Pekin

Pekin residents who want to learn about Illinois American Water's proposed purchase of the city's wastewater system can do so Thursday during an open house at City Hall.

Pekin City Council members have struggled with their iPads. They've often been unable to reply to emails. The purchase of seven laptop/tablets for nearly $19,000 will hopefully solve the problems.

John C. Griffith, CEO of American Water Works took home more than $7 million in 2025. Now, the Citizens Utility Board said its subsidiary, Illinois American Water is trying to overcharge Illinois customers by more than $50 million through a rate hike request before state regulators.

The Tazewell County Board voted Wednesday to freeze County Clerk John Ackerman's salary at $101,069 for the next four years, rejecting a 3% annual raise in a meeting that became a prolonged public airing of grievances.

The city's residential Tax Increment Financing program allows people who build new homes in certain districts to get the cost of their lot paid back over 10 years through the increased property taxes the new home generates.

Seniors age 65 and older who live in an owner-occupied home in Pekin are eligible for a $1.50 discount on their monthly solid waste collection bill.

A data center will not be built on Pekin's Lutticken Farms property. That was the message delivered by City Attorney Jim Vasselli after the city received a letter from lawyers for the developers.

Tazewell County's downtown Pekin campus is getting a makeover. In a project that county officials said is long overdue, improvements will be made to the grounds at the buildings.

The normally routine purchase of a new truck caused a bit of a stir at a Pekin City Council meeting. The 2026 Ford F-550 with a dump body will replace a 2003 dump truck that's in terrible shape.

The clock is running for the developer of a proposed data center in Pekin. City Attorney Jim Vasselli said Monday the city is pressing Western Hospitality Partners to make a decision on the project.