News

The opening of a new residential development, more green space and some road improvements are on the way for Coal City in 2026.
In an interview with the Courant, Mayor Dave Spesia previewed some of the issues that are coming up in the new year for the village of about 5,700 residents.
Mayor Spesia highlighted these projects for 2026.
• Construction of the Hunter’s Run development is on track to finish next summer, with residents able to move in by the fall.

The Village of Coal City is the only town between Braidwood, Diamond and Wilmington that will no longer have a grocery tax of 1 percent beginning Jan. 1.
The village board did not extend the tax that the state is discontinuing Jan. 1. While the savings shoppers will see may seem small, with continuing increases at the checkout counter, every penny saved helps.
The grocery tax savings it among the lead stories that occurred in 2025. Here are others that were featured in the Coal City Courant.

On a muggy night in July of 2019, Wilmington Police Sgt. Kristopher Hopper and his partner were out patrolling. Hopper, the more experienced of the pair, was at the wheel of the squad, while his partner, Officer Mao, remained silent, keenly observing the world around him.
Cruising the north end of town, Hopper spotted a shadowy form creeping around the lot of the Launching Pad. As he pulled into the lot, a frisson of anxiety hit him in the gut.

Third grade students from Ms. Natalie Kilpatrick’s class at Reed-Custer Elementary School have sent their letters off to the North Pole and they shared their holiday wish lists to Santa with The Braidwood Journal. The letters appear as written by the students who continue to learn the art of writing.