Tagged: McDonough County Courthouse

Restoration work will be done this spring and summer to the clock tower dome on the McDonough County Courthouse.

“The courthouse is kind of a centerpiece for the community,” said Nathan Cobb, assistant planner for the Western Illinois Regional Council, which helped secure a $30,000 grant for the work. The grant comes from the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust.

McDonough County courtroom now looks a lot more like it might have when the courthouse was completed in 1872.

Courtroom 203 has a refinished oak floor, a new bench, and a new table top. All were custom made and handcrafted.

In addition, the paneling was removed from the walls and replaced with drywall and wainscoting.

“We were fortunate to have Mike Lester, who’s originally from Good Hope, who took on the job of basically crafting from hand all aspects of the wood that is in the courtroom and it’s phenomenal,” said Associate Judge Patricia Walton.

The National Park Service has placed the Old Bailey House, 100 S Campbell St, Macomb on the National Register of Historic Places.

“It's a grand, beautiful old lady of a house here in town,” said Bob Fischer of the McDonough County Historic Preservation Society.

The Old Bailey House was built by William S. Bailey, who was the founder and first president of Union National Bank.

McDonough County will upgrade security at its courthouse by the end of the year.

Sheriff Rick Van Brooker has been pushing for the upgrade. He says it will act as a deterrent.

He says, “I thought it was important that we did it right the first time. A lot of research went into it, a lot of time. And at this point I feel confident with what we'll get.”

The system will record video constantly and store it for several days. The sheriff says it will require virtually no maintenance and should provide years of service.