(Springfield-jm) -- Governor J-B Pritzker is touting federal relief money to help schools reopen and get students back on track. The seven billion dollars will help districts address some of the obstacles created by the pandemic, and the challenge of returning to normal says the Governor…
Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. Most of the funding is coming from the American Rescue Plan. It’s suggested the money be used for things like improving access to technology, summer school and after school programs and tutoring.
(Undated-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,931 new Coronavirus cases and 13 additional deaths Tuesday bringing the state’s total number of cases to 1,261,667 and deaths to 21,395. Vermilion County reported 14 new cases and 2 additional deaths, a man in his 90s and a man in his 60s, bringing their total number of cases to 8,877 and deaths to 125. Ford County reported 14 new cases bringing their total to 1,653. Iroquois County reported 4 new cases bringing their total to 2,868. Champaign County reported 15 new cases bringing their total to 19,196.
(Springfield-jm) -- Illinois House members are discussing ethics reforms, including a revolving door prohibition for legislators. The change would prevent lawmakers leaving office from immediately going to work as a lobbyist. Some have suggested a six month ban, but Reform for Illinois Executive Director Alisa Kaplan says two years would be better…
Reform for Illinois Executive Director Alisa Kaplan. Supporters argue the ban is needed to address problems like the recent Com-Ed bribery scandal. Some lawmakers say while they support ethics reforms, they shouldn’t be prevented from working on an issue they care deeply about after they have left office.
(Undated-jm) -- Yesterday was the consolidated election in Illinois. WPXN’s Joel Cluver has some results of races in the WPXN listening area…
(Urbana-jm) -- The Champaign County Sheriff's Office is working through its 2021 initiatives; one of them is creating a mobile app. It covers watch requests for residents who live in the county's officer patrol jurisdiction, extra patrol requests, and neighborhood watch. You can also find most wanted and information on paying fines. The app is free.
(Rantoul-cf)-- The Village of Rantoul has received a grant for road repairs. The repairs are going to be on Maplewood Drive. The road will be resurfaced from the start of the base to the north side of town towards Paxton. The repairs will also fix a dip in the asphalt in front of the Post Office says Rantoul Mayor Chuck Smith…
Rantoul Mayor Chuck Smith.
(Undated-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Transportation is providing funding for truck access route projects including two locally. Ford County will receive $360,000 from the state for work on county highway 22 from Illinois 54 to the Ford/Iroquois County line. Champaign County will receive $900,000 for work on county highway 20 from U-S 45 to the east village limits of Royal.
(Springfield-jm) -- Secretary of State Jesse White’s Office is launching a new organ and tissue donation campaign featuring a former White Sox All-Star. For more than a decade White Sox pitcher and later announcer Ed Farmer has promoted organ donation, having benefited himself from the gift of life in the early 90s says Secretary White…
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. Farmer passed away last year. More than seven million people are currently on the state’s donor registry but about 300 Illinoisans still die each year waiting for an organ.
(Undated-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,931 new Coronavirus cases and 13 additional deaths Tuesday bringing the state’s total number of cases to 1,261,667 and deaths to 21,395. As for local active and recovered cases, Vermilion County reported 250 active cases and 2 are hospitalized. Iroquois County reported 2,795 have been released from isolation and 14 remain in isolation. Champaign County reported 18,735 have recovered, 323 are in isolation and 7 are hospitalized.
(Springfield-jm) -- The state’s top technology official is offering some advice about choosing a secure password. It’s vital to have a complex password to protect your information. Illinois Chief Information Officer Chris Britten says that means it should be at least 8 characters long, with a combination of letters, numbers and symbols…
When you need to update your password, you can change the L’s in Illinois to ones, altering it just enough to be secure. Britten also recommends not using any personal information such as birthdays, children’s names or pet’s names that can easily be found on social media, and not having the same password for multiple accounts.
(Ford County-jm) -- The Ford County Soil and Water Conservation District is hosting their annual tree and fish sale. Fish orders are due today while tree orders are due tomorrow. Call Sarah Earles at 217-379-4388 to place your order.
(Rantoul-cf)-- Construction on the Rantoul Sports Complex was delayed due to all the winter weather that the area saw this year. One of the final pieces is laying the turf on the remaining fields, says Director Ryan Reid…
Rantoul Sports Complex Director Ryan Reid.
(Elliott-jm) -- The Ford County village of Elliott is receiving over half a million dollars from the state. Elliott was awarded a $550,000 Community Development Block Grant for water and sewer infrastructure improvements.
