Chatham voters pass tax levy for necessary repairs to public library

CHATHAM, Ill. (WAND) — The Chatham Area Public Library will have access to more funding thanks to a recently-passed tax levy. In the consolidated election, voters passed a referendum with 55% of the vote for a tax levy to benefit the public library.

Library Director Amy Byers said the library staff are grateful that the community supported their efforts to repair the facility.

"We try to do as much as we can for our community because we, we are part of our community and mean that's and that's what we're here for." Byers said.

Byers explained that their biggest concern -- and one of their main focuses -- would be improving the infrastructure of the building, especially the roof.

"Our Local History room has a soffit -- three parts of it have water issues where we actually had to put trash cans underneath where the water is. It's where all of our local history is, where all the original documents are." Byers explained "It's not a good thing for a library to have water, but especially not with irreplaceable things."

The library received an estimate in 2023, projecting the cost of repairs at $750,000 to address the main issues. This includes replacing the windows and the rubber roof, as well as repairing the interior of the building, which has already been damaged by water.

The Chatham Area Public Library is estimated to gain $500,000 in tax revenue, which will go into effect in the 2026 Fiscal Year.