The city of Watseka is facing challenges — and overcoming them.
John Allhands, now in his sixth year as mayor, says that Watseka has suffered four 100-year floods since 2008. A 100-year flood is a deluge that, according to statistics and meteorology, should only happen once every century.
But Watseka is forging ahead with projects and plans.
“I feel good about the work the city council has done,” Allhands said.
A teacher by profession, he enjoys the work as mayor.
“You meet a lot of good people,” Allhands said. “You develop great relationships.”
Allhands added he learns from the work of other mayors, including Chris Curtis, of Kankakee, and treasures the cooperation of Kankakee County and Iroquois County officials.
It is, he said, one big community. And, as Kankakee County advances, Iroquois County will benefit, too.
Named for Princess Watch-E-Kee, Watseka was incorporated in 1865 and has approximately 4,700 residents. Famous residents include Henry Bacon, the architect of the Lincoln Memorial, and circus performer and silent movie star Fern Andra.
Current Watseka celebrations include a Family Fest, held at the end of August in Legion Park; a street fest held in conjunction with July 4; and a Christmas parade the day after Thanksgiving.
Watseka’s downtown has attracted 13 new businesses in the past 18 months, Allhands said. Incoming, or already there, are a pizzeria, a florist, a gun shop, a sign shop, a reopened gift shop, a T-shirt shop, a coffee shop and two pubs. Downtown is even attracting the light industry with a firm that makes ventilation hoods.
Allhands hopes to keep that momentum going as Watseka works toward a downtown historic district.
It is a “blessing and a curse,” Allhands said, that the city’s main street is a highway — U.S. Route 24 and Illinois Route 1. That means other governments bear a large part of the costs, but it also means that there are limitations on what the city can do.
Watseka hopes to create a historic district as another tool in its urban development arsenal. The district would run from the railroad tracks on the west to Fifth Street on the east. It would run both north and south of the highway, taking in appropriate properties, including some that are now vacant.
A key target is an Opera House, from the Victorian era. The first step is to make it sound- and weatherproof. Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan once spoke there. Bryan was the three-time nominee of the Democratic Party.
Downtown will also benefit from a streetscape program that will install new sidewalks, lights, curbs and benches.
“If we want business to come,” Allhands said, “we have to clean up our front door.”
Flood mitigation is another major initiative.
The city is already spending a $5.3 million grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. That money is being used to buy up and demolish homes that have been subjected to flooding — some as many as four times.
The city has already bought and demolished 51 homes and has another 40 to go, Allhands said.
“It is a melancholy process,” he said. “You can see the relief” in some of the faces, he added, but also the sadness as they lose the scene of so many memories.
Removing the homes, he said, will hold down city costs in the event of future floods.
Watseka is also working to improve the cost of flood insurance for its residents. There is no one cure-all for the flooding, he said. The city is working to improve rainwater drainage and is working with Kankakee, Iroquois and six Indiana counties on the problem.
But the geography is difficult. Land in Indiana slopes relatively steeply toward Watseka.
“It’s a challenge,” Allhands said.
As folks move out of the flood zone, the city is working to develop housing, both for them and for new residents.
There is a 30-lot site on the north side that Allhands said should be “workforce-priced housing.” They would be single-family, starter-type homes built on slabs.
There are other sites for potential residential development, including spots behind Watseka High School and behind the Big R retail store.
Other projects include $2.35 million to extend roads on the east side to make it easier for fire trucks to get to the high school in case of an emergency.
The city is in the midst of a five-year road rehabilitation plan, using a mix of state and local funds. Last year, $1.6 million was spent.
COVID-relief money, $400,000, is being used to dig a new city well in 2023.
Allhands also adds that the funds used for city and police fire training have been dramatically increased.
Allhands teaches dual credit business classes at Tri-Point High School and is also an adjunct professor at Kankakee Community College. He and his wife, Sally, married for 39 years, are the parents of three adult children, a son who is a mechanical engineer and two daughters, one of whom is an accountant and the other an emergency room nurse.