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Revisions for wind farm regulations in Ford County are almost complete

(Peotone--jc)  -- With state funds earmarked to pave the road leading to it, proponents of a third Chicago-area airport are working to get past opposition to the project.Lawmakers allocated $162 million in bond-paid money in the state's most recent budget for transportation-related expenses at the “Interchange at Eagle Lake Road.” U.S. Representative. Robin Kelly says the funds represented the funding for the “final leg” to get the South Suburban Airport built in Peotone and now is the time has come to finally build the South Suburban Airport.

 

(Chicago-jm) -- A panel of Illinois judiciary members and stakeholders developed a three-year plan, announced Wednesday during an event in Chicago, designed to “improve the delivery of justice and better serve the public.” In what Supreme Court Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier called the “most significant step forward” his branch of government has undergone since the amendment creating a unified court system in the state, the guide outlines a mission statement, vision edict and five core values meant to be its “blueprint for the future.”  The group crafted five goals 

They include “accessible justice and equal protection under the law;” “procedural fairness, timeliness, and operational efficiency;” “professionalism and accountability throughout the judicial branch;” “understanding of and confidence in the judicial branch;” and “sufficient funding.

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Last month tied for fourth warmest September on record in Illinois. The average statewide temperature last month was 71 point three degrees. That’s nearly five degrees above normal, and a state record says State Climatologist Trent Ford…

 

 

State Climatologist Trent Ford. Statewide precipitation averaged over five inches but varied quite a bit across Illinois. Areas of north and north-central Illinois got about 12 inches of rain in September, while southeastern Illinois only had a quarter of an inch. 


 

(Rantoul--jc)  The Two day Punkin Chunkin event is set for the Rantoul Airport on November 2 and 3rd. The competition will feature dozens of competitions during the weekend run. The Punkin Chuckin group has an official beer distributor for this year’s event. They are Skeff Distributing Company. More information about the types of beer in the beer garden will be released later this month. The ticket prices for a weekend pass to the event is 20 dollars and are available at Punkin-Chuckin-dot come. WPXN will be broadcasting live on Saturday November 2 to help kick off the event.

 

 

(Paxton-jm) -- A Paxton postal worker is being recognized for her work. A customer sent a letter to Congressman John Shimkus praising postal clerk Tina Masterson. Masterson received a letter from Shimkus thanking her for her dedication and professionalism.

 

 

(Undated-jm) -- One area lawmaker is calling on the Governor and General Assembly to address redistricting reform. State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington says redistricting should be done in a new, independent process…

 

State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington.

 

(Urbana--jc)  --A student at the University of Illinois is suing the school to get sexual harassment records after his Freedom of Information Act request was denied.John Bambenek, a former member of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, is now a student at the university, where he serves on the Senate of the Illinois Student Government of the Urbana-Champaign Campus.He filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all final reports of sexual harassment by faculty and staff dating back to 2014. His request was denied for being overly burdensome.

 

 

(Ford County-jm) -- Revisions for wind farm regulations in Ford County are almost complete. A committee has been working on revisions to the policy since a moratorium on wind farm development in the county was implemented in 2017. The county’s zoning board is proposing a 2,250 foot setback from property lines and properties. A vote could take place as early as November. The changes will require a supermajority-9 of the 12 county board members, to approve the changes after the village of Roberts filed a protest to the revisions.

 

 

(Washington-jm) -- Producers are keeping a larger normal share of their 2018 production stored on their farms. Gary Crawford reports…

 


 

(Undated-jm) -- Unemployment rates are down across the area in August. In Ford County, the unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent down from 5 percent. In Iroquois County, the unemployment rate fell from 4.2 percent to 3.6 percent. Job increases were reported in the Champaign-Urbana area while job losses were reported in the Kankakee area.

 

(Rantoul--jc)  The Rantoul VFW Post 67-50 along with dozens of other service groups  gathered donations throughout the area to benefit military honor guard. The funds that come to the Rantoul VFW will help with military uniforms and other costs. Rantoul. VFW Spokesperson Joe Manka says over one dozen volunteers help with military funerals, appearances at schools and more...

 

 

Rantoul VFW Spokesperson Joe Manka

All involoved say a huge thank you to all who donated

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday called on Sen. Martin Sandoval to step down as chairman of the powerful Senate Transportation Committee in the wake of an FBI investigation into possible corruption and bribery involving public contracts. “While Senator Sandoval is under investigation, it’s in the best interests of our state that he no longer serve as chairman of the Transportation Committee,” Pritzker told reporters shortly after an unrelated event in Oak Lawn. “If he doesn’t step aside, he should be removed.” Sandoval, a Democrat, was instrumental in pushing through a $45 billion capital infrastructure bill this year that will fund repairs and improvements to state highways, bridges, university campuses and other public facilities.

 

 

(Washington-jm) -- The U.S. has never ended a marketing year with soybean stocks as large as they were on September 1st. One expert says the reasons for the stock buildup are fairly obvious. Gary Crawford reports…

 

 

(Fisher-jm) -- An area organization is holding a ride for a Roberts girl battling scoliosis. 6-year-old Braylee Horn will go to St. Louis later this month for treatments and Just an Angel will hold a Cruise for Braylee to help cover some of the expenses. The ride will take place on Saturday at noon at the Wild Hare in Fisher. Other stops on the ride include LeRoy, Towanda, Lexington, Colfax and Sibley. 


 

(Urbana-jm) -- One area community is collecting old cell phones to give to victims of domestic violence. The city of Urbana is collecting phones, chargers and other phone accessories throughout the month of October. The phones will be given to Courage Connection and distributed to victims of domestic violence as emergency 9-1-1 phones.

 

(Iroquois County-jm) -- The primary election may not be for another six months but candidates are now able to start circulating petitions. Candidates for established political parties began circulating nominating petitions for the primary election on September 3rd. Paperwork must be turned into the county clerk’s office between November 25th and December 2nd. The primary election in Illinois is March 17th.

 

 

(Roberts-jm) -- A drainage project is about to begin in the village of Roberts. Mayor Rick Flessner says the project will help alleviate drainage issues on several properties…

 

Roberts Mayor Rick Flessner.

 

 

(Gibson City-jm) -- It may be October but the Gibson Area Chamber of Commerce and City of Gibson City are preparing for their annual Lighted Christmas Parade. The parade will be held on November 23rd at 6:30 pm. Caroling downtown will take place from 4 to 6:30 pm. The theme this year is Silver Bells. For more information or to sign your float up, call Susie Tongate at 309-825-0311 or Mayor Dan Dickey at 781-1905.

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