Kankakee Times

Kankakee County Highway Waterways & Building Committee met Aug. 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Members Present

Mr. Hess, Mr. Carrico, Mr. Hunter (Zoom), Ms. Munday, Ms. Amber Turner, Mr. Lowey, Mr. Crutcher, Mr. Marion, Mr. Long, Ms. Rittmanic-Emme, Dr. Nims, Ms. Andrade, Ms. Denise Turner Mr. Alexander-Hildebrand

Mr. Lowey made a motion to allow Mr. Hunter to attend by Zoom and Mr. Marion seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Members Absent

Ms. Armer-Irps

In Attendance

• Board Members

• Department Heads

Judge Cunnington, Tom Latham, Sheriff Downey, Jim Rowe, John Coghlan, Ed Pentuic, Eric Cavender, Sandi Cianci, Bob Gessner, Anita Speckman

Media

None

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by the Committee Chairman, Mr. Hess, at 7:30 a.m.

Public Comment

None

Approval of Minutes: July 9, 2025

Mr. Carrico made a motion to approve the minutes and Ms. Rittmanic-Emme seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Judicial – Chief Judge Thomas Cunnington

• Monthly Update

Judge Cunnington stated he has a meeting today with the county stake holders with the State Office of Pre-Trial Services. About a year ago the State organized a state-wide pre-trial services department and they offered it to the 102 counties in Illinois and about 70 counties have signed on to this state program, including Kankakee County. He thinks that how the State handles the state wide pre-trial service program is a pretty good indication as to how they will handle the state-wide system for public defenders. There are two major advantages for joining onto the pre-trial services program. One is that it relieved the probation officers of their obligation to do the pre-trial work and the other is that they will pay for GPS monitoring which can be quite expensive.

Circuit Clerk’s Office - Sandi Cianci

• Monthly Reports

Ms. Cianci reviewed her reports with the committee. She stated that her office continues to work on their software conversion with Enterprise Justice.

Ms. Denise Turner made a motion to approve the report and Mr. Long seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

State’s Attorney’s Office – Jim Rowe

• Grand Jury Report

• Grand Jury Statistics Report

Mr. Rowe reviewed the reports with the committee.

Mr. Carrico made a motion to combine and approve the reports and Mr. Lowey seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Public Defender’s Office – Ed Pentuic

• Monthly Report

Mr. Pentuic presented his report to the committee. There were no questions.

Mr. Lowey made a motion to approve and Ms. Munday seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Probation – Tom Latham

• Monthly Report

Mr. Latham presented his report to the committee. There were no questions. Their union contract expires on 11/30/25 so they will begin negotiations soon. Mr. Carrico asked about the status of his grants.

Mr. Latham stated that the Drug Court Grant is still pending; he expects to hear something soon. They did receive the Mental Health Grant and will be setting it up this week.

Ms. Denise Turner made a motion to approve and Mr. Lowey seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Sheriff/EMA Department – Mike Downey

• Monthly Report

Mike Downey reviewed the report with the committee.

Mr. Lowey a motion to approve and Mr. Long seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Animal Control – Kari Laird

Ms. Laird was not in attendance.

• Monthly Reports

Mr. Lowey made a motion to approve and Ms. Denise Turner seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Coroner Office – Robert Gessner

• Monthly Reports

• Monthly Receipts of Money

Mr. Gessner discussed the reports with the committee.

Mr. Lowey made a motion to combine and approve and Ms. Munday seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Mr. Gessner stated that he is working with the various municipalities to eliminate dangerous substances from gas stations and tobacco shops. Vaping continues to be a big problem in the schools and he is working on that, also.

Mr. Hess asked about Illinois State Route 50 and 12000 N Rd.

Mr. Gessner stated that it is a dangerous intersection and there have been many accidents over the years, with one recently . He is working on it and has talked to the fire chief out there. It involves the State and Manteno not just the County but he will continue to work on it.

Old Business/New Business

Adjournment

Mr. Carrico made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:51 a.m. and Ms. Denise Turner seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

https://www.k3county.net/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08142025-2220