City of Aledo City Council met Feb. 2.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
The City Council of the City of Aledo met in Special Session in the Band Room at the Mercer County Junior High building on February 12, 2026. MAYOR HAGLOCH called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. The roll was called, whereupon the following answered present:
Aldermen BARRY COOPER, DENNIS DIXON, MARK FRIESE, MARIO PAULEY, CARMEN RUH, LINDA SARABASA, JASON SNYDER, and ANDREW WEEKS. Mayor CHRISTOPHER HAGLOCH.
Also present was MICHAEL CHAUSSE, City Administrator, ADAM BAKER, Chief of Police, JUSTIN BLASER, Director of Public Works & Utilities, MARK WALTON, City Attorney, and JAROD DALE, City Clerk.
The Media was represented by: Ty Taylor, WRMJ; Gavin Waidelich, Our Quad Cities; Marshawn Gunn, WQAD; and, Chandler Brindley, KWQC.
ADMINISTRATOR Chausse made a statement to the CITY COUNCIL and general public before MAYOR Hagloch opened the meeting for public comments regarding services with Lakeshore Recycling Services.
ADMINISTRATOR introduced Joseph Swan, Municipal Representative, Lakeshore Recycling Services.
ADMINISTRATOR provided an overview of a timeline of events with LRS services with the City of Aledo:
● September 2021: Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS) acquires Jackson Disposal (Seaton, IL), Aledo’s long-term waste provider.
● January 2024: LRS begins its role as the sole solid waste management vendor for the City of Aledo under a five-year contract (effective through 2028).
● January – February 2024: LRS transitions the city to automated pick-up, delivering new 95-gallon carts and discontinuing the use of personal trash cans.
● Early 2025: Significant service disruptions begin. The City is forced to issue three public notifications within 6 weeks regarding substantial collection delays.
● February 20, 2025: City alerts residents to potential delays due to LRS reporting “mechanical issues.”
● October 2025: After months of documented service failures and unproductive dialogue, the City of Aledo officially sends LRS a Notice of Default.
● November 2025: To improve response times, the City and LRS launch a dedicated local customer hotline (309-734-2515) for Aledo residents.
● November 2025 – February 2026: Despite the hotline, disruptions continue. More than 100 additional complaints are logged in this four-month window alone.
● February 6, 2026: The City officially announces a public hearing to consider the termination of the LRS contract.
ADMINISTRATOR next presented key facts and figures to the CITY COUNCIL:
● Total Logged Complaints: 611 emails and logged calls spanning from January 2025 to February 1, 2026. We have NO ESTIMATE on the calls that were not officially logged, personal contacts with City Staff and Alderman. In addition, how many residents just take their carts back up to the house or garage and wait till next week or full before registering a complaint.
● Post-Default Performance: Over 149 formal complaints have been lodged since the Notice of Default was issued in October 2025.
● Equivalent Staff Time: Staff have spent time resolving issues or negotiating to the tune of approximately $5,000 +
● Scope of Issues: Reported failures include:
○ Missed individual pickups
○ Entire blocks are being bypassed
○ Substantial delays (multi-day) in collection
○ Carts left in the right-of-way (obstructing traffic/snow removal)
○ Inconsistent schedules
ADMINISTRATOR provided additional information to the CITY COUNCIL:
● Months of Negotiation:
○ The City have given LRS every reasonable opportunity to rectify these issues. We issued a formal Notice of Default in October, and finally to the establishment of a dedicated hotline. Unfortunately, the data shows that while communication increased slightly, service reliability did not.”
● More Than An Isolated Issue:
○ This isn’t about one missed trash can. This is about a systemic failure to meet the terms of a contract. With 611 documented complaints in a community of 3,600 residents, the volume of service failures is simply unsustainable for a municipality of our size.
● Service Issues = Higher Cost of Trash Service:
○ Our residents deserve the full value of every dollar they pay for utilities. Right now, they are paying for a service that is being delivered inconsistently.
○ In addition, the City is essentially paying ‘extra’ by having our own staff spend hundreds of hours managing the vendor’s failures.
● Misaligned Staff Priorities:
○ We want our staff focused on building a better community, not acting as a customer service arm for a private contractor that is failing to meet its basic obligations.
● Resident Issues & Frustration:
○ City Staff, elected officials and I have heard your frustration. It’s not just about the trash; it’s about the time residents lose making phone calls and the frustration of seeing bins sit on the curb for days. The City is moving toward a solution that puts an end to these constant disruptions.
● Our Next Steps:
○ The City’s priority is reliable, professional waste management. We are here to listen to the public’s testimony to ensure our next steps accurately reflect the needs and experiences of Aledo’s families and businesses.
ADMINISTRATOR reported on wasted city staff resources:
● Administrative Burden: City Hall has been forced to act as a secondary dispatch center. Instead of focusing on core municipal operations, staff time is being diverted to managing complaints and acting as a liaison for a service the City has already outsourced.
● Tracking and Oversight: Managing this relationship has required excessive hours of logging, verifying missed pickups, and constant back-and-forth with LRS management that should be unnecessary under a standard contract.
Taxpayer Dollars
● Value of Service: Residents pay for a professional service through their utility rates. When entire blocks are missed or service is delayed by days, the value of those tax dollars is effectively nullified.
● Opportunity Costs: Every hour City Leadership spends mediating trash disputes is an hour of taxpayer-funded time that is not being spent on infrastructure, economic development, or community improvements.
Resident Headaches
● The “Invisible” Service: Waste collection is a “utility of habit.” Residents should not have to think about their trash service. Currently, Aledo residents are burdened by the mental load of wondering whether their bins will be emptied or whether they need to spend their lunch break calling a hotline.
● Neighborhood Aesthetics: When bins sit on the curb for days beyond their scheduled pickup, it affects Aledo’s perception as a charming place to live and the pride of our neighborhoods that we work so hard to maintain.
MAYOR Hagloch opened up the meeting for public comment to those in attendance. PUBLIC COMMENT:
Lois Ricketts, resident of Aledo, provided an overview to the CITY COUNCIL regarding her experience with LRS services. It was noted, “We have been forgotten a lot.” Ricketts resides at a dead-end street with three (3) residents on that block and services have been missed several times (estimate provided 5 or 6 times). Described the truck lifting arm with garbage flying out onto the roadways. Ricketts attempted to notify the driver as he was driving but the driver did not notice her. A broken bottle was left and a variety of other garbage items left on the street. There have been numerous times residents do not know when the garbage will be picked up.
Nicole Joy, owner of a business along State Highway Route 17 and a resident of Aledo on the north-end of Aledo, stated her business has many boxes that do not get picked up because they are missed frequently. It was also described that garbage is scattered in ditches continuously around town and noted as a major problem. Contact has been made to the City when there is an issue. She noted the town looks trashy at times. She noted is sad because we have a beautiful city and downtown business area. The truck drivers do not clean-up their messes.
Arlene Bewley, resident of Aledo, noted there have been times they have missed the whole block. Have had to call and email City Hall regarding complaints. Explanations of truck down as reason for delays. She described an issue with her neighbor, whom they share a driveway, and cans are laid out in the drive and have to be moved off to get out of or in the driveway. Complaint on prices that continue to go up. She stated she has an opportunity to take her garbage to her office with only generating one (1) bag of garbage a week, but voiced frustration that she has to pay for garbage.
Jan Dietmeier, resident of Aledo, voiced issues with a lack of communication back from LRS when attempting to get issues resolved. There had also been issues at Trinity Presbyterian Church, outside of Aledo, and finally obtained a good contact number after three (3) weeks of attempting to resolve issues with LRS in the past.
Bill Bertrand, resident of Aledo, provided a complaint on the dedicated Aledo phone line for LRS customers. It was noted attempts had been made in the past with no one answering the phone or able to get ahold of.
Les David, resident of Aledo, provided incidents where his residence has been driven past and missed completely by LRS. His home is the only one on the 13th but they drive by and do not pick-up. Contact has been made to LRS in the past and have been hung up on. Suggested this type of service has to stop and things must be ironed out.
Pam Spangler, resident of Aledo, garbage has flown out of the truck before and not picked up. A basketball bounced out of the truck as an example and was noted not as hers. Spangler noted she has picked up garbage along the roadway at times. There was trash streamed all the way out to Wal-Mart and has seen Mr. Chausse picking it up along the road.
CITY CLERK reported there were eighteen (18) form submittals for this evenings meeting regarding complaints of services for LRS.
ADMINISTRATOR reminded CITY COUNCIL he has taken in 611 calls and complaints regarding LRS. LRS has described those as isolated incidents but the City stated back that these are not isolated incidents.
DISCUSSION REGARDING TERMINATION OF CONTRACT BETWEEN THE CITY OF ALEDO AND LAKESHORE RECYCLING SERVICES:
ALDERMAN Pauley read a written statement aloud to the Council. Every meeting has involved some type of discussion regarding services by Lakeshore Recycling Services. A default notice was given to LRS in October, 2025 and feels LRS has breached their contract and not met their obligation to the community. Pauley noted he remains committed to transparency. Garbage is a basic service and we thank the community for being patient while we resolve this issue. A video was given to Pauley by a constituent describing the driver yelling back at his worker to stop picking up scattered garbage and to get back on the truck.
ALDERMAN Sarabasa provided a personal experience noting they had a refrigerator at the end of their driveway for three (3) weeks without being picked up. Fee was paid to LRS with five (5) attempts made to LRS to get this issue resolved over a three-week period. Contact was made to the City noting their struggles. The City Administrator was finally able to get a resolution with LRS.
ALDERMAN Weeks reported he has received many complaints in his ward with trash blowing around in yards. Trash can are put back in middle of driveways and have to moved to the side to get in or out. He once contacted LRS and was told his services were terminated and it had to be explained to LRS that he was serviced through the City of Aledo. Weeks noted to be personally fed up and something needs to be done for his ward.
ALDERMAN Snyder reported he also has had experiences with LRS noting his services were terminated. If there was a garbage issue, he would be told that the issue would be resolved within one (1) to two (2) business days and that LRS could not contact their drives. This was described to not make sense and in todays world with communication, there should be no reason why a truck couldn’t be contacted. Snyder suggested the City terminate the contract.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, motion was made by ALDERMAN DIXON and seconded by ALDERMAN SARABASA that the meeting be adjourned. A Unanimous voice vote followed in agreement. Meeting was adjourned at 6:32 P.M.
https://www.aledoil.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_02122026-493
