Community involvement

Commercial aggregate and industrial sand mining has taken place in LaSalle County for over 100 years. While the rural nature of LaSalle County has changed significantly due to economic growth, some mining companies in the County are now surrounded by this growth, and are changing with the urban landscape.

LaSalle County aggregate and industrial sand producing companies and their employees are heavily involved in the day-to-day lives of their neighbors and work hard to be good corporate citizens. For example:

  • Enhancing mine site appearance utilizing signage, paved entrances, landscaping, berms, and good housekeeping practices

  • Addressing environmental compliance matters - dust control, water Issues, noise, trackout and spillage of materials, trucker problems

  • Maintaining "good neighbor" practices

  • Educating students, the general public and dialogue with special interest groups

  • Interaction with government officials

  • Volunteering for special projects

  • Donating materials and sponsoring community organizations and events

    • Participating in advisory councils, like the LaSalle County Mining Coalition, and neighborhood committees adjacent to their operations

  • Providing good-paying jobs at the local level, including the trucking industry

  • Supplying the region with high quality materials at competitive prices

These are some of the LaSalle County organizations that have benefited from mining companies’ contributions of volunteer time, goods, services, sponsorships, and monetary donations:

  • Camp Tuckabatchee, Inc

  • Central Illinois Memorial Kidney Fund

  • Central Immediate School

  • Children’s Miracle Network

  • Community Food Basket in Ottawa

  • Community Unit School District #2

  • Cops 4 Cancer

  • Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of LaSalle County

  • Dayton Bluff Preserve

  • Easter Seals of LaSalle & Bureau Counties

  • Five Loaves and Two Fish – Bethany Lutheran Church

  • Freezin’ for a Reezin’

  • Habitat for Humanity

  • Hegeler Carus Foundation

  • Illinois Adopt-A-Highway program

  • Illinois Foundation FFA

  • Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce

  • Illinois Valley Center for Independent Living

  • Illinois Valley Community College Foundation

  • Illinois Valley P.A.D.S.

  • Illinois Valley YMCA

  • Illinois Veterans Home in LaSalle

  • IUOE Local 150 Food Bank

  • Junior Achievement

  • LaSalle County Court Appointed Special Advocates

  • LaSalle County Farm Bureau

  • LaSalle County Regional Office of Education

  • Marquette Academy

  • Neighbors Park – Utica

  • North Central Illinois ARTworks

  • Oglesby Ambulance Association

  • Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry – Welcomeburger event

  • Ottawa Crushers Kids Wrestling Club

  • Ottawa Downtown Merchants

  • Ottawa Elementary School District #141

  • Ottawa First

  • Ottawa High School

  • Rotary Park in LaSalle

  • Salvation Army

  • Serena High School

  • St. Margaret’s Hospital Foundation

  • Trinity Catholic Academy

  • United Way of Eastern LaSalle County

  • University of Illinois Extension Office

  • Utica Community Fire Protection District

  • Utica Little League

  • Village of Naplate

  • Waltham Elementary School PTCC

  • Waltham Presbyterian Church

  • Wedron Park

  • Willey World Community Productions

  • Woodland High School

  • Youth Service Bureau of Illinois Valley

Professors, students, and researchers in science, environmental studies and geology from the following schools and institutions have furthered their studies at quarries in the County:

  • University of Illinois at Chicago

  • Knox College

  • Illinois State Geological Survey

  • Serena Grade School

  • Sheridan Grade School

  • Harding Grade School