Crimestoppers Seeks Board Members From Smaller Towns Across Tri-County Area

Ten arrests and roughly $4,600 in recovered property in the first three months of 2026 set the backdrop for Crimestoppers of Morgan, Cass and Scott counties announcing Wednesday it is looking to expand its board with members from smaller towns across its three-county footprint.

Loren Hamilton, who leads the local chapter, named Beardstown, Arenzville, Winchester and Meredosia as communities he would like to see represented. The push came alongside news that the organization paid out approximately $2,000 in rewards during the first quarter, connecting anonymous tipsters with law enforcement in a region where confidentiality can determine whether a crime gets solved.

Those first-quarter figures sit against a longer track record that underscores how deeply the program has taken root locally. Since the chapter launched, area law enforcement agencies have recorded more than 2,000 arrests tied to Crimestoppers information, recovered over $1 million in property and paid more than $150,000 in rewards to tipsters who came forward without giving their names.

Board membership carries real decision-making weight. Members help set reward levels, guide resource allocation and shape how the organization publicizes cases and outcomes across the three counties. Adding representatives from outlying communities like Meredosia or Arenzville would give smaller towns a direct voice in those decisions and could improve tip volume in areas where property crimes and other offenses might otherwise go unreported and uninvestigated.

The recruitment drive reflects a challenge common to volunteer-driven public safety organizations in rural Illinois: sustaining steady involvement when a handful of people already carry the full load. Crimestoppers operates on anonymous tips, paying rewards for information leading to arrests or recoveries while protecting the identity of whoever calls in. That model depends on community trust, and Hamilton's call for geographic diversity on the board is an effort to deepen it in towns well outside Jacksonville.

Anyone interested in joining can reach the chapter through its published phone lines, social media channels or website. With more than two decades of recoveries and arrests behind it, the chapter's next chapter may well depend on who answers that call from Beardstown or Winchester.