THE
Daily Egyptian SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916.
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2026
VOL. 109, ISSUE 23
Like father, like daughter
Civil Service union ratifies contract
Fire call sends McBrides to the same scene
CARLY GIST cgist@dailyegyptian.com
Steve McBride and Connor McBride pose for a portrait with Carbondale’s Station’s fire engine Feb. 20, 2026 at Fire Station 2 in Carbondale, Illinois. Daylin Williams | @photosbydaylin ANNALISE SCHMIDT aschmidt@dailyegyptian.com
Earlier this month, Carbondale firefighter Connor McBride responded to an apartment fire alongside her father, Steve McBride, chief of the Murphysboro Fire Department, marking the first time the two had worked the same scene together. Connor always knew what the fire service meant to her father, and after completing the academy and beginning her own career, she started building her own path in the profession he spent decades in. Their careers came together for the first time on that call.
For Connor, the moment marked both a professional milestone and a personal one. “Being able to work a fire scene together was a very proud moment for me to see what my dad does, and definitely a core memory that I will hold on to,” she said. Connor was hired by the Carbondale Fire Department in June 2025, and began the fire academy in August before graduating Oct. 31. The 12-week academy introduced recruits to fire behavior and progressively more advanced skills. “We basically will go in and they’ll start with just fire behavior. So we’ll basically get to sit down and
kind of witness how the fire progresses over certain rooms and the contents that’s inside, and then they progressively will teach us minor skills up to the major ones, of fighting the fire itself,” Connor said. She said the experience pushed her in ways she did not expect. “It’s been a great experience. It’s definitely challenged me in areas that I never thought I’d be challenged before,” she said. “It’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through, but I learned so much through it, about myself, about my teammates here, my
MCBRIDES | 6
Jay Crippen appointed Carbondale fire chief TAY ACREE tacree@dailyegyptian.com
After 24 years with the Carbondale Fire Department, Jay Crippen has stepped into its top leadership role. City Manager Stan Reno appointed Crippen as fire chief effective Feb. 1, 2026. Crippen brings 27 years of fire service experience to the position, including more than two decades serving with Carbondale.
A lifelong resident and Southern Illinois University Carbondale graduate, Crippen worked his way through nearly every division of the department, from firefighter to shift captain, training officer, emergency management coordinator, arson investigator and assistant fire chief. Those years moving through the ranks still shape how he leads, he said. “I aim to be clear and direct with expectations while gathering as much information as possible
before making decisions,” Crippen said. He added that he believes in standing behind his firefighters. In his first year, Crippen said he plans to develop a long-term strategic plan while expanding fire prevention efforts. “Carbondale has always been good at fire prevention,” Crippen said, “ response readiness remains a priority.” Funding remains one of the department’s biggest CHIEF | 6
After nine months of negotiating working conditions such as salary compression, sick leave days and low wages, the Association of Civil Service employees — SIU’s civil service union — reached an agreement for a new contract. Terry Richardson, president of the ACsE, said that all but one member voted yes. Civil service is a job classification at SIU that refers to nonacademic employees, such as accountants, office administrators and clerks. At the September 2025 SIU Board of Trustees meeting, members of the ACsE reported during public comments that they experienced low morale, heavy workloads and unfair pay. According to a January 2024 chart from SIU’s Human Resources webpage, civil service workers were making between about $25,000 and $59,000. Richardson said the ACsE union represents around 200 civil service employees at SIU. He said the biggest difference between union and nonunion workers is that union workers are bound by their contract. “For example, all of our wages, everything of ours is defined by the contract we have. They don’t have a contract of any kind,” Richardson said of nonunion employees. “When people see the chancellor announce a 2% raise for campus, what he means essentially is nonrepresented individuals. Their raises CIVIL SERVICE | 2
insiDE Illinois primary approaches GOP Governor candidates | Page 3 118th District State Representative | Page 5 59th Senate District | Page 8