Perry County Population Drops
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The 2010 Census shows that Perry County's population decreased from 23,094 in 2000 to 22,350, a loss of 744 people.
Only two municipalities gained in population was Pinckneyville and St. Johns. Pinckneyville's population went from 5,464 to 5,648 people.
St. Johns has the smallest population, but also showed a small gain. The 2000 census counted 218 people; the 2010 census counted 219.
County Clerk Kevin Kern said there is no way to tell if Pincknyville's growth reflects an upswing in the prison population, the population of the town itself or both.
Du Quoin lost 339 residents, moving from 6,448 to 6,109. Both Cutler and Tamaroa lost 102 residents. Cutler went from 543 to 441 residents and Tamaroa went from 740 to 638. Willisville decreased by 61 residents. The population there was 694 in 2000 and is now 633.
Kern said that the population of Perry County has remained more or less stagnant over the last 110 years, fluctuating from around 19,000 to a little over 23,000. The total population in 2010 was 22,350 people.
By comparison, Monroe County used to be equal in size to Perry County but has grown to a population of about 33,000 in recent years.
Perry County had a voluntary response rate of 75 to 80 percent. Census takers were sent out to visit the homes of those who didn't voluntarily respond.
The U.S. Census Bureau counted residences and occupancy in 2010. Perry County had a total of 9,426 housing units- 8,335 occupied and 1,091 vacant.
Kern said that this is the first U.S. Census that provided information by voting precinct. The census information was sent to the state legislature this week. They should begin re-drawing the voting districts immediately and must have a new district map by May 31.
Kern expects his office to spend time this summer re-coding voters and sending out voter registration cards based on the new voting districts.
Those changes will take place long after the April 5 Consolidated election. Absentee voting begins Feb. 24. and runs through April 4. Early voting begins March 14.
Absentee ballot applications are available online at www.perrycounty.il.org, along with a schedule for on-site early and absentee voting.
Kern said he planned to have a sample ballot online no later than Monday. The most frequently asked question about the April 5 election is when is the primary?
A new law eliminated primary elections for municipalities with the commission form of government such as Du Quoin and Pinckneyville, beginning this year. The frequency of primaries was reduced for other forms of government in the same bill.
Kern said he and other clerks lobbied for the change to save money. In the last primary election one candidate was eliminated in the race for Du Quoin Mayor. That candidate received only eight votes and would not have been elected anyway. There was no need for the primary election.
"It (eliminating the primary) will save thousands of dollars," Kern said.
In other business, the board:
passed an ordinance amending the building code to exempt units of local government from paying building permit fees on non-commercial property. The change is retro-active to Jan. 1, 2011. Du Quoin Dist. 300 will not pay a building permit fee and the fee paid by Pinckneyville Community High School Dist. 101 will be refunded.
appointed Danny Epplin to the EMA staff and appointed EMA Coordinator David Searby to the Local Emergency Planning Commission. Searby said the county's Emergency Operation Plan has been approved by IEMA. His next step is to seek accreditation, which should take another 30 days.
heard from Health Department Director Jodi Schoen that she would like to see some sort of breakdown in monthly health care costs for her department. She said she receives only a bill with a figure on it that ranges from $2,000 up to $9,000 some months. Schoen stressed that she did not want information on individuals, simply a break-down by category such as preventive care or treatment. A break-down would allow her to better plan for the future and offer wellness incentives in her department and throughout the county. State's Attorney David Stanton suggested Schoen submit the request in writing to the health insurance provider.