuary City for the Unborn” ordinance would make Quincy less competitive in the market for young, educated workers. According to the Pew Research Center, 66 percent of Americans with a college degree or higher believe that abortion should be legal in most cases. I am willing to bet my next paycheck that number…
Read Full Article On Tuesday, the Quincy City Council will be considering an ordinance which would make Quincy a “sanctuary city for the unborn.” While the ordinance does not contain the phrase, it will produce that same effect — offering as much protection for unborn children that we believe is possible within the city limits of Quincy. Two…
Read Full Article City Council will introduce an ordinance next week to make Quincy a “sanctuary city for the unborn.” We strongly oppose this legislation and firmly believe such legislation would represent an unnecessary intrusion of government into deeply personal healthcare decisions, particularly when Illinois law already protects healthcare rights. The Reproductive Health Act, passed in 2019, ensures…
Read Full Article I recognize that this letter may make me unpopular with some. I am also aware that, by saying nothing and therefore being complicit, what is occurring before our very eyes outweighs that concern. This past Monday, our City Council saw fit to consider on a future agenda an ordinance designating Quincy as a sanctuary…
Read Full Article QUINCY — City of Quincy Engineering Director Steve Bange gave aldermen hope that some roads through Quincy might be a bit less bumpy in the not-too-distant future. Those roads that are in the jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), anyway. Bange gave the Quincy City Council a look at IDOT’s long-term project plans…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Treasurer Linda Moore and Comptroller Sheri Ray have been working on tracking down money paid to the city’s third party administrator and money that had previously been unaccounted for. Moore and Ray went before the Quincy City Council Monday night ad reported the city has spent nearly $1.98 with Coalition Health since since…
Read Full Article QUINCY — City Treasurer Linda Moore took advantage of the public forum at the beginning of Monday’s Quincy City Council meeting to chastise aldermen for tabling the vote on a resolution to adopt a pledge of civility at their Aug. 28 meeting. “We were elected by the people to lead them as elected officials,” Moore…
Read Full Article Quincy City Treasurer Linda Moore and Public Works Director Jeffrey Conte outline the new utilities payment system to MRN’s Ashley Conrad. GREDF President/CEO and former Quincy mayor Kyle Moore made his pitch to the Quincy City Council for eventual support of a housing program for Quincy and Adams County. Moore had presented a brief synopsis…
Read Full Article As a resident of Quincy, I am writing this letter regarding our city government. Recent problems regarding the city, such as votes by the city council and police of no confidence in the mayor, an onerous housing policy, lack of or limited health care for city employees and a recent ransomware cost of $650,000 for…
Read Full Article The recent Quincy City Council’s vote of no confidence in Mayor Mike Troup and his response indicate a lack of understanding on the part of the mayor regarding how our city operates. As someone who previously served as a Republican alderman, I support a strong city council that delegates authority to the mayor. A system…
Read Full Article QUINCY — While the agenda items were mostly nondescript at Monday night’s Quincy City Council meeting, the no-confidence vote taking against Mayor Mike Troup last week was still a point of discussion. Steve Kennedy, Republican committeeman for Quincy Precinct 27 and a former vice-chairman of the party’s Central Committee, asked both the mayor and the…
Read Full Article QUINCY – As the Quincy City Council voted 9-4 to approve spending up to $40,000 to study the possibility of establishing a new tax increment financing (TIF) district in the State and Eighth/Calftown/Dick Brothers Brewery area, aldermen didn’t really seem excited about expanding TIF in the city. Some of the discussion at Monday night’s meeting…
Read Full Article Aldermen table proposal to enter contract for consulting services for new TIF district for two weeks
QUINCY — A request for a contract with a St. Louis firm for consulting services related to the proposed German Village Tax Increment Finance District was tabled for two weeks during Monday’s Quincy City Council meeting. The city administration has proposed the establishment of the TIF district for the German Village area, which encompasses 14…
Read Full Article QUINCY — After hearing the general managers of two Quincy hotels and a Quincy restaurant laud the benefits of the Bring Entertainment to Quincy (BET on Q) program, the Quincy City Council voted 8-4 during its Tuesday night meeting to give the program $100,000 for the 2023-24 fiscal year. Aldermen also approved by a 7-5…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy City Council recommended approval Tuesday night to go into a contract with Banner Fire Equipment from Roxana to spend $1.182 million on two 2025 E-One fire trucks that the department won’t receive for two years. The Quincy Fire Department operates five trucks in “front line” status. However, Engine No. 7 is…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Quincy City Hall will be closed on Monday, May 29 in observation of Memorial Day and will reopen for regular business hours on Tuesday, May 30. The Quincy City Council will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 30, in City Hall Council Chambers. Central Services will be closed on Monday, May 29,…
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