City of Washington

Washington Chief of Police Mike McCoy has announced his retirement, ending a 48-year career in law enforcement.

The Washington City Council on Monday unanimously adopted the Illinois Municipal League’s Civility Pledge. The action came in the aftermath of a sometimes contentious council committee of the whole meeting last week, during which there were heated discussions about a proposed $12 million amphitheater project.

Board members Wednesday approved the budget, which includes $137,721,219 in expenditures, a slight decrease from the $138,127,456 that's expected to be spent in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

City Administrator Jim Snider and Police Chief Mike McCoy are the only other city employees with similar agreements.

Clint Kuhlman was fired last month by the not-for-profit fire department's board of directors.

"The building isn't a loss. It can be repaired. The fire was extinguished quickly," said Public Works Director Brian Rittenhouse.

When will the $8 million Tangled Roots brewpub/restaurant under construction on the downtown square open? It's complicated.

A dispute between Marlene Miller, owner of an adjacent building that was damaged during demolition work for the brewpub, and the brewpub developers could end up in court again and delay the project that's already a year behind schedule.

Demolition work can resume at the site of a proposed $8-$9 million downtown Washington square brewpub.

Washington Mayor Gary Manier is looking forward to a busy back half of 2023, with a number of major projects set to start or already underway and a city council full of new members.