Originally established almost 200 years ago in 1853, Monmouth College has remained a vital thread in the fabric of the Monmouth community. “If the college weren’t here, the town would feel it immediately,” said Jeff Rankin, a retired historian and editor for the college. With its active faculty and students, the college and town have shared a deeply intertwined history. However, it's the “symbiotic relationship” that the college’s alumni share with the community that makes a lasting impact.

The college has long positioned itself as a “good neighbor,” said Rankin. “At one time, the water mains weren’t good on Sixth Street,” Rankin said, “So the college purchased a pumper truck for the fire station. They’ve done a lot of things like that.”

Historically, Monmouth College alumni have played a pivotal role in shaping the town’s identity. Graduates have led in various sectors of the community, from public service to arts and media. “There’s a lot of college grads active in the area still…I have a list of people that come to mind,” said Rankin. One of those grads is Rod Davies, class of ‘72, the sitting mayor of Monmouth. Another is Vanessa Wetterling, class of ‘96, who owns the local radio station. “There’s Aaron Jensen, class of ‘89, who is president of Midwest Bank…and we’ve got Kristyne Gilbert, who’s director of the Buchannan Center for the Arts,” Rankin said. Rankin said that the connection between Monmouth College and the town is a “symbiotic relationship.” Alumni who choose to remain in the area bring their expertise and dedication back to the community, creating a cycle of mutual benefit.

“If the college wasn't here, I think [people] would all of a sudden realize there's not that many things in Monmouth that are keeping it going,” said Rankin, “Some people don’t really appreciate what an impact it has.”

Gilbert graduated from Monmouth College in 1996, her time was unique while attending Monmouth, she left college to get married and then returned. She graduated with her bachelor’s in business administration despite starting as an education major because of her love for art. Gilbert moved away from Monmouth, but then returned 30 years later and became the director of the Buchanan Center for the Arts.

“We partner with and are open to partnering with businesses and organizations, to further not only the mission of the art center. As well as to further the mission of providing quality, caring, experience in Monmouth,” said Gilbert.

The Buchanan Center for the Arts has been an

asset for our community for thirty-five years.

She has partnered with many organizations since her time at the Buchanan Center for the Arts such as Jameison Center, Monmouth College, the Monmouth library, and many more organizations and businesses within the community.

“She’s an advocate for the arts, she’s an advocate for the community. She’s an advocate for this college. She has strong ties to this place and just Monmouth in general,” said Stacy Lotz, the arts professor of Monmouth College.

Lotz spoke on a program that Gilbert runs within the community. This program assigns a volunteer to elementary school classrooms. They do an art history lesson and complete a project together after. This was set up because they did not have access to a full-time art teacher in the schools. Gilbert has made it a mission to keep her love of arts open to the community, even those who did not have direct access to it.

“Sometimes you don’t understand the impact that you have on little kids, like young people. It’s a pretty rewarding thing to be involved in that,” Lotz said.

Gilbert not only works with the elementary students in the community, but the college students as well. Gilbert allows Monmouth College students to intern at the Buchanan Center for the Arts. Each internship is different based on the student. This provides each student with a unique experience specially constructed by Gilbert.

“To have in a small community such a presence and in fine arts in general, is really great. It suits and serves many needs as far as giving the students an additional outlet for fine arts within the community. The programs they offer, the events that they have allows our students to be able to participate and be involved in those things. As well as having experiences such as volunteer experiences or part-time jobs or internships that allow them to see first-hand how a nonprofit like that within the community operates. Kristyne’s a great mentor to our students in that role,” said Marnie Steach, the associate director of student success at Monmouth College.

Gilbert has worked with the education system within the community but focused on outreach within the community as well. Since returning, Gilbert has done work with another nonprofit in town, the Jameison Center. The executive director of the Jameison Center, Nancy Mowen, has worked with her many times such as holding art classes, and helping provide summer meal programs. Two nonprofit organizations working together within a community is a need that Gilbert and Bowen worked and continually plan to work to accomplish in Monmouth.

“She has a lot of energy. She really engages people well and is very inclusive. I think it has been so wonderful for the community. Sometimes art isn’t always reachable for all people who live in the community, especially low income families. We have a lot of immigrant families in our communities and Kristyne welcomes everybody,” said Mowen.

Gilbert has been described by her colleagues mentioned previously as energetic and driven when it comes to the community of Monmouth.

“My experience has been very rewarding that I was able to return to a small town, to return to Monmouth to be able to be apart of a community and have meaningful experiences, be able to grow and expand the services and opportunities at the Buchanan Center,” said Gilbert.

After decades of teaching, mentoring, and leadership, Dr. Lee McGaan is a former student, professor, and chair of the Communication Studies Department at Monmouth College. His dedication over the years reflects his passion for communication and inspires the impact he hopes to have had on his students during his time.

“By the time I was ready to go to college, I came here,” McGaan said.

Many of McGaan’s family members had attended Monmouth College, prompting his passion for the College before he stepped foot on campus.

“My great uncle came here, then my mother, and then my older brother came here… my older sister came here,” McGaan said.

He took many classes at Monmouth, beginning as a political science major but taking most of his courses in Economics and Communication.

“I mostly took classes that I liked from mostly people I wanted to take classes from driven by faculty rather than by the idea of the class,” McGaan said. “I liked the chair of the communication department a lot, so I took things from him. I liked a guy in the Econ department, so I took lots of stuff from him, and I liked a guy in the psychology department, so I took classes from him.”

McGaan graduated from Monmouth and pursued a Fellowship and Master’s degree in organizational communication from Ohio University. Unfortunately, his time in the program was cut short.

“I won the draft lottery,” McGaan said. “So, after my first year of graduate school, I went to the army. It turned out as disappointed and frustrated as I was, and I ended up losing my fellowship because of that.”

After the military, he returned to his roots and taught at Monmouth College. He took his military organizational communication experience and relayed his lessons to his students in the classroom and through his actions in faculty organizations.

“I think, in general, I tried to promote the idea that we should be more open with people about what was going on and why at the college. That’s why I joined the faculty budget committee,” said McGaan. “There's a lot of unhappiness in that most people don't get what they want because there are a lot of requests and a limited amount of money. One of the things that I tried to do as much as I could was be open and make sure people understood the whole process; this was something I took from my time in the military. When I worked on that committee, I think things were more open than they had been before.”

Under his guidance, the Communication Studies department grew from a joint department with the theater major. Aside from impacting student lives, this accolade was one of McGaan’s most significant accomplishments. He sought to listen to and understand students, their circumstances, and their thoughts on how he could improve his classroom.

“I always tried to listen and I felt a need to make sure the student knew that I heard what they said and would talk to other people about it, depending on the concern,” said McGaan. “I think most of the improvements I made in my classes over the years were driven by ideas that students gave me about how I could improve things. There was an impact there, and also an impact with students in the sense that I was able to recognize when students were good at communication even in the intro level classes.”

McGaan mentioned multiple instances where students excelled in his courses and recommended that they pursue a communication major.

Former Monmouth College communication studies student and current Communication Professor Ethan Hager can attest to McGaan’s passion for mentorship and teaching.

“One of the first conversations I had with McGaan was while I was in his (Comm 101 (introduction to oral communication) class. It was at the beginning of the semester, and I asked him what to expect out of the class, but he asked me some questions that made me think more about my future,” said Hager. “It really got me thinking and motivated me to do well in his class. That first conversation set the tone for the rest of my experience here at Monmouth and prompted me to be a part of the communication department.” McGaan had a passionate way of teaching and an infectious personality. “His level of knowledge and his natural charisma set him apart from other professors. He was a very easy to listen to kind of person,” said Hager.

According to Hager, his passion for organizational communication was portrayed through his curriculum.

“In Public Speaking, he emphasized the importance of organization in a formal speech,” said Hager, “He always broke a speech down into its subcomponents and explained why each was important. The importance of organization in a speech is something that a lot of students miss. Focusing on that helps students get a good headstart on their own projects in my class. That first foundational moment of explaining that to students is something that stuck with me from McGaan’s classes, and it's something that I like to emphasize in my classes as a professor, as well.”

McGaan was able to impact many students over his decades at Monmouth. “McGaan's kind of an old guard; he was at Monmouth for a long time, and he's had a massive impact on hundreds of students. Alumni have had the opportunity to share in some of his storytelling as well as his personable spirit, which I know so many of us remember beyond his teaching. It really is beautiful,” said Hager.

Under his guidance, the Communication Studies department fostered an environment where collaboration thrived among faculty and students alike. McGaan designed courses that balanced theory with practical application, ensuring students were equipped with both knowledge and skills. He taught at Monmouth College for 31 years before handing the department chair role to Dr. Trudi Peterson.

“Before I came, Lee was instrumental in creating the journalism minor,” Peterson said. “His most significant contributions were in strengthening department curriculum and devising an assessment plan for the department."

McGaan thought that experience outside of the classroom was essential to success in undergraduate studies.

“Given the fact that I had this connection with organizational communication, there is that requirement students must follow, which is to graduate from the college with an internship.”

“He was committed to the liberal arts and insisted that department learning objectives reflect the overarching mission of the college,” Peterson said.

Monmouth College said goodbye to McGaan in 2017 when he retired.

“My motto is if a person has a complaint, even if I think it's crazy, are you kidding me? Doesn't matter. I need to listen, and I need to make sure the person knows that I heard what they said and I talked to other people about it, depending on what the concern was,” McGaan said.

“I loved every second of it. Wish I could do it all over again,” said Vanessa Wetterling, who graduated from Monmouth College in 1996 and is now the co-owner of Prairie Communications and Clear Profits in Monmouth, IL. She also works with the radio in Warren county, WREM.

While attending Monmouth College, Wetterling was a part of the soccer and basketball teams.

Wetterling works with the radio on 97.7 WMOI at Monmouth. “We’re here to serve the community, which includes, police, county and city, the local businesses, civic organizations, nonprofit organizations, fire, and our local high school, our local school districts and the College,” said Wetterling.

Wetterling chose to come to Monmouth because she has family in Illinois, and she stayed because she wanted to give back to the community that gave so much to her.

Victor Dantas, a co-owner and marketing strategist for Clear Profits, has worked with Wetterling for many years. “Vanessa has provided a lot of value locally through the radio, through the local events she does, several different fundraising events, and, of course, she works hard to be able to provide the latest news and updates from the community,” said Dantas.

Shawn Temple is another one of Wetterling’s co-workers who has worked side-by-side with her for many years at WREM. Temple points out how important local news is and how that is a huge priority for Wetterling. He also notes how sports is such an important topic for this community and how Vanessa has helped foster a great community of athletes in Warren County. “We got some great local athletes, we got some great local coaches that I get to deal with on a day to day basis, and it is literally all thanks to Vanessa Wetterling and Brian Robbins,” said Temple.

WRAM/WMOI also hosts the Freezing for Foods fundraiser every year, which Wetterling has been a part of since its inception. “We have 150 to 200 people in the community stand in the brutal cold for an hour at a time,” said Wetterling, “That's important. Knowing that people will have enough food is very important.”

Jared and Rachel Kunkle relationship has created such a strong foundation for their enterprises. “For us our relationship is the basis of everything because we own five businesses together, and we are both actively engaged in all five, so if we didn’t have a strong relationship we would not have these businesses,” Rachel Kunkle said.

Jared and Rachel Kunkle both graduated from Monmouth College in 2007 and since then have been opening their own businesses left and right around the town. They are current partners of the Land Management Partnership LLC, own their own farm management business, their own semi-truck for business gigs and opportunities, and an Insurance agency in Monmouth.

“It is a scary leap to work for yourself, and once you make that leap once, you realize that we could just do it again, so I think that helped evolve into other opportunities,” Rachel Kunkle said.

Their story started just like some Monmouth College students, hanging with friends in the lounge of Fulton Hall where their mutual friends connected them. “She said I wasn’t talking to her, made a comment to me, and then I never stopped after that,” Jared Kunkle said. They dated nine months, got engaged, and then married each other shortly after graduation, and their relationship is the foundation of their businesses.

Jared Kunkle is originally from Peoria and his grandparents owned a farm, which sparked his passion for farming and wanting to own one of his own. After graduation, they moved closer to Peoria where Rachel Kunkle worked at Caterpillar and Jared Kunkle worked for a corporate farm ground for about a year and a half, but they eventually came back where it all started. “We just felt the pull back here, and had some opportunities, so that’s what started the self-employment and really got the ball rolling,” Jared Kunkle said.

Rachel Kunkle is originally from Monmouth, so she didn’t mind the pull back home. Friends and graduates of the college, class of 2004, Michelle and Adam Carlson are still in touch with them. “We give Rachel a hard time that she is related to everyone here in Monmouth, but they see opportunities in the community from the perspective of both personal benefit and community benefit,” Adam Carlson said. “Jared and Rachel both have a business way of looking at and attacking farming that has led them to their other business interests,” Michelle Carlson said.

Both Rachel and Jared Kunkle said they hope that with the new college president being in place their connection to the college will grow. President Draves, they believe, will help create a strong relationship between the college and the overall city “to be involved in the community is a huge thing, or to want to invest in the community” Jared Kunkle said

.

Monmouth faces the issue of a lack of housing availability for incoming, young, newer families and plans to alleviate it by creating additional housing opportunities for residents from other income brackets.

The city is working to alleviate the housing issue in a three-prong process. The first part is to work to provide more affordable housing for lower-income families that meet the criteria. 

According to Hank Shimmin, a member of the Warren County Housing Authority, "We see that issue as we have difficulty finding enough private rental opportunities for our Section 8 / Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program."

The new Section 8 housing property is located north of Oak Terrace and Costello Terrace. "The new housing complex will greatly add to Monmouth and Warren County. Brand new with amenities such as garages, they will be very attractive and a nice addition. 44 total units (1, 2, 3, & 4 bedroom units)," said Shimmin.

"We've got what we call the Monmouth Town Homes, and those are 44 rental units that will house income-qualified families,” said Lew Steinbrecher, Monmouth city administrator. “And we're talking about working families, but you know, families that don't have $100,000 a year job, you know, these are probably young professionals that are just starting out or their families where the parents may be working at Smithfield or at the pet food plant."

According to the Housing Authority, Monmouth residents are interested in this housing section in the works. "I was told that they have 90+ applications," said Shimmin.

The second prong of the process to create more housing availability is to build a new subdivision of houses that tier toward older, more affluent families. The Monmouth City Administrator's office is facilitating this initiative.

"We've also been working really hard in the last four years to track a developer for a new single-family subdivision. Now we've got a developer out of the quad cities, we've got a home builder out of Peoria, and we think we've got an interested farmer willing to sell some land," sais Steinbrecher.

According to Steinbrecher, the city has income brackets for people who can afford $350,000 homes in new subdivision, which "will free up some of the older homes that are here in town, so that younger families that have still have children will now open up a lot of these older two-story homes that we have in town for young families while the older empty nesters who have more income, more resources can move into a nicer, more expensive house," said Steinbrecher.

The third prong of the process is moving younger, newer families into the vacated housing. The issue's core lies in a lack of available housing for middle-class families.

"We did a housing study back finished in 2018… and it showed that we have a demand for between 75 and 90 new single-family homes," says Steinbrecher. The housing gap sits in that middle-class range.

Opening up space in single-family homes will aid newer, incoming middle-class families. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in Monmouth is $50,760, which is significantly lower than the national average, which is $64,994.

Due to the lower number of businesses in Monmouth, there is a lack of job opportunities and higher-paying jobs. This directly affects how much community members can pay for housing in Monmouth.

According to the City Administrator's Office and the Warren County Housing Administration, there is hope for improvement in the near future. 

"We believe that the market is here, and we're working hard on that. We're hoping to keep our fingers crossed, and we can, you know, have some announcements in the next spring. But it's just been very difficult because there aren't any local land developers or home builders that know the Monmouth market," said Steinbrecher.

Anita Gándara, Lina Jursa, Alexandria King, Ali Vorhies

A wide range of people are affected by the housing issue in Monmouth, but low-income families are the most at risk. “All are impacted by inflation and increased housing costs, including higher rents, taxes, insurance, maintenance, upkeep, etc.  We work with low-income households and see the greatest impact being for single-parent families,” said Director of the Warren County Housing Authority Hank Shimmin. 

“We're talking about working families, families that don't have a $100,000 a year job, these are probably young professionals that are just starting out or their families where the parents may be working at Smithfield or at the pet food plant. That type of thing that doesn't really make up.” said City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher.

 There are safety nets in place for these families, but despite them, there is a struggle to find room for everybody. The available public housing is already nearly at full capacity with a waiting list. When a home becomes vacant, it’s almost immediately filled. “These are quality homes for a broad spectrum of people, but again, simply not enough for the need.” said Shimmin.

There have been efforts to build more houses but a variety of issues have prevented that so far. “It’s just been very difficult because there aren't any local land developers or home builders that know the Monmouth market, so we have to convince people from Peoria or the quad cities that, if you build it, people will buy new homes because we just haven’t had a history of new homes being built for a long time here,” said Steinbrecher. 

“Why not build more houses? It's quite complex, while yes you could build new houses, but the cost at the moment is just too high and just not economical and on top of that I doubt there's a line of people itching to live in Monmouth,” said Christian Bahena, former broker for Keller Williams Realty.

“Where’s the next place for building? There's plenty of lots available, but with the cost to building right now, you’d be paying three or four times the amount that your house will be worth ten years down the road,” said co-owner of Prairie Radio Communications and Clear Profits Digital Marketing Company, Vanessa Wetterling.

Applications for the new Monmouth Townhomes, which are composed of 44 rental units and will house families who qualify based on their income, opened mid-summer.

“The new housing complex, just north of our property (Oak Terrace and Costello Terrace) will be a great addition to Monmouth and to Warren County.  A tax credit development, similar to Prairie Pointe, just north of Smithfield, they have income limits very similar to ours. Brand new with amenities such as garages, they will be very attractive and a nice addition.  44 total units (1, 2, 3, & 4 bedroom units) – I was told that they have 90+ applications. I am not sure of their rent restrictions, but I have been told that the rents will be approximately $700 - $1,000 per month, based on bedroom size,” said Shimmin.

The Monmouth Townhomes have a Facebook page with updates on housing. The Warren County Housing Authority can be reached for more information regarding housing also via their Facebook page or their phone number, (309) 734-2080.

Julie Briones, Jonathon Diaz, Sanaia Jenkins

Parents in the Monmouth community, like other small communities, face a serious challenge from the lack of childcare options.

“Daycare is such a huge issue,” said Lisa Torrance, Director of the Knox County University of Illinois Extension. “We recently lost a potential employee due to the fact that she lost access to daycare for her child. She has a special needs child, she needed daycare, she thought she had it arranged so she could go back to work and it fell through, and there are not a lot of places that will not accept a special needs child.”

Currently, there are 22 daycares in Monmouth. There are 18 home-based daycares surrounding the community, while four of them are centers. This may seem like a good amount of options for a small town of 8,000, but most of these daycares are home daycares that only take approximately 5-8 children.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2021), Monmouth’s population of infants (zero-to-nine-years-old) is around 12% of the population, or over 900 children under the age of nine. Altogether, Monmouth’s home daycares can only hold between 90-144 children, which means that the community can only provide childcare for about 10% of its infant population. Though it is important to note that a portion of these children may not need daycare since some parents may stay at home.

One of the 18 home daycares located in Monmouth is Kimberly Cook’s Daycare. According to daycare service provider websites Winnie.com and Carelulu.com, Cook cares for a max of eight children ranging from zero months to 12 years old from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Monday through Friday. She also offers summer daycare.

Cook is currently caring for six children: two infants, three toddlers, and one school-age child. At this time, she has no waitlist because she has two extra spots open, but in the past, she has had to put people on her waitlist.

The biggest issue Cook sees in Monmouth’s childcare system is the lack of infant care. “There is a high demand for infants,” said Cook. “I got a call last week, the baby wasn’t even born yet, but [the parents] were already trying to reserve a spot. We need more daycare providers in Monmouth, especially for infants.”

Even with the high demand for infant care, Monmouth is seeing fewer in-home providers. “There’s three or four of them who are gonna be retiring soon because they’ve been doing it a long time,” said Sam Brooks, CEO of the Warren County YMCA. “And, as of now anyway, there doesn’t seem to be a crop of young in-home providers coming in behind them.

One of the difficulties with meeting this need is that the state of Illinois has strict regulations regarding childcare.

Illinois has specific requirements for providing care to children under 18 months. In Illinois, individuals must apply for a daycare license through the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services. Providers also need a director-certified professional on-site to offer a daycare program. The director needs to be at least 21 years of age with a high school diploma or GED and meet one of the other few requirements usually by a two-year degree involving childcare.

Also there are specific requirements for those providing daycare to children with special needs: activities relating to those needs, suitable space and equipment for safe and independent play, and the child/staff ratio determined by the supervising agency and child’s functioning age.

“I’m sure there’s a number of reasons, but quite frankly and quite bluntly, those positions just don’t pay that great. It’s hard to pay what they deserve because you can’t charge parents enough to make sure that people get paid enough,” said Brooks.

The YMCA’s current facility cannot meet the state requirements for expanding childcare options without higher cost. However, that is not to say that the YMCA has not considered alternative options.  “If we purchased a building that had a good size right now, and it was off-site,” said Brooks. “To get it up to code and up to where it needed to be to meet state regulations, you’re talking, I mean it could be hundreds of thousands of dollars to get it to where it needs to be, which a lot of times makes it cost prohibitive.” Brooks also mentioned that there have been discussions about building a center on their own campus, but the building alone could cost $750,000.

The lack of childcare is an obstacle to many working parents in the area. There is concern that this lack of access to childcare could have negative effects down the line.

“At some point, my fear is it's gonna get to the point where there’s just not going to be options for young families and we’re gonna start losing young families,” said Brooks. “And every small community has to have young families in order to thrive. They just have to. Otherwise, the town just continues to age and gets older and then eventually dries up.”

Brooks’ own son and daughter-in-law recently struggled to find a daycare service with openings for their three-week-old son and had to go to a provider 14 miles away. “We just need more,” said Brooks. “We need more providers.”

The Jamieson Community Center (JCC) is starting its very own daycare. According to 99.7 WMOI, the community center has plans to renovate the former Knights of Columbus (KC) Hall in Monmouth “for assisting the local community with childcare needs.”

“The need for childcare in our community was identified and Jamieson Community Center purchased the KC Hall with funds from Pattee Foundation,” said Melissa Johnston, Public Relations Coordinator at JCC. “The building will have to be renovated in order to meet state and federal requirements. We have retained Estes Construction and are working on some plan revisions. We have no timeline for when that might open, but we are moving forward.”

Their plan for their childcare age range is from six weeks to 12 years old. Although it is not as young as some of the home daycares, it will be the only center able to take infants.

Karen Fredrick, Bailey Shimmin, AJ Walker

In Monmouth and the towns around it, there are limited health clinics and medical services. But that appears to be changing.

 Those in the community who need medical care face not only a lack of services but a lack of healthcare workers. “There is a shortage even in medical providers,” the administrator of the Warren County Health Department, Jenna Link, said, “so when residents are not feeling well, they cannot get in to see their primary care physician. They have to utilize the emergency room when there really is not an emergency issue like a sore throat, earache, or a rash.”

People in lower income brackets struggle to find transportation to healthcare services. More specialized options for healthcare are located in Galesburg such as the OSF Behavioral and Mental Health.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 21 percent of US adults experienced mental illness in 2020. So since Monmouth had a population of 8,778 during the following year, that means that about 1,309 adults in Monmouth may have experienced mental illness. Those people would need to travel 25 minutes away to reach a mental health facility.

Monmouth does have a shuttle that runs Monday thru Friday going to each regional mental health care location once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. The shuttle costs $2 per trip for regular customers, $1 per trip for students, and $1.50 for disabled patrons.

            The McDonough District Hospital in Macomb has been a spot Monmouth residents have traveled to in order to receive the healthcare they need. The Vice President of Clinical and Support Services, Adrian MacGregor, said that when the Hospital began analyzing its patients back three years ago, the board realized that it had at least 700 patients from the Monmouth area.

Just two years after they started collecting data, that number grew to over 1000 patients.

It was because of this discovery, that they decided that they needed to move some of their services closer to the people of Monmouth. “We don’t want to take away from the community,” MacGregor said. “We want to add to the services that are already there.”

            Although the clinic cannot provide all the services that the hospital offers, they have provided some previously unavailable services in Monmouth. “Community members have been very appreciative of the OB/GYN services as well as ear, nose, and throat services,” said MacGregor. He added that their physical therapy services have also been quite popular.

            The clinic, located off of Main Street, opened a convenience clinic for walk-in patients on Tuesday, December 6th. The MDH Monmouth Convenience Clinic is open Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Jacob Duncan, Lauren Peterson, Katie Preston

As businesses everywhere struggle to find employees, some people in small communities like Monmouth struggle to find job opportunities. Lack of education, higher paying jobs, housing, childcare, transportation, and business development contribute to this and other communities' job opportunity problems. Both citizens and businesses are left struggling in the wake of these factors.

“People around here generally have to rely on a job that requires a college education, which isn’t always available to everyone here. Especially since our closest college being Monmouth College is a fairly pricey private college and so then people have to kind of look elsewhere like the factories, like Smithfield, and those aren’t exactly pleasant jobs,” said Patte Executive Director of the Warren County History Museum Sarah Nevling,.

Monmouth, Ill. is a rural town with a population of approximately 8,771 people. It is home to Monmouth College, which has an attendance of 753 students. Despite having over 9,000 residents most of the year, many Monmouth businesses struggle to find employees.

“With COVID and the lack of new faces in town, all businesses are looking for people to work. Not many businesses can afford to pay an abnormally high hourly rate or salary, so we (business owners) are always competing to keep the employees we do get, and they always have a choice to switch, which they do quite often,” said Theresa Jones, an employee of the local business, Pepperoni’s Pizza.

Of the jobs that are available in Monmouth, most aren’t jobs that citizens are looking for, or qualified for.

“I don’t think it’s that the opportunities aren’t there. I think it’s that companies and businesses aren’t willing to pay what people are willing to earn for the work that they have to do,” said Nevling.

Monmouth College brings in a host of young people who fill out job applications and seek out employers to work minimum wage jobs, but “I am always struggling to find employees over the summer and breaks when students aren’t here,” said Jones.

The lack of affordable housing, particularly for middle income families, further perpetuates the issue.

“There aren’t high quality spaces … to buy or rent at all in regards to housing,” said owner of Maude Speckleberry, a local boutique.

“We did a housing study finished back in 2018. So it's only four years old and it showed that we have a demand for between 75 and 90 new single family homes,” says Lew Steinbrecher, the city administrator.

Steinbrecher said since the study, the city has been working to find a developer to bring a new single family subdivision, which should free up some of the older properties in town that might be more affordable for middle and lower income families. With a developer and builder on board, the last hurdle is land. Steinbrecher believes they have a local farmer interested in selling the land. He hopes the city can officially announce this project in the spring.

However, housing isn’t the only barrier between residents and jobs.

“Childcare is a huge issue right now because there is just no daycare for people that want to go to work to be able to go to work. It’s a roadblock to some people entering the workforce right now, especially after COVID,” said Lisa Torrence, director of the University of Illinois Extension office for Henderson, Knox, Warren, and McDonough counties.

Smithfield, a pork processing plant, provides many well-paying jobs but most of these open jobs are third shift and that poses serious childcare problems.

“They [Smithfield] have good jobs that are 3rd shift jobs that they would love to fill and there are people who would like to take them but what are you gonna do with your kids at night? We definitely don't have any night daycares, that's something that none of these communities have,” said Torrence.

Beyond childcare and housing, many people need reliable transportation.

“Many families have just one car, and let us say dad works at Smithfield, he is gone all day with the car and mom is only able to use the buses in Warren County and those are limited,” says Jenna Link, Administrator for Warren County Health Dept.

This leads to many families being reduced to a single income because they have no way to get to multiple jobs.

Also, businesses in smaller communities have trouble with finding attractive spaces to develop. According to Steinbrecher, the city has received grants for city beautification and infrastructure. “You're gonna see close to $5 million in the next year or two going downtown and it’s really going to change the appearance of the town of Monmouth,” said Steinbrecher.

In the cities plan, some of this money will be allotted to new business buildings, homes, and other efforts to increase city jobs.

Kylie McDonald, Haley Melton, Jake Rathgeb

Within the City of Monmouth, people needing public transportation have only one main option, Warren County Achievement Center (WCAC) buses.

WCAC runs 6 buses weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 and can pick people up and take them where they want to go.  But this means there is a lack of public transportation at night and on the weekends. “Some riders talk about how it would be very helpful if the service was available on weekends,” said WCAC Driver Eric Carder.  With this being the only public transportation option, Director of Transportation for the Warren County Achievement Center Sean Cavanaugh said they are looking at expanding hours. “However; some of the challenges are getting enough people to work. During COVID a lot of people kind of stopped working and got used to living off the fat of the land,” said Cavanaugh.

After working at WCAC for two years and one and a half as a driver, Carder has developed relationships with some of the passengers. “I know the people who are talkers and the people who keep to themselves,” said Carder. “I myself am a talker. I love hearing people’s stories and learning many different things all the time.” While on his route, Carder lowered the handicap ramp for a disabled passenger and helped them get settled in before taking off to their desired destination.

Warren County Achievement Centers six buses drive six routes and serve around 55,000 people each year. Eric Carder an experienced WCAC driver of two years said, “Right through the lunch hour from about 11 o'clock to about 1 o'clock is usually the busiest part of the day, and the busiest days usually are the first part of the month because a lot of people get their social security check.” A rider who wanted to remain anonymous said, “I ride this bus all the time and it is very convenient to have.” Regular riders cost one dollar one way, children 5 and under ride free, and Seniors also ride free. Call 309-734-6001 for further information or to schedule a ride.

Salvador Alvarado, Carter Boyer, Dylan Cullick, Kain Donohoo

Despite the need for more housing, the construction of new single-family dwellings in Monmouth has stalled due to higher borrowing rates, rising building material prices, and a lack of available land.

“[We] have a housing shortage in Monmouth. So people commute from Burlington, the quad cities, Galesburg some up to over an hour away for jobs here at Smithfield,” said Lew Steinbrecher, Monmouth City Administrator. People come to work in Monmouth, in places such as Smithfield. Some buyers and renters may not want to live in Monmouth because other sites like those Steinbrecher shared can be more economically viable. 

“I was thinking maybe rent a house; every time there would be a house that I would like, there'd be a for sale rent sale would go up, and then by the end of the week, it'd be gone. So it was like, you gotta be on it if you think you’re gonna find a place to live anywhere right now,” said Zachary Colberg, Monmouth College Alumni.

Data from CBRE, a commercial real estate firm, predicts “U.S. construction costs expected to rise 14 percent year over year by close of 2022,” Although “relief next year, with cost inflation falling to 4.3 percent and further moderation to 2.9 percent in 2024.” An average 2-3 bedroom 1500 square foot home would cost $300,000 with this estimation.  “With the average price to build a home hovering around $200 sq ft,” according to contractor Eduardo Lopez of “Lopez Home and Design.” And with the ever-rising rents and increasing price of goods, the question may arise, “whether building new housing in Monmouth and surrounding areas are economically feasible.”

“The housing market is fluid and changes constantly,” said Carrissa Doyle of Doyle & Associates Realty. “At the moment, interest rates are high and, ideally, not a great time for buyers to get a loan. It's also the holiday season, and we’re entering colder weather, which is not ideal for people to want to move.  We're also experiencing inflation, and the cost of living has increased, which impacts the housing market.”  

“Land is also a factor with building. There aren't a lot of empty lots in a desirable part of town to build on. And the ground in the country is very costly and limited.” said Doyle. “The new construction going up off of North Main Street has been in the works for a few years regarding purchasing the land, etc.  That's also being constructed by a large corporation outside of the area.” 

“While yes, we are currently seeing lower income housing being built in the community,” said Realtor Brian Scott Young. “We haven't any newer housing being built, companies receive government subsidies to help offset the cost to build low-income housing.”  Government incentives from HUD many be causing less single family homes being built and developers choosing the project with those incentives.

 “The new housing complex, just north of our property (Oak Terrace and Costello Terrace), will be a great addition to Monmouth and Warren County. [A tax credit funded development]” said Hank Shimmin of the Warren County Housing Authority; such tax credits, and government subsidies helped build the current housing complex and can further inhibit more single-family houses. 

Jesus Alvarez, Ben Dorn, Alex Martinez-Urbina