EDWARDSVILLE/MARINE - The Madison County Board has approved a truck stop to be built at 2977 State Route 4 in Marine.
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The proposal was originally denied by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Building and Zoning Committee then voted to deny the board’s denial, thereby voting to recommend that the Madison County Board approve the proposal. At their regular meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, the Madison County Board voted to approve a special use permit that will allow the truck stop to be built.
During the public comments portion of the meeting, six people spoke in opposition to the truck stop and four people spoke in favor of the truck stop. Those in favor included John Wortman, the owner of Jack Flash and Wortman Development, which filed the special use permit.
“I am a good person,” Wortman said. “We run a clean business, and I promise you that if you had the opportunity to talk to these neighbors a year after we get this built and ran, they’ll have no complaints.”
Most of the people who spoke in opposition to the truck stop brought up concerns about the possibility of decreased property values and increased crime. Bob Patterson, who identified himself as a member of the Illinois State Police, said he has worked with seven sex trafficking survivors in the past six months, and they have told him that rural truck stops are targets for sex trafficking.
“It's just another area me and my guys have to patrol,” he said. “Part of my job is not only to investigate the crime, but to figure out how they're going to network, and I can tell you, two out of seven victims have told me that their traffickers look for rural truck stops.”
The Madison County Board members discussed the truck stop for several minutes before taking a vote. Terry Eaker said he believed the truck stop would be “a good thing for the county.” Frank Dickerson and Mike Babcock echoed this, noting that the truck stop could help with Madison County taxes.
“We cannot control the school districts. We cannot control our lovely state of Illinois. But we darn well can control the Madison County taxes,” Dickerson said. “Creating a revenue fund like this will hopefully go a long way to help us continue like we’ve done the last seven years of not raising taxes. This is an opportunity to keep that going, and this is what we're supposed to do.”
Stacey Pace said she has spoken to many residents and the owner of Jack Flash. She said the truck stop will trigger an Illinois Department of Transportation traffic study, which could improve the roads in the area. She said the stop is also “in talks” about including a police substation in the building.
Bill Stoutenborough expressed concerns about the truck stop and possible crime. Nick Petrillo added that he has “more concerns than positive feelings about the truck stop.
“What Mr. Patterson said…those things do happen,” Stoutenborough added. “And the only reason I would vote for this is if there was positive assurance that it would move forward with the police substation here, because the problems are real.”
The Madison County Board ultimately voted to approve the special use permit, with Stoutenborough and Petrillo voting no and Bobby Ross abstaining. Denise Wiehardt and Charles “Skip” Schmidt were absent.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sex trafficking, please contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text "HELP" to 233733. For immediate assistance, call 911.
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