The Cork Board: Threads We Are Following — October 2026

FAIRFIELD, Ill. — Halfway through October, the local board has one case on it that matters more than the rest, and five threads underneath it that govern how the month’s money and decisions actually moved. This is the board as it stands, through Oct. 15, with what is on the record and what we have not pulled yet.

1. The county’s own case

On the record: Steven K. Manning, 45, of Wayne City, a Wayne County Board member representing District 4, was booked into the Wayne County Jail on the night of Saturday, Oct. 10, after an Illinois Conservation Police investigation, on preliminary charges described as unlawful use of a weapon and a wildlife-prohibited act, with felony wildlife charges and a count of unlawful possession of a suppressor being sought. WFIW Radio reported the jailing on Oct. 13, the same day a first court appearance was expected.

Where the reporting stands: Our lead story, 400 Acres, a Free Permit, and a Silencer, published Oct. 15, sets out the statutes, the land records and the structural problem — a case arising in a county whose prosecutor is the county board’s own legal adviser. Charges are allegations. No charging instrument has surfaced, and this newsroom has not reported that one has.

Still pinned: the charging instrument and docket number; whether the Wayne County state’s attorney handles the matter or the court appoints a special prosecutor under 55 ILCS 5/3–9008; and the forfeiture action reported in the days after the arrest, for which we have located no caption or docket number. Nobody has yet asked the state’s attorney’s office, on the record, which way it is going. That is the first call this newsroom intends to make.

2. Carmi has a mayor again — and he kept his other seat

On the record: Carmi Mayor Bill Stendeback, elected in April 2025, submitted his resignation on Oct. 5. At a specially called City Council meeting on Oct. 13, Ward 2 Alderman Doug Hays was selected as interim mayor, to serve until the April 2027 municipal election. Hays has picked up petitions to run for mayor in that election, which will fill the remaining two years of the current term. City Attorney Greg Stewart advised the council that Hays may continue serving as Ward 2 alderman while holding the interim mayor’s office — keeping his council seat and continuing to vote on council matters. Hays has said he does not plan to resign the aldermanic seat. Reported by WFIW Radio.

Why it is on the board: Not because anything improper happened at that meeting — the council followed its attorney’s advice — but because one person now holds two seats at one table, and a city of Carmi’s size has few places to notice that. The structural questions are the ones worth asking early: which votes does the mayor cast, how are they recorded in the minutes, who signs off on the finances he approves, and what happens if the interim mayor’s campaign for the full term intersects with a vote the council takes between now and April. Nothing about that requires a controversy. It requires minutes that say which seat the man was sitting in when he voted.

3. Fairfield’s money night

The Fairfield City Council met in regular session on the evening of Oct. 13 — a crowded agenda, reported by WFIW Radio, and one of the more complete records of a Wayne County city’s spending we have seen this year.

The fire truck: The council approved a 2027 Ram 3500 Crew Cab from Lemond’s Chevrolet-Chrysler for the fire department at $49,858.63, with a $4,500 trade-in allowance and a $10,000 contribution from the Foreign Fire Insurance Tax Board, bringing the city’s net cost to $35,358.63. An alternative bid of $42,303 for a used 2023 Ford F-350 with roughly 14,000 miles was presented and not taken, the new truck being described as the more economical option.

The insurance: A unanimous vote to pay the city’s risk-management insurance renewal in full, $222,922.07, rather than in two installments, to capture a discount.

The tax levy: Action on the city’s property tax levy request was postponed to the next meeting. The proposed increase was reported at 4.99 percent. In the discussion, Mayor Gary Moore noted that more than 70 percent of the city’s property tax revenue goes to police and fire protection, including related pension obligations. Anyone who wants a say in that number has a stated date to look for.

The small money: $4,920 in business-district funding for a digital sign at Trackside Auto Repair was approved; a proposed business-district agreement involving Carnaby Square was removed from the agenda without action; the renewal of the maintenance agreement with Albion Radio Communications passed; and the city authorized seeking bids for water-filtration plant chemicals, to come back for approval.

The requests that did not get a vote: The Fairfield Elks Club reported roughly $100,000 spent on roof repairs and kitchen improvements to restore operations and asked for assistance or reimbursement. Animal services produced two threads — during public comment, a resident asked whether the city had approved a contract with the Wayne County Humane Society, and city officials said no agreement had been approved while work on a contract continued; and a $20,000 contribution request from Southern Illinois Critter Fixers, which proposes feeding cats at seven sites for 30 minutes daily plus trapping, drew no action pending legal review of the agreement and contract revisions. Those are records we intend to request: the two draft agreements and whatever the legal review says about them.

The current picture: The mayor reported positive monthly income of roughly $523,000, ahead of the city’s position at the same point last year — a year whose figures, he noted, were affected by an issue involving the city’s power plant. The city also presented documentation from the Illinois Department of Transportation confirming compliance with the Motor Fuel Tax Act. No executive session was held, which means the whole discussion above is in a record we can all read.

4. Two sentencings in Wayne County Circuit Court

On the record: Two felony matters were disposed of in Wayne County Circuit Court on Oct. 13, per WFIW Radio. Dennis L. Galbraith of Cisne pleaded guilty to driving while his license was revoked and received 24 months’ probation with a stayed jail term. James Fenton of Johnsonville received conditional discharge and 180 days in jail on a methamphetamine-possession conviction. We are pulling the docket entries and will carry them as they come.

5. The clinic is open

Hamilton Memorial Hospital District’s Carmi Family Clinic opened at 1690 Falcon Avenue on Oct. 1, completing the move announced Sept. 18. White County readers who used the old location now drive to the new one. That is the whole note, and it is the kind of note a local board should carry: government and institutions change where people go for care, and somebody should write it down.

Still pinned from September

The Wayne County Housing Authority’s resident seat — filled in September with a non-resident, by voice vote, with no name attached. We are still pulling the appointment file and the authority’s minutes.

Four notices, zero hearings — the Fairfield Hi-Rise grievance file. We are requesting the authority’s grievance log and hearing calendar.

White County Housing Authority, Sept. 15 meeting — the authority runs 115 units in Crossville, Grayville and Norris City and posts agendas and minutes; we have the agenda listed and its contents unread. It remains first in line on our own reading list.

White County Board and Carmi City Council records — September and October agendas and minutes, still not worked through.

A jail inspection — WFIW listed a Wayne County Jail inspection among its Oct. 14 local items. We have not read that report yet. Given that the county board member facing charges sits on the committee that oversees the jail, it is a thread worth pulling rather than skipping.

What comes next

Three things move this board before the end of the month: the state’s attorney’s answer on the Manning case, one way or the other; White County’s September and October records, once we can read them; and the next Fairfield council meeting, where the tax levy returns.

Everything on this board came out of a public record. If you have one that belongs here — a notice, an agenda, a contract, a letter — send it to the newsroom, and it will be read.