Village Announcements
Census 2020 – Letter from Village President Mike Lopez
As Village President of Jerome, I wanted to talk to you about an important event that is now taking place across the country. It is the US Census. Every ten years the census takes a count of everyone living in the United States. We need your help to assure that everyone is counted in Jerome!
The data is used by the state and federal government in the allocation of funding for government services in Jerome. Funding for programs are all dependent on the census count. It has been reported that this amounts to approximately $1,200 per person per year. This would be $4,800 per year for a family of four. For the ten years that the census covers, that would be $48,000 for that family!
The current self-response rate for Jerome is only 82%. This means that 18% of households in Jerome who received the census survey have not yet responded. This is a major issue. We need to have a complete count to receive adequate funding for our government services. Please complete your census today, we really need your help!
There are many ways you can complete the census. You can go online at www.2020census.gov, you can call the US Census number at (844) 330-2020 (open from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily), or if you have the paper survey, you can send it in the postal mail. The whole process normally only takes about ten minutes. That ten minutes will help us for the next ten years. The census data is safe and secure.
If you have not completed the census, please do so today. It does not matter if you own or rent your home, everyone needs to be counted! Please make certain you count everyone living at your home, regardless if they are related to you. All the census data is confidential.
Sincerely,
Michael P. Lopez Village of Jerome President
Civic Center Polling Place
It has come to the attention of the Village President that some Jerome residents have received phone calls indicating the Jerome Civic Center will not serve as a polling place on November 3rd. This is wrong information. The Jerome Civic Center will be open for voting as in past elections from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm on November 3, 2020.
April 2021 Consolidated Election Filings
Candidacy packets and other information on the April 6, 2021, Consolidated Election are now available. Four Village of Jerome positions will be on that ballot – president and three trustees. All positions are for four-year terms. With the Village office currently closed please contact the Village Clerk at 546-2203 or jeromeclerk@comcast.net to set up a time to pick up the paperwork. The documents are also available on the County Clerk’s website, sangamoncountyclerk.com. Although candidacy packets are available, petitions cannot be circulated before September 22, 2020. Petitions must be filed with the Village Clerk during the period of December 14 through December 21, 2020.
Street Sweeping
Starting September 14th, 2020 the Village of Jerome Public Works will be sweeping along
streets and valley gutters. We are asking that residents, visitors, and contractors refrain
from parking and or placing garbage cans in the gutters on the following streets during the
hours of 7:30 am to 2:30 pm until September 18th, 2020 at 2:30 pm. The streets and dates
listed are in the order they will be done. Thank you for your cooperation.
- Welch St. 9/14/20
- Homewood Ave. 914/20
- Glenn Ave. 9/14/20-9/15/20
- Leonard St. 9/15/20
- Owens Ln. 9/15/20
- Homewood Ct. 9/15/20-9/16/20
- Barbara Ct. 9/16/20
- Reed Ct. 9/16/20
- W. Grand Ct. 9/16/20
- Calland Dr. 9/16/20
- Lincoln (Iles to Maple) 9/17/20
- Alberta Ln. 9/17/20
- Scott Ct. 9/17/20
- JeromeAve. 9/17/20
Will also be doing other streets and areas as needed.
This will allow us to properly clean the valley gutters to allow for proper water flow.
Any questions please contact Public Works 217-546-9647
2020 Road Project
Plans are in place for Reed Avenue from Corbin Street to Fillmore Street to be repaved in the fall of 2020. We will let you know the dates of construction once a contractor is hired.
Get Ready to Vote in the November General Election!
The Sangamon County Election Office is part of the Sangamon County Clerk’s Office. Visit the Clerk’s website https://www.sangamoncountyclerk.com/default.aspx for online voter registration, to request a vote by mail application, for the early voting schedule, to find out where to vote, and to find out other important information for voting in November.
July Village Board Meetings
The Village of Jerome is monitoring the ongoing development of Coronavirus cases within Sangamon County. Village of Jerome Board of Trustees Meetings will continue to be held via Zoom for the month of July.
Please note that public comments must be submitted in writing and received by the Village Clerk no later than 6:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Public comments should be submitted to the Clerk via email at jeromeclerk@comcast.net or by depositing them in the deposit slot to the right of the front door of the Jerome office in the municipal building. The name of the commenter should be included with the comment. The Clerk will read public comments received into the record during the Visitors Acknowledgement portion of the meeting.
Statement from Village President Lopez and Chief Estill
In the recent days, there have been multiple reports related to the hiring of Tricia Langan by the Village of Jerome. In fact, officer Langan, who has been in law enforcement for over 15 years, had been serving as a part-time officer for the Village since August 2019 and in years prior. Officer Langan was hired by the Village of Jerome after a thorough and routine process. At the April 2, 2020 Village Board meeting, Chief Estill presented officer Langan to the Village Board as a qualified candidate for the open Sergeant position with the Jerome Police Department. As it traditionally does with candidates for open positions, and in accordance with the provisions of the Illinois Open Meetings Act, the Board discussed approving officer Langan for the Sergeant position in executive session with the advice of the Chief. Following executive session, the Board approved officer Langan for the Sergeant’s position. Importantly, officer Langan has never been the subject of discipline or a complaint related to her service as a police officer in the Village of Jerome. The village holds its police officers to the highest standards and will not tolerate the use of excessive force by any officer. Any substantiated allegations of wrongdoing against Village police officers in the future will be addressed by the Village as swiftly as legally possible, and all appropriate responses, up to and including termination, will be considered.