March 28, 2024
Local News | The Times


Local News

Trio of Streator incumbents remain in office

The three incumbents running for Streator offices — Mayor Jimmie Lansford (left) and City Council members Tara Bedei (middle) and Brian Crouch — all were re-elected to their city government positions.

Three Streator officials have secured another term in office.

The unofficial results of Tuesday's municipal election show Mayor Jimmie Lansford was re-elected over two opponents, while Brian Crouch and Tara Bedei were re-elected to their City Council seats.

“This will be a nice continuation of the plans we already have in place,” Lansford said. “Every year we do a strategic planning session, and we like to have a five-year plan in place. This lets us make adjustments and keep working on the projects we already have in store.”

One of Lansford’s opponents, current City Councilman Joe Scarbeary, will keep his position on the council despite losing the mayoral election.

Lansford also served on the City Council for five years before his appointment and has since played an active role in organizing the city’s budget. He has been tasked with dealing with the state’s pension crisis at the city level.

Lansford was appointed mayor after the late Mayor Ray Schmidt’s death in 2010.

Crouch and Bedei defeated Baldwin House owner Toni Pettit and longtime Streator resident Will Price for the two available council seats.

“I’m really looking forward to keeping our progress and moving forward,” Crouch said. “We’ve made a lot of progress in the last four years, and there’s more to be done.”

Bedei has served on the City Council since she was appointed in 2013; she remains the youngest member of the council at 37 years old and has played an instrumental role in bringing the Walldogs to Streator. She also is a founding member of START (Streator Action and Revitalization Team), a group created to aid downtown redevelopment.

“I just want to continue the path that we’ve been on,” Bedei said. “We’ve already done a lot as far as downtown and economic development, and that lets us stay on that path."

Crouch was appointed to Bruce Hart’s seat after his death in 2014. In Crouch's time on council, he has been staunch in his support of cuts to the police department and the fire department to avoid property tax increases for city residents.

“We all work great together, and we get through everything as a group,” Crouch said. “We make decisions as a group, and it's great to have that on the council.”

Vote totals: Mayor

Jimmie Lansford: 966

Joe Scarbeary: 500

Siobhan Elias: 240

Vote totals: City Council

Tara Bedei: 959

Brian Crouch: 900

Toni Pettit: 729

Will Price: 376

Michael Urbanec

Michael Urbanec

Michael Urbanec covers Grundy County and the City of Morris, Coal City, Minooka, and more for the Morris Herald-News