Litchfield Clears Four Structures for Demolition Under State Grant

Article Summary: The Litchfield City Council on Thursday, July 2, 2026, awarded a $28,350 demolition contract to Stutz Excavating Inc. and approved consent demolition agreements for two additional properties, all backed by $258,000 in state Strong Communities funding.

Demolition Key Points:

• Stutz Excavating Inc. of Alton was the only bidder on RFP 26.07 and will demolish structures at 115 E. Corwin ($15,200) and 843 S. Montgomery ($13,150).
• The council separately approved consent demolition agreements for structures at 314 E. Ryder Street and 410 N. Jackson Street.
• The city has been awarded $258,000 in Illinois Housing Development Authority Strong Communities funds for residential demolitions, which reimburse asbestos abatement and demolition costs.
• Consent agreements let owners agree to teardown rather than forcing the city through a court-ordered demolition.

LITCHFIELD — The Litchfield City Council on Thursday, July 2, 2026, moved four condemned structures closer to the ground, awarding a $28,350 demolition contract and approving two consent agreements that let the city take down houses without a court order.

Alderman Sara Zumwalt made all three motions. Each passed on a roll-call vote with no members opposed.

The bid award covers structures at 115 E. Corwin and 843 S. Montgomery. According to the bid tabulation, the city opened bids on RFP 26.07 at 10 a.m. June 22, 2026, and received a single response — from Stutz Excavating Inc. of Alton, at $15,200 for the Corwin property and $13,150 for the Montgomery property, for a total of $28,350.

Stutz’s June 19 proposal, signed by project manager Bob Childers, commits the firm to hauling all demolition debris to an IEPA-approved landfill, hauling off masonry foundation materials, capping sewer lines, backfilling basement excavations with clean dirt leveled to surrounding elevation, seeding and strawing disturbed areas, and paying prevailing wages. Asbestos abatement costs are not included in the bid. The agenda packet states the city already has consent to demolish both residential structures and that Strong Communities grant funding will cover the demolitions.

The Consent Route

The two agreements the council approved take a different path to the same result. Both properties — 314 E. Ryder Street and 410 N. Jackson Street — are owned by Daniel Beck, according to the resolutions, and both carry mortgages originally through Litchfield Community Savings that were later assigned to Heartland Bank and Trust Company.

The resolutions state that the city’s chief building official determined each building is uninhabitable due to various municipal code violations and deemed each dangerous, unsafe and beyond reasonable repair, and that neither is occupied by a mortgagor or lawful occupant as a principal residence. The city’s authority rests on Section 11-31-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code, 65 ILCS 11-31-1, which allows a municipality to cause the demolition, repair or enclosure of dangerous and unsafe structures within its corporate boundaries.

Both the owner and the lender submitted written consents. Heartland Bank’s consents, dated June 24, 2026, cover the parcel at 314 E. Ryder St. (parcel 10-33-390-006, Lot 2 in Block 31 of the original town) and the parcel at 410 N. Jackson St. (parcel 10-33-382-007, the north 60 feet of lots 5 and 6 in block 15 of the original town). The bank’s consents specify that Heartland is not liable for any demolition cost and that the city will not seek reimbursement from the bank.

The packet explains the mechanism plainly: the Strong Communities program “allows for owners of a property to consent to demolition of the residence rather than the City pursuing a demolition order through the Court system.” The city must incur the demolition costs to be eligible for reimbursement.

The Money Behind It

The agenda packet states Litchfield has been awarded $258,000 in Illinois Housing Development Authority Strong Communities funds for residential demolitions, and that the program will reimburse the city for asbestos abatement and demolition costs. The Building & Zoning Department recommended both agreements; the city administrator, building inspector and alderman liaison recommended the bid award.

Earlier in the meeting, Grammer told the council the grant has produced 20 structures either already down or headed that way, and that the 410 N. Jackson property was one he visited with an asbestos crew. “That is nasty,” he said. “They had to peel up floor. They had to take everything out of the house.”

Fleming linked the demolition items back to code enforcement as the council took them up. “That’s another perfect example of citations making a difference,” he said.