Southern Illinois could see a shortage of road salt this winter.
Illinois Central Management Services spokesman Mike Claffey says 195 government bodies, roughly 35-percent of the total bids for road salt this year, were denied by suppliers like Cargill and Morton Salt. Claffey says the state will submit new bids for government bodies that wish to do so, but the price could rise from $55 dollars per ton to over $140 dollars per ton.
Williamson County Commissioner Ron Ellis says nine southern Illinois counties will be affected, including Williamson, Jackson, Union, Saline, Perry, Franklin, Hamilton and Jefferson counties. He joined us Monday to discuss the problem.