Homer Glen Village Board extends garbage collection contract 5 years
Fatal shooting in July in Gary; case recently unsealed
The Homer Glen Village Board on Wednesday approved a five-year extension with its garbage collection agency that offers a new electronic waste curbside pickup, an additional discount for seniors and a rate increase.
The contract with Homewood Disposal Service will raise garbage rates 65 cents a month beginning July 1 when the current contract ends.
Subsequent rate increases will be 66 cents a month next year; 68 cents a month July 1, 2023; 83 cents a month July 1, 2024 and 86 cents a month July 1, 2025, for single family homes.
Mayor George Yukich said Homewood Disposal, which also is known as NuWay, has provided excellent customer service. Extending the contract ensures there will be no disruptions to residential garbage pickup, and the contract is competitive and fair compared to surrounding communities, Yukich said.
Beginning in July, the company will offer Homer Glen an electronic waste curbside pickup. Residents can contact Homewood Disposal to notify them that they will be putting e-waste such as televisions, printers, computers and other electronics on the curb on garbage day. The program will cost 50 cents per household per month.
Senior citizens who apply for a senior rate will see their discounts increase from $3 to $4 per month under the new contract.
The village would also receive more money under the revenue sharing agreement it has with Homewood Disposal.
Homewood Disposal now gives back 1.75% of its revenues to the village, which will increase to 2% for the first three years and 2.25% for the fourth and fifth year of the deal, according to the village. The rebate totals about $510,000 over the term of the contract, village officials said.
The village will reinvest the money in the community, Yukich said. It will go into the general fund, which helps pay for services such as the police contract with the Will County Sheriff’s Department, and the environmental fund, which pays for recycling events, hazardous waste collection events and cleanup programs.
Homewood Disposal also provides free garbage pickup to the village for special events and Homer Fest.
Trustee Ruben Pazmino voted against the new contract, saying that while the price seems fair, the village should have sought bids to ensure it is getting the best deal.
Creek flooding
The village board will spend up to $50,000 to help clear trees and branches that have fallen in Long Run Creek, causing flooding.
The creek gets blocked by fallen branches and other debris as well as beavers that dam the areas, officials said.
Homer Glen and Lemont paid for a flyover of the creek last year to take aerial photos to determine the areas that are blocked.
The village hopes to clear and burn trees and branches that already have been dragged from the creek this winter before spring rains carry them back downstream.
Park surveillance
The board also approved a contract with Imperial Surveillance for $71,250 plus a $1,677 monthly service fee to install cameras at Heritage Park.
The 103-acre regional park has significant traffic and is the largest parcel open to the public, officials said.
The security system will help deter vandalism, limit insurance liability and connect to a sexual predator database to provide realtime alerts to the Will County Sheriff’s Department, officials said.
A Chicago Heights man faces murder charges in a July 1 fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man near a Gary Boys and Girls Club, according to Lake Superior Court records.
Jason D. Hinton, 25, was charged Jan. 8 with murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. A warrant was served Monday and his case was recently unsealed. An enhancement was added to the murder charge, firearm used in commission of an offense.
He is implicated in the shooting death of Jacquice Baylock, 18, of Lynwood, near 19th Avenue and Taney Drive, by the former Tolleston Middle School, now a Boys and Girls Club.
He is the second man charged in the case. LaQuan Tolliver, of Chicago Heights, was also charged Jan. 8. At least two other men are linked in court documents, but there were no records of public criminal charges for them.
A woman told police she lured Baylock to Gary so her boyfriend and three friends could kill him, charging documents allege. The boyfriend has not yet been charged. He was “jealous” of her relationship with Baylock, she told police.
She and her boyfriend had been together for 4-5 years and had two children together, but she had been recently interested in Baylock, eventually admitting to police they were “thirsty” to talk and be with one another, she said. Her boyfriend and friends had talked about killing him multiple times in the past, records show.
On July 1, her boyfriend ordered her to lure Baylock out and take him to a picked out spot in Gary from Lynwood or she would “die in that car with him,” charges allege.
He gave her a stolen gray Impala and told her to text Baylock to lure him outside, the affidavit stated. The boyfriend, Tolliver, Hinton and other man followed in another stolen black car.
Baylock had about $2,000 on him, the affidavit stated.
When they arrived in Gary, another man had been shot and police were nearby in an unrelated incident, charges allege. The boyfriend and another man walked up and shot Baylock, documents state. They pulled the woman into their car during the shooting, charges allege.
Baylock tried to run and was dropping cash during the shooting, records state. The men hadn’t planned to rob him, but took the money and split it between themselves, documents show.
They took off on the interstate back to Illinois.
The men were “laughing” about the murder on the way back and the woman told police she pretended not to care, because she was scared for her life, documents said.
Baylock was shot multiple times around 6:40 p.m., charges show. He was pronounced dead around 7:11 p.m. at Methodist Hospitals in Gary.
Police found several spent shell casings, torn money and a black and red gym shoe near the scene. They also found a prepaid black ATM card with another name they traced back to the woman, the affidavit stated.
No public records exist of charges against the woman in the shooting.
Tolliver’s next hearing is March 17.
Hinton was appointed a public defender Wednesday. His next court hearing is April 7.