George Mahoney and Justin Fredin Facilitate Incorporation of Village of Limestone and Appointment of Officials

VILLAGE’S CERTIFICATION A SIGN OF THE TIMES

The Daily Journal
By Jon Krenek

The signature of Kankakee County Clerk Bruce Clark is all that’s needed for the new Village of Limestone to become official.

The final certification of incorporation election results and a petition to appoint an interim village board stalled again in court on Tuesday, Kankakee County Circuit Court Judge Kendall Wenzelman had to continue a court hearing because Clark had not signed a verification form his staff completed showing 108 signatures on the petition were registered voters.

At the same time, the judge lauded incorporation organizers for the informal election in which the interim village board was selected.

“This is highly satisfactory,” said Wenzelman. “You could have done it with a petition and not held and election at all.”

Incorporation organizers have set the first Village Board meeting for Thursday in anticipation of Wenzelman’s final approval today.

“The board meeting is still on, even though we don’t have a village board yet,” said Alex Panozzo, an incorporation organizer who will be considered for a position as a volunteer village administrator.

Making it official

The election Wenzelman praised took place at a town hall meeting two weeks ago where registered voters cast ballots on 12 candidates for trustee and single candidates for village clerk and president. Six trustees were elected.

“All members of the public were invited to attend,” said attorney Justin Fredin, explaining the informal procedure. “This was the process we felt would be the most transparent and the most like a normal election.”

The petition the county clerk’s office verified includes 108 signatures of registered voters within the incorporated boundary who agreed to the appointments. There were originally 112 signatures, but four were removed because the county clerk’s office could not verify that they lived within the boundary. Panozzo said Clark was simply unable to sign the final certification of signatures because he had left for the day.

Wenzelman is requiring the official documents before he acts to approve the measures.

First board meeting

The Limestone Fire Station will serve as the Village Board’s meeting place, and the Limestone Township Road District garage will serve as the village’s office building. Limestone Township Highway Commissioner Glenn Kramer agreed to provide the “office” space.

“He squared off a room for us,” said Nelda Mitsdarffer, an incorporation organizer who will serve as the village’s first board president.

The Village Board meeting agenda includes establishing committees such as Planning and Zoning, passing ordinances and intergovernmental agreements, setting meeting dates and the appointment of a village administrator.

The village is looking for individuals interested in serving on committees to attend the meeting, Panozzo said.

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