Tara Bedei sworn in to new term as Streator mayor

Streator residents elected Mayor Tara Bedei, who completed the term of the late Jimmie Lansford, to a term of her own in April and that term started Tuesday.

Bedei, who served as mayor after Lansford resigned for health reasons in December of 2021, was sworn into a four-year term.

Also sworn into the Streator City Council on Tuesday were Timothy Geary and David Reed, both to four-year terms, and David “Moose” Conner, to a two-year term. Councilman Brian Crouch lost to Bedei in the mayor’s race and Jacob Darby, who was appointed to fill Bedei’s term when she was appointed mayor, was not reelected.

I’m happy to be here, to keep pushing and doing what I can for our community.”

—  Streator Mayor Tara Bedei

“I’ve felt like I was finishing up Mayor Lansford’s term, but it feels great now to be heading into my own,” Bedei said. “I’m happy to be here, to keep pushing and doing what I can for our community.”

Toward that end, Bedei had displayed in the council chambers at City Hall posters detailing the city’s strategic plan. Having the information available to see at each meeting and discuss progress in each of the goals outlined should help keep those goals – short-term routine goals (for example, increasing and diversifying revenue sources, city wide communications/marketing plan, etc.), short-term complex goals (attracting new business/industry, improving housing developments, etc.), long-term routine goals (city wide infrastructure improvements) and long-term complex goals (city annexation plan, telecommunication/iFiber opportunities, etc.) – fresh in the council’s collective mind.

“For me it’s important to just make it visible, to make it a living document that we can talk about every month,” Bedei said. “Otherwise, when you don’t see it, people have a tendency to stick it in a drawer, maybe forget what the goals are and not realize where you are on those goals.

“We’re just chipping away at it. There are a few things that now that we have the new council seated we might want to talk over.”

One of those infrastructure items, updating the city’s traffic light hardware, also was discussed. City Engineer Jeremy Palm asked the council consider appropriating about $90,000 in motor fuel tax funds to install 11 new traffic light controllers, which would keep the lights synced for smoother traffic flow.

The council also heard a presentation from Deputy Police Chief Robert Wood regarding the potential purchase of a new patrol vehicle and new, up-to-date computers for it and the other vehicles now in use.

Wood asked the city to consider the purchase of 10 Panasonic Toughbook CF-31 computers, through Connecting Point Computer Center in Peru. The computers were purchased used when the city acquired them nine years ago, and they are considered outdated. The cost would be about $12,000 and would come from the department’s drug enforcement fund.

“It’s rare to get nine years out of a computer, so we’ve been very fortunate,” Wood said. “It’s time to upgrade.”

The new vehicle purchase, if approved, could be ready for duty in about three to four weeks, considering the time it would take to have it equipped with emergency lights, the new computer and markings.

All three matters have been moved to the agenda for the next council meeting Wednesday, May 17.