March 17, 2026 | WALLS 102 - Part 9

Open Modal

On Air Now

Up Next

Mon - Fri: 06:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Dani in the Morning

Mon - Fri: 10:00 AM - 03:00 PM

Mon - Fri: 03:00 PM - 07:00 PM

Wall to Wall Country

Lots of election judges, but few voters for Illinois Valley primaries

Polling places in the Illinois Valley were full on Tuesday morning – with election judges, that is. Voters, on the other hand, were pretty scarce.Primary voting kicked off before daybreak and a theme quickly emerged in La Salle County polling places. Efforts to recruit more election judges have been successful, spurred by a pay raise, but there wasn’t much work for the judges to do.Dave Potthoff, an election judge at Peru precinct 9 (St. John’s Lutheran Church), looked around the room and said La Salle County’s boosting election judge compensation to $300 per day, along with recruiting new judges, had borne real fruit.“I’ve never had five judges before,” Potthoff marveled, “not for a primary.” But the extra hands weren’t really needed. Potthoff called voter foot traffic “very scarce” and reported, at 7:15 a.m., just three ballots cast at St. John’s four precincts combined.County clerks had predicted middling to poor voter turnout, citing a lack of local races. Bureau County was expected to be busiest with an open seat for sheriff that drew contested races on both ballots, but the clerks of La Salle and Putnam counties were braced for turnout below 20%.And that was before a winter blast that dumped snow across the region early Monday and sent the mercury plummeting. The temperature stood at 11 degrees Fahrenheit at daybreak Tuesday, which didn’t exactly send voters flocking to the polls.So far, the Bureau County sheriff’s race wasn’t enough of a draw for voters to brave the cold. One Princeton polling place reported 36 voters in the first 2½ hours of voting. Spring Valley polls were unexpectedly slow, as well. Hall precincts 1, 2, 8 and 10, all located at Spring Valley City Hall, reported 33 voters in the first two hours.“Surprised? Yes,” election judge Kelli Whightsil said. “That’s probably the lowest it’s been in a long time, and I’ve been doing this for 20 years.”It was arguably slower across the La Salle County line.At the La Salle VFW Hall, election judge Howard Tuttle reported just three voters in the first hour at La Salle precinct 9, which was one more vote than what was collected at the other three VFW precincts combined.“And I think we’re in the landslide position compared to our peers,” Tuttle quipped. “They’re very envious.”The VFW precincts all were well-staffed, however. Election judge Tina Strickland said the recruitment drive produced a welcome influx of judges – “I’m seeing a lot of new faces” – helped by the county’s decision to boost compensation.At Ottawa Precinct 1 (Knights of Columbus River’s Edge Event Center), it was more of the same. When asked how the day was going, first-time election judge Jeremiah Metille simply said “slow,” noting 15 voters had shown up so far after polls had been open for four hours.

Ottawa to save on fuel after accepting bid for 2027

sof22bigfjbptjuzvl3uefsbei323803

Ottawa to save on fuel after accepting bid for 2027

sof22bigfjbptjuzvl3uefsbei-4

Ottawa to save on fuel after accepting bid for 2027

sof22bigfjbptjuzvl3uefsbei776958

Ottawa to save on fuel after accepting bid for 2027

sof22bigfjbptjuzvl3uefsbei154512

Ottawa to save on fuel after accepting bid for 2027

The city of Ottawa is expecting to save on its fuel in 2027 after accepting a bid on its bulk fuel provider.At Monday’s city council meeting, Commissioner of Public Health and Safety Thomas Ganiere announced the winning bid for Ottawa’s bulk fuel provider for 2027 as Arneson Oil & Propane Co., a Sheridan-based company that has been providing fuel for the city already.“This is the first time we’ve ever gone out for bids for our fuel,” Ganiere said. “It appears that we’re going to receive significant savings over the course of the year, so it’s great.”Arneson’s bid of $157,940.30 for 2027 is to be paid for from multiple city funds.Ganiere has previously anticipated that the savings on fuel could be roughly 10%.

Ottawa to save on fuel after accepting bid for 2027

sof22bigfjbptjuzvl3uefsbei926747

Arneson Oil & Propane Co. wins Ottawa fuel bid.

Ottawa to save on fuel after accepting bid for 2027

sof22bigfjbptjuzvl3uefsbei146802

Streator council to consider returning surplus TIF funds, policy updates

iqya6h72tra6jc3hn4qmcrgj3u785807

The Streator City Council will meet Wednesday night to vote on finances, street maintenance contracts and policy updates at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

Streator council to consider returning surplus TIF funds, policy updates

iqya6h72tra6jc3hn4qmcrgj3u49296

Loading...