Lee County supervisors move to fund engineering study after courthouse retaining wall collapse

Tom Wilson, facilities and maintenance committee chair, told the Lee County supervisors that a section of a courthouse retaining wall "fell over" in December and that the county needs an engineering study and design work before bidding permanent repairs.

"We have a liability there," Wilson said. He told the board the engineering firm’s initial estimate to perform topographic mapping and produce structural drawings is about $68,000 and that the county should begin the engineering work promptly so it can coordinate with city and state sidewalk work.

Why it matters: Wilson and other board members warned that delaying the study could mean months of temporary barricades and more expensive construction later. The county’s right-of-way and neighboring Illinois Department of Transportation sidewalk projects create a narrow window where county work could be coordinated with state traffic control.

Finance and next steps: Finance chair Jim Scheelein said emergency funding options were discussed and that the immediate step is to place the engineering request on the full county board agenda so the county can pay for the study and then solicit construction bids. "The first step is get the engineering... done and paid for," Scheelein said. The board agreed to add the engineering appropriation to the county board agenda for next Thursday and to ask county administrator Jeremy to pursue cost‑sharing discussions with the city and state.

Scope and risks: Wilson described options to reduce wall height with a stepped-stair design and to add drainage so hydrostatic pressure does not push on the face of the wall. He said the state’s prior road work increased the wall’s effective height and that a hydrology study may be needed because water infiltration appears to be a driver of the failure. The engineering work will determine whether stair reconfiguration and drainage remedies can correct the problem or whether a more extensive reconstruction is required.

Budget and timing: Wilson said the engineering work is expected to be "very costly" beyond the engineering estimate and that the county will identify funding sources once bids are available. The board directed staff to place the engineering cost on the next county board agenda and to return with a presentation showing proposed funding sources.

Ending: County staff will pursue engineered drawings and solicit bids after the study is complete; officials said they will aim to coordinate construction with IDOT’s planned sidewalk project to limit duplicate traffic-control costs.