Paxton -- A former Paxton police chief has died. Bob Bane died Sunday at Gibson Area Hospital. Cox Knapp Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois officials want travelers’ opinions on the state’s transportation system. An online survey that’s now open runs through Dec. 31 asks travelers to weigh in on everything from the cleanliness of Illinois roads to other drivers’ behavior. Questions also focus on road conditions, residents’ commuting habits and removal of snow and ice. The Illinois Department of Transportation said the survey has been conducted annually since 2001. The agency’s acting secretary says the information collected is vital to the transportation system.
(Springfield-jm) -- A three-judge panel denied a request from a gun-rights group for an emergency suspension of Illinois’ Firearm Owners' Identification card law. The Fourth District Appellate Court ruled that Guns Save Life, an Illinois-based organization that advocates for Second Amendment rights, didn’t prove the need for a temporary stay on the state’s FOID card program, but did appear to approve of other aspects of the challenge. In a complaint filed against Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly in May, Guns Save Life said that the state’s fee to apply for or renew a FOID card “places a tax upon the free exercise of a constitutional right and is violative of the Second Amendment as well as the Fourteenth Amendment.”
(Springfield-jm) -- 2020 is not just the start of a new decade but it also marks an election year for several high profile positions. State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington says election years will have an impact on the issues being addressed in Springfield…
53rd District State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington. Lawmakers return for the spring session in January.
(Urbana-AP) -- The University of Illinois campuses have adopted a new “box blind” policy, where it will no longer require students to disclose their criminal background during the initial application process. Arguing that it discouraged potential students from applying, a student-led coalition urged the university to remove questions about an individual's criminal and disciplinary history. For safety concerns or potential threats, the policy still allows the university to ask about any criminal history, but only after an admissions decision has been made.
(Urbana-jm) -- The trial for a Rantoul man accused of burglary at an abandoned factory in the village has been declared a mistrial. Rantoul police were investigating a suspicious vehicle on Shellhouse Road on the villages west side. An officer heard a noise coming from the building and discovered Patrick Henderson on the roof with a grinder and two tool bags with him. Prosecutors claimed Henderson was caught before he could take anything. Henderson’s public defender argued there was no keep out or private property signs on the building.
(Champaign-jm) -- Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup is releasing the name of the man killed in a workplace accident in Champaign Friday. 58-year-old Billy Thomas of Mansfield died of blunt force injuries he received when a large end loader struck him while backing up. The Champaign County Coroner’s office and sheriff’s office continue to investigate.
(Gibson City-jm) -- Gibson City leaders are expected to approve a pair of agreements at tonight's city council meeting. Council members will consider approving a CDAP loan agreement as well as approving Mayor Dan Dickey to sign an agreement for professional services with Fehr Graham. Council members will also discuss the tax levy and consider a buy local policy. The Gibson City city council meeting gets underway at 7 pm.
(Washington-jm) -- With the release of USDA's December Crop Production report and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates days away, what might be some of the items of interest in each report? Rod Bain reports…
(Undated-jm) -- Extremely hot weather appears to prompt early labor, leading to as many as 25,000 early births every year in the U.S., according to a study. The research, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, analyzed data on 56 million births from 1969 to 1988, matching the birth dates to weather events in the counties where babies were born. But when researchers looked at birth rates over the days and weeks that followed extreme heat events, they found a decline in births. It's unclear why unusually hot days might set childbirth into motion, but dehydration may play a role. When the body becomes dehydrated, it releases hormones, such as oxytocin, that are also involved in labor.
(Springfield-jm) -- After a report that exposed the widespread practice of putting public school students in isolation rooms, the Illinois State Board of Education put a stop to the practice. After hearing from schools, the board is now allowing specific practices to be used in certain crisis situations. The Illinois State Board of Education reacted after the Nov. 19 release of a joint report from ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune that documented 20,000 instances when school officials put students, mostly special education students, into isolation rooms during the 2017-18 school year. The practice involved putting students alone in locked rooms, sometimes for hours, and physically restraining them to the point that they could not move or had trouble breathing. Last week, the Board of Education announced it was amending the emergency rules “after receiving significant feedback from schools and advocates across the state.”
(Springfield-jm) -- Gov. J.B. Pritzker expects cannabis cultivation jobs to double as the cannabis market opens for legal recreational sales beginning Jan. 1. Some 30 medical dispensaries set to begin recreational sales around the state. Pritzker said as many as 75 more dispensary licenses will be awarded in May. Ascend Illinois Director of Manufacturing David Jerome said the jobs pay from about $12 an hour to $18 an hour and higher. The company hires from the local labor market as much as possible. Applicants for the next round of cannabis licenses will be opened on Tuesday and run through Jan. 2. There will also be opportunities for people to apply for smaller-scale craft grower licenses. People interested in becoming a budtender, someone who works the sales counter at a dispensary, must have state-approved training within 90 days of being hired.
(Springfield-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health says it’s not too late to get your flu shot. Flu cases are picking up in Illinois, but haven’t peaked yet says Public Health Director Doctor Ngozi Ezike. She says there’s still time to be vaccinated…
State Public Health Director Doctor Ngozi Ezike. Other things you can do to avoid spreading the flu include washing your hands frequently, covering your coughs and sneezes and staying home when you’re sick.
(Ludlow-jm) -- The Ludlow Grade School District has received a commendable rating from the state in their recent report card. The report card showed a graduation rate of over 67 percent. 36 percent of students were proficient in the English language arts, 22 percent in math and 53 percent in science. The district was rated 100 percent low income and had a 19 percent chronic absenteeism.
(Champaign County-jm) -- Unincorporated areas of Champaign County will have to wait to find out if recreational marijuana sales would be legal in their communities, even after it becomes legal next month. The Champaign County board has debated multiple times on the controversial ordinance to prohibit such business in communities like Penfield. The county board sent the measure back to committee. The committee will likely not meet again until January or February.
(Rantoul-jm) -- Rantoul Township High School school board members are expected to discuss tax issues at tonight's school board meeting. Board members will be asked to approve the district tax levy as well as a property tax relief grant application. The annual audit as well as approving a job posting for a speech and language pathologist position will also be discussed. The Rantoul Township High School school board meeting gets underway at 7 pm.
(Undated-jm) -- More than 17,000 high school students in Illinois are being recognized by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for outstanding academic achievement. WPXN’s Jason Madden has the Fisher High School scholars…
(Undated-jm) -- A final tally of babies born in the U.S. last year confirms that the birth rate fell again in 2018, reaching the lowest level in more than three decades. The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics finds there were 3,791,712 births registered in the U.S. in 2018, down 2 percent from 2017. A closer look at the data suggests that Americans are not having enough babies to sustain the population. The total fertility rate for 2018 was 1,729.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. (The fertility rate refers to how many children women have overall; birth rate refers to how many children women have in a single year.) But in order for the nation to reproduce its population and remain stable, the CDC says there would need to be 2,100 births per 1,000 women. That means each woman needs to have at least two babies to replace fathers and mothers, as well as account for extra deaths. The data also show that women are waiting longer to have children. Birth rates among women in their 20s and early 30s declined, but they started to increase slightly among women 35 to 44. The teen birth rate, for girls between the ages of 15 and 19, fell 7 percent, from 18.8 births per 1,000 women in 2017 to 17.4 births per 1,000 in 2018.
