Sara Zumwalt for Ward 2

07/06/2026

Welcome to the team Kerry Hopkins!

Members of the Litchfield City Council met on Thursday, July 2, with a new city official sworn in early in the meeting and another added after closed session. Kerry Hopkins, who was approved as …

07/01/2026

🇺🇸 Celebrate 250 Years in Litchfield! 🇺🇸

Join us this Sunday, July 5, 2026 at 1:00 PM, on the steps of the Carnegie Building for a special community reading of the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson will be doing the reading, and George Washington will be present as well for security, just in case any British sympathizers try to cause trouble. 😄

Bring a lawn chair, bring the family, and enjoy a fun patriotic event right here in Litchfield as we celebrate America’s 250th together.

📍 Carnegie Building
📅 Sunday, July 5, 2026
⏰ 1:00 PM
🪑 Bring a lawn chair
🇺🇸 Family friendly

Come be part of a memorable community celebration in the heart of Litchfield!

Rumor has it that Mr. Jefferson will be posting a video in the near future about this historic reading! Stay tuned!

05/19/2026

This is NOT an easy decision.

It is also not one this council created. Sewer rates had their last increase in 2023 and water has remained the same since 2020.

The $5 meter fee will be discontinued ; some of you may not see an increase with this removed.

Please attend the meeting if you can, express your opinions, and feel free to offer other solutions.

We are trying to do our best to recover from a bad situation and set a path for the future.

03/15/2026

⚠️ Public Safety Notice – Please Avoid Route 16 (East End of Town) 03/15/26 4pm

Route 16 to Hillsboro is currently closed!

Our emergency crews are currently responding to a structural fire on the east end of town near Route 16. With strong winds, fire conditions can become unpredictable and extremely dangerous.

Please avoid the area and allow our first responders the space they need to safely and effectively do their jobs. Keeping roadways clear ensures emergency vehicles can move quickly and crews can focus on protecting lives and property.

Additionally, thunderstorms are expected to move through the area later tonight, which may further complicate conditions.

We are grateful for the professionalism and dedication of our firefighters, police officers, and emergency personnel working this incident.

Thank you for your patience, cooperation, and support. Please stay clear of the area until further notice.

(Update Fire is under control and Route 16 is back open. Thank you to all our local first responders. It is a testament to their skill and professionalism that the fire did not spread today!)

02/06/2026

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is an old adage my grandpa used to say.

That sentiment is how I felt about the hunting license issue on the council table last night.

The permits felt like busy-work to me. Hunters already have hunting licenses, which they applied for and paid for. Vehicles have license plates, which could be run with a phone call to law enforcement if needed. Most people carry their wallets, which have ID. We could easily access all of this information when necessary.

Instead, we added another form to fill out and file. A duplication of information already available, which we may never need to access if there are no accidents or incidents to our hunters. These forms would be kept at the lake office, which means getting to it could be time consuming.

The issue, in its essence, was that out of town hunters don’t “know the rules” of our lake. Requiring a form that they don’t know they need isn’t going to help that issue. People don’t investigate the rules on something that they have done before to see if changes were made.

The lake crew is small, and this added another responsibility to an already big job. A job that really was done, without any form or placard card, but with standards and rules already in place by IDNR and the State of Illinois.

I didn’t see it as broke. So I voted not to fix it.

01/14/2026

Dear Citizens,

An issue is coming to the city council at the January 22 meeting that needs your attention.

Walton Park has long been a beautiful and peaceful destination for those who enjoy the outdoors. The park is owned by the city but maintained by the Litchfield Park District.

The issue at hand does not include the park itself, but the abandoned “American Legion” hall on the north side of the lake.
The city has been approached by an individual who would like to purchase the property and build a private home there.

This home would be in full view of anyone approaching Walton Park from either direction. It would become the focal point of the northern side of the lake.

My fellow aldermen Robbin Huffman, Dwayne Gerl and Marilyn Sisson and I oppose the sale of this property for a private home. Instead, we would like to see the legion building demolished and a public pavilion with picnic tables placed there instead. We would like to make the north side of the lake into a family friendly place for citizens to enjoy.

We do not believe the beauty of our Walton Park lake should be made into private property for one individual to build a home. We have many lots available in the Eagle Ridge subdivision that are near a lake and already developed for homes.

If you agree that this area should remain a public space, please contact your aldermen. Others on the council would prefer selling the property via sealed bid to the highest bidder. They prefer the property taxes that will be collected by the city rather than maintaining the sanctuary of Walton Park’s northern shores.

The vote on January 22 will be a question of whether or not to declare the property “surplus,” which, if passed, allows the land to be sold. Four of us do not want this to happen.

Your voices need to be heard to keep this property public and to encourage the development of additional pavilions and picnic areas. Please contact your aldermen today.