WILSON TO TAKE OVER MAYOR'S POST; NEW CAIRO LEADER DISCUSSES BUDGET, RIVERBOAT VENTURES

CAIRO, Ill. -- James Wilson will be a busy man next month.

Wilson, executive director of the Alexander County Housing Authority, will take on some added duties Wednesday when he is sworn in as mayor of this southernmost Illinois city.

"We have some primary concerns and objectives as we look to the next four years," said Wilson, who was elected mayor in the April. "But I feel that Cairo is on the edge of some great economic growth, and I want be a leader and a fighter in that effort."

Two of the top objectives as Wilson looks to his new duties are efforts to build a new medical facility and revitalize efforts to obtain a riverboat gambling casino for the city.

The primary concern?

"Money," Wilson said Monday. "I think we're headed for a budget crisis here. This is not any reflection on the past administration; this budget crunch is coming about because of the 1990 census count."

Wilson explained that the city's population had dwindled from the 1980 count of 5,931 to the latest figures of 4,846.

"That's a loss of almost 1,100 people," said Wilson. "That could result in a loss of $75,000 to $80,000 in taxes, and we're stuck with those population figures for the next decade, through the year 2000, which means we could lose almost a million dollars during that period of time."

Wilson said the budget crunch meant one of two things: "You either have to come up with additional money or you make cuts."

Wilson said one place for the city to look for growth would be to annexation the area along Interstate 57 to Cache Diversion six miles north of the city limits. "That would create some additional revenue," he said.

Wilson is scheduled to meet with the City Council for the first time on May 14.

"We meet the second Tuesday of each month," he said. "I feel okay about the council. There may be some rocky moments, but you're supposed to have some of those."

Wilson said he may call a special meeting of the council to discuss plans to complete an application for a mega-medical clinic, which would be constructed at the northern edge of the city near Interstate 57 and Route 3.

"We're looking at some time restraints on the clinic," he said. "The certificate of need expires June 1, and we'd like to see everything in place by then."

Wilson said the funding for the $3 million clinic was mostly committed.

"The funding will be a combination of several funding sources: local banks, local investors, and a grant," he said. "The clinic has been talked about for four or five years. It's time to get on with it."

The clinic would be operated by Community Health Services Group, housed on the second floor of the Post Office building here.

Wilson said the clinic would offer many advantages to the area.

"It would include an emergency room, which would operate eight hours a day initially," he said. "Eventually, emergency services would be available 24 hours a day."

The clinic also would offer same-day surgery services.

Wilson said the city still is not "out of the riverboat gambling picture."

"We can resubmit an application to the state when we find a viable investor," he said. "I've been talking with some new investors who are financially strong."

Cairo had been in the running for a gambling riverboat in 1990, but at the last minute Players Club Inc. decided to file an application for operations at Metropolis, Ill., which is across the Ohio River from Paducah, Ky.

"We're hoping to have a new investor and file an application before the Supreme Court issues its ruling on the Illinois-Kentucky Ohio River-boundary issue," said Wilson. "That ruling is expected in July."

A ruling in Illinois' favor would be required for Metropolis to be eligible for a gambling riverboat license.

Kentucky says the Illinois-Kentucky border is and always has been the present low-water mark on the northerly shore of the Ohio River. Under Kentucky's premise, the entire river is its jurisdiction.

Illinois contends the border rightfully is the low-water mark on its shore as it existed in 1792, when Kentucky became a state. That could give Illinois rights to a significant portion of the river that historically has been controlled by Kentucky. While no one is quite sure exactly where that 199-year-old water line is, Illinois claims it is now at least 100 feet into the river.

Wilson said he also is talking to some industrial prospects.

"I will be meeting with some people this week about locating a new plant here," he said. "I'm also looking forward to working with Operation Enterprise on its latest venture."

Richard W. Poston, a retired Southern Illinois University professor who is directing a hometown community improvement campaign at Cairo called Operation Enterprise, announced last week that a grant had been obtained by the organization to start renovation plans to turn the old State Police headquarters building into a full-service restaurant. The building is near the Mississippi and Ohio river bridges. Profits would go into the development of the city.

"I'll work with anyone and any group who want to do positive things for this area," he said. "Operation Enterprise has already improved Fort Defiance Park at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. That's a positive venture, and the new restaurant will be a positive venture."