PAXTON — The CRIS Rural Mass Transit District has expanded its public transportation services into Ford County and is working to get out the word to its residents.
Based in Danville and previously serving just Vermilion County, the rural transportation district is now providing shared-ride transportation services in Ford, County, too, with the expansion launched this month.
“We’ve done three trips so far,” CRIS’ chief executive officer, Melissa Walters, told the Ford County Board during its monthly meeting in Paxton on Monday, July 14. “It’s starting off slow, but we’re hoping you guys help get the word out.”
Ford County Board member Tim Nuss of rural Roberts said the local rural transportation services — made possible through an intergovernmental agreement involving neighboring Iroquois and Livingston counties — should get plenty of use once people realize it is indeed available.
A flyer promotes the services of the CRIS Rural Mass Transit District, which has expanded its public transportation services into Ford County.
“I just think it’s going to be bigger than what most of us imagine,” Nuss told his colleagues. “(Walters has) done a great job, and I’m anxious to see it. … I think we’re in good hands with CRIS for transportation, and we’re going places and doing things with them that the people of Ford County need drastically.”
In Ford County, CRIS is offering daytime weekday rides that start and end in the county and must be booked in advance by calling CRIS at 217-443-2287. Walters provided board members with a tri-fold pamphlet with further details on the service — which launched in Ford County on Monday, July 7 — and asked them to help spread the word.
Walters has been doing everything she can herself.
“We’re trying to promote this as much as we possibly can,” Walters told the board, noting she has attended numerous meetings and events in recent weeks to distribute information to residents. “We’re just trying to get information out.”
Walters asked board members for any suggestions they might have on how to reach even more people.
“I do want to get some feedback from the board on how we can maybe infiltrate a little better,” Walters told the board. “Do you think a billboard would work? A newspaper article? Commercials on the radio?”
“Social media — Facebook,” board member Lesley King of Piper City suggested later in the meeting.
“I think radio’s a great idea,” board member Cindy Ihrke of rural Roberts added. “Both radio stations (in Ford County will) work with you. … And then there’s another station that plays country music — they’re not based here, but Pheasants Forever uses them to promote their (annual) banquet and people listen to it.”
Meanwhile, Walters said she plans to regularly attend meetings of the newly formed committee overseeing rural transportation in Ford, Iroquois and Livingston counties and has joined an advisory committee for Birth to Five Illinois, as well, “so I can get a better feel for your guys’ landscape and the needs here.”
Board Chairman Chase McCall of Gibson City said he forwarded an email from the Illinois Department of Transportation to Nuss and board member Cindy Ihrke, who are Ford County’s representatives on the tri-county rural transportation committee, stating that IDOT is aware of the newly formed service in Ford County and that Ford County is no longer partnering with McLean County and others to provide public transportation through Showbus. IDOT will be distributing the remaining grant funds from the old arrangement to the involved counties, McCall said.
“The funds, I believe, are to be used for transportation equipment — so buses, vans, things of that nature,” McCall said.
Other business
In other business at the meeting:
— Taylor Burnett, who was recently hired as a deputy clerk in Ford County Treasurer Krisha Whitcomb’s office, introduced herself. “Welcome aboard,” Nuss told her.
— Glenn Miller, administrator of the Ford County Public Health Department, gave a brief report, highlighting some of the programs his agency offers that he said are uncommon for a public health department as small as Ford County’s, including adult protective services, senior services, community care, caregiver support and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.
— Terry Whitebird, coordinator of the Ford County Emergency Management Agency, gave his monthly report. Whitebird said his agency had an informational booth at the Ford County Fair in Melvin, conducted traffic control for the annual Sibley Burr Oaks Tractor Drive, hosted a “rapid needs assessment” class and is preparing to finalize the county’s emergency hazards mitigation plan, which will be the focus of a “community forum” scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, at the Roberts Gym, followed by a hazards mitigation committee meeting at 6.
— The board tabled its approval of a new multifunction printer contract for county offices. The county’s current printer lease with Proven IT is expiring at the end of October. McCall said board member Sarah Mussman contacted Gibson City-based MCS Office Technologies about a possible contract, but she was told “they are not in a position to service printers at this point.” McCall said Mussman then contacted GTI, which “services a bunch of businesses” throughout the state and previously had been under contract with Ford County. McCall said a GTI representative planned to visit the courthouse soon and schedule times to meet with department heads to talk about their “specific needs moving forward.” McCall said the board would need to decide the length of any printer lease it would approve — ranging from as little as one to as much as five years — and solicit bids if the amount exceeds $30,000.
— Board member Greg Niewold, chairman of the board’s farm committee, said he plans to schedule meeting of his committee “toward the end of the month” after he first meets with State’s Attorney Andrew Killian to discuss “some things.”
— The board voted 11-0 to approve the Ford County public defender’s salary for July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.
— McCall said the board’s finance committee was scheduled to meet to discuss the budget on Thursday, July 17. McCall said that Mussman, the committee’s chairman, had sent budget proposals to each department head for their review. “There’s been some back-and-forth communication, one-on-one, between Sarah and department heads about different requests and things of that nature,” McCall said, “but those will be flushed out even more on Thursday.”
— The board approved two local public agency engineering services agreements with Hutchison Engineering Inc.. The agreements charge a total of $134,358 — $67,179 apiece — for engineering work to be completed for bridge projects over Kelly Creek in Mona Township on county roads 3400 North and 3600 North. County Highway Engineer Greg Perkinson said bids for the projects’ construction would be solicited via one bidding process, with construction to occur at the same time to “save some money on mobilization costs.” Completion is expected by November 2026.
— Board member Lesley King, chairman of the board’s insurance and personnel committee, said she spoke about the employee handbook with a representative of the Counties of Illinois Risk Management Agency (CIRMA), who is now reviewing it and “will get back with me.” King said she has also been “playing email tag” with a group health insurance provider but hopes to have information to present next month.
— Sheriff Chad Johnson told the board that he plans to use American Rescue Plan Act grant funds already on hand for the purchase of two new squad cars, an updated body/car camera system and a new finger-printing machine. McCall said no further board approval was needed for the purchases, since the board had already approved a resolution last year to authorize spending up to $500,000 in ARPA funds on public safety equipment.
— The board discussed but took no vote on the renewal of a contract with Advanced Correctional Healthcare, which provides a nurse at the county jail for six hours a week.
— Chief Deputy Sheriff Dave Kaeding said an inmate at the jail overdosed in a holding cell, but their life was saved through the use of Narcan by alert staff on hand. “They saved his life — hands-down,” Kaeding said.
— The board approved the donation of a used sheriff’s department truck to the Elliott Fire Protection District. Johnson said the truck’s odometer exceeds 301,000 miles, and its engine was replaced 100,000 miles ago. “They have a need for it,” Johnson said of the fire department.
— Board member Randy Ferguson of Gibson City said talks of establishing a Veterans Assistance Commission for Ford County in collaboration with another county — as permitted under a new state law — are continuing. “We just have to meet with other surrounding counties,” Ferguson said, recommending either Iroquois or Livingston counties be contacted to form a VAC partnership. If a local VAC were to be started, the county could collect an additional tax to support its operation — amounting to about $82,000 a year, Ferguson estimated
— The board’s next meeting was set for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 11, in the board room in the basement of the sheriff’s office and jail at 235 N. American St. in Paxton. The board’s meetings are open to the public.