WELL, THAT DIDN’T TAKE SALINE COUNTY BOARD LONG TO DO…

Saline County board member Danny Gibbs, front, at a recent meeting

Somebody holler for me?

SALINE CO.–The paper was on the streets of Harrisburg and other towns in Saline for about two days before some of the Saline County board decided they were going to take Danny Gibbs’ statement in the page 3 article seriously.

Saline County board member Danny Gibbs, front, at a recent meeting

Gibbs was talking about grumbles he’d been receiving recently from the other county board members–as well as the county clerk, Willie “WilliMac” McCluskey–regarding Gibbs’ contracts with the county courthouse and jail for trash pickup.

He’s had the contract for well over a decade, and long before he became a county board member. They’ve worked with him on it over the years, because he charges a more than fair rate and Saline, like every other county in impoverished downstate Illinois, is nearly broke more often than not.

However, someone perceived his contracts as some kind of ‘conflict’ (they aren’t according to state statute; pick up the current issue for an explanation) and Gibbs became the subject of a grand jury investigation a month ago. There was no true bill of indictment returned against him.

During our interview with him, Gibbs explained what he believed was behind the grand jury matter, and said he’d been told that as a board member, he “shouldn’t be hauling the board’s trash!” Offhandedly, he said, “Okay. So vote me out!”

Apparently that’s what WilliMac and crew decided to do.

Wednesday (12.16.09) a legal notice appeared in the local newspaper stating that the county was taking bids for collection of trash from the courthouse and ‘detention center’ (fancy terminology for jail).

The legal notice was the standard one with specifications; however, it turned out to be a little too specific.

“In that Saline County receives compensation for hauled trash, the successful bidder will deposit the trash in a Saline County Landfill,” the legal reads.

According to our well-informed sources, that’s actually illegal. The board can’t direct to where the trash is deposited; only that it’s picked up. Directing the hauler to a specific landfill, our sources are saying, can’t be done.

Of course, in Saline they think it can because the local landfill is owned by none other than everyone’s unfavorite trashmeister, Robert Wilson.

Somebody holler for me?

(We’re still working on getting that pic. In the meantime…yep, you guessed it, a substitute).

Wilson has the market cornered on landfill, and is doing what he can to ensure that he also has the market cornered on trash collection…a business everybody and their dog went into several years ago when the coal mines started shutting down.

We have yet to learn what’s so appealing about the trash collection business in Saline County…or what on earth is so damned important about that landfill that people have lived and died over it.

Anyway, ol WilliMac is apparently all bent out of shape that A) his indictment idea was snafu’d and B) Danny’s feelings evidently weren’t hurt by it. So WilliMac went the extra step and put Gibbs’ contracts up for bids.

Of course, with Wilson in the picture, he’ll naturally land the bid, but wouldn’t it be funny if Danny were the low bidder and he ended up with the contracts again anyway?

From what we hear, WilliMac has a little more to worry about than trash pickup these days. Guess this is just a pleasant diversion from his real problems at hand.

More as it develops…and it will, just like a polaroid picture.

______________________________30_____________________________

Short URL: http://www.disclosurenewsonline.com/?p=1704

Posted by Chris Beavers on Dec 18 2009. Filed under Saline. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry