(Springfield-jm) -- Three more people with the Coronavirus have died in Illinois. The three patients are a Will County man in his 50’s, a Cook County resident in her 80’s and a woman in her 70’s who was visiting Sangamon County from Florida. State Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike says there are now a total of 422 confirmed cases in 22 counties…
State Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike. Ezike says numbers will continue to rise as more testing becomes available.
(Springfield-jm) -- Governor J-B Pritkzer is trying to dispel some of the rumors about the state’s response to the Coronavirus outbreak. As states and communities across the country consider whether to order people to shelter in place, Governor Pritkzer assures essential services will remain open in Illinois…
Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. Governor Pritkzer says there is no need to run out and hoard gas, medicine and food and urges the public to only buy what they need.
(Champaign-jm) -- Parkland College in Champaign has announced spring commencement ceremonies wont take place. The school announced Thursday commencement ceremonies originally scheduled for May 14th wont take place because of COVID-19.
(Paxton-cf)-- The Paxton City City Council held their meeting this past Tuesday and had a few items on the agenda including the sale of the Paxton airport, which was approved and sold Friday. Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold updates WPXN on the airport…
Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold
(Undated-jm) -- Add Busey Bank to the growing number of businesses shutting down in-person services to avoid transmitting COVID-19. In a facebook post, the company says lobby services at all branches will be closed until further notice. Drive up banking is still available.
(Washington-jm) -- Brazilian and Argentinian soybean crops are reported larger than expected according to USDA's latest world supply and demand estimates, but what does that mean for the global balance sheet in March? Rod Bain has the details…
(Springfield-jm) -- A new report places nearly all Illinois metro areas in the bottom half of the country when it comes to sustained job creation. The annual study, released by the Milken Institute, also looks at wage and salary growth and high-tech GDP growth to reach its rankings. The Chicago metro area climbed a few spots from its place in 2018, but still ranked just 118 out of 200 large markets surveyed. The study also contains bad news for a number of downstate communities. The Peoria, Bloomington, Danville, Quad Cities, Decatur, and Springfield areas all hover in the bottom quarter of the list in overall numbers.
(Springfield-jm) -- Governor J-B Pritkzer is outlining a series of initiatives to help those affected by COVID-19. For starters, the state is deferring sales tax payments for small and medium sized bars and restaurants until May. Governor Pritzker says he’s also signing an executive order that expands tele-medicine opportunities in Illinois…
Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. Additionally, the U-S Small Business Administration is offering disaster assistance loans. Eligible businesses can borrow up to two million dollars in low interest loans. Visit: disaster loan dot sba dot gov.
(Springfield-jm) -- Many grocery stores are offering special hours for seniors to shop. Since older people are hit the hardest by the Coronavirus, many store owners are making some adjustments says Governor J-B Pritzker…
Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. Locally, Paxton IGA and County Market offer special hours for seniors and immuno-compromised customers.
(Undated-jm) -- Retailers and banking institutions, both local and nationally, are temporarily closing or restricting inside access because of COVID-19. Kohls is the latest retailer to announce they are temporarily closing all of their stores because of the pandemic. They join Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field and Stream. Local banking institutions, Iroquois Federal and Iroquois Farmers State Bank join Busey Bank in suspending lobby services. Customers can still use the drive thru, night box, ATMS and online banking.
(Urbana-jm) -- The University of Illinois Board of Trustees passed a decision to increase undergraduate and graduate student healthcare premiums at UIUC by 33% for the 2020-21 academic year. This increases undergraduate premiums by $179 to $723 per semester. Graduate premiums will increase by $231 to $927 per semester.
(Ashkum-jm) -- District 21 Illinois State Police will be conducting Nighttime Enforcement Patrols later this month. WPXN’s Jason Madden reports…
(Springfield-jm) -- An Illinois lawmaker is proposing a post-graduation scholarship program in an effort to keep young professionals from leaving the state. State Representative Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, said the program would be funded by the Alliance of Community Foundations, which has created a scholarship program that is aimed at attracting young professionals with expertise in Illinois trades, such as agribusiness, food processing, biotechnology, healthcare and more.
(Rantoul--jc) The Lincoln’s Challenge program, based in Rantoul, has cancelled the current cadet class. The 125 cadets in Class 54 were sent home this week due to the coronavirus pandemic issue. Leaders say the classes will resume at a later date
