Urbana City Law Director and Municipal Court Prosecutor Mark Feinstein said it was also determined that Bidwell would not be restored to competency in the legally necessary amount of time.
Bidwell was previously facing several felony charges for two of the six fires set to the back of the Douglas building in downtown Urbana between September and November.
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Urbana police said after Bidwell’s arrest that he had been watching the police division and fire division’s efforts to catch the arsonist, and was taken into custody when officers found him tampering with surveillance equipment.
After his arrest, Bidwell was placed on an ankle monitor and released — but was re-arrested after he was seen on video trying to take off the ankle monitor, according to court records.
Feinstein said a referral was made to the Champaign County Probate Court to start civil commitment proceedings, where a person who meets a certain criteria can be hospitalized against their will to receive treatment for a mental illness.
The recent developments in the case came as a shock to Bill Curtis, owner of Big Willie’s Smokehouse.
Curtis suffered nearly $30,000 worth of smoke damage after one of the fires. Big Willie’s is back open, but Curtis said it’s been tough dealing a domino effect from the fire and also construction that is happening downtown that hurt business.
“We don’t know if we’ve bounced back,” he said.
Curtis was hopeful Bidwell would be behind bars.
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He said he’s not sure if he’ll receive any restitution for his insurance costs from the fire.
Since the case has been dismissed from municipal court, that court cannot order restitution.
The Champaign County Probate Court did not return a message for further information about Bidwell’s case, so it’s unclear if that court will seek any restitution.
Bidwell was not listed in jail custody on Wednesday evening.
“He still resides less than half a block from here. The Douglas is still standing. There’s going to be opportunity,” Curtis said. “I totally understand. The courts are overwhelmed. They’ve got a job to do. Just wish we would’ve been better informed, made aware.”
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