BENTON, Ill. -- People came out to the State Bank of Whittington in Benton Wednesday morning where member of the Chamber of Commerce and friends celebrated their new administration building.
It was a perfect day for a ribbon cutting. The new building is an expansion for the bank, which is headquartered in Whittington.
The project took about 5 years from start to finish.
It bears the name of long-time past president, William "Steve" Swinney.
His son, Greg Swinney is now the Vice President with the company and says there's strong significance behind the name on the building.
"We decided to kind of name the administration building after my father, Steve Swinney, or, William Steven Swinney, to kind of represent what he was all about giving to the community," Vice President Greg Swinney said.
"We love the State Bank of Whittington's brought their location here to town and it took care of a couple of blighted properties that needed to be addressed; because it's right downtown and is an anchor to this part of town," Benton Mayor Lee Messersmith said.
The bank and new admin building are located on North Main Street. It now encompasses the city block, with exception to the water tower.
Some landscaping work is all that's left at the new facility.
