(Springfield-jm) – Recent cases challenging weapons laws in other states could have an impact on the case pending against Illinois’ gun and magazine ban. The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that includes Illinois still has the consolidated cases challenging the state’s gun and magazine ban under review. A three judge panel heard the case June 29. Since then, Ninth Circuit rulings in August out of Hawaii against butterfly knife prohibitions and in September out of California against magazine bans have been entered. Tuesday, a Fifth Circuit federal appeals court in Texas ruled against the ATF’s pistol brace rule. Plaintiffs have asked the appeals court judges to take note of the Texas case. The state has yet to respond to that filing.
(Springfield-jm) – Illinois House Republicans, led by House Republican Leader Tony McCombie discussed problems brought forth last week by two Illinois Auditor General reports dealing with state agencies. Leader McCombie says there is a lack of transparency and accountability…
House Republican Leader Tony McCombie.
(Rantoul-jm) – The Rantoul City School District is looking at authorizing $6 million in bonds. The bonds would go for a new pre-kindergarten center. The proposed location would be over on Maplewood Drive.
(Paxton-jm) – The first community mapping meeting took place Tuesday night. The series of sessions focuses on mapping the future of Paxton through the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University. Paxton Buckley Loda Schools Superintendent Travis Duley was there and talks about what the district hopes they can collaborate with the community for the future…
PBL Schools Superintendent Travis Duley. The next session is Thursday, October 12th from 5:30-8:30 in the PBL Junior High Commons. Additional upcoming sessions are October 17th, October 24th and November 2nd. The public is invited to attend and provide feedback.
(Champaign County-jm) – Champaign County leaders are projecting a budget deficit next fiscal year. The county is forecasting a deficit of nearly $900,000. The county has seen sales tax revenues fall over the past couple of years. In 2022, county sales tax revenue was 19.4 million, this year it was down to 19.1 million and they project in 2024 it will go to 18.2 million. Property taxes have risen going from 14.3 million in 2021 to 17 million in 2023. Currently the county has 950 employees with requests to add more staffing which could add to the counties deficit.
(Springfield-jm) – Fall is here and that means the start of turkey hunting season. Jayette Billinski with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources talks about the archery hunting season…
Illinois Department of Natural Resources Jayette Billinski. The top 5 counties for fall archery harvest were Vermilion, Ogle, Clay, Marion and Randolph.
(Rantoul-jm) – Rantoul village administrators are celebrating a new grant that will help revitalize their downtown area. The village was one of 25 communities across the U.S. To get the T-Mobile Hometown Grant Award. $50,000 will go toward their street-scaping project like fixing sidewalks and roads in a four-block radius. They will also use the money to add art like sculptures, statues and murals. They plan to start construction in 2024 and finish in 2025.
(Washington-jm) – A new report says farmers in the developing world are not the only ones trying to cope with reductions in productivity growth rates. Gary Crawford reports…
(Paxton–jc) – Today’s WPXN Business of the Day is The Pop Loft in Paxton. The floral, balloon creation and gift store is located at 351 South Market in the city. Owner Samantha Magers says she started with balloons and then added floral arrangements and more…
Owner Samantha Magers says they are one of 22 stores in the city that are participating in the 5th Annual Wine and Chocolate Walk on Saturday, and she will feature Black and White Chocolates…
The Pop Loft in Paxton Owner Samantha Magers. They also have a pre order going on now through Saturday for Chocolate and Caramel Covered Apples. We have a full interview with Sam Magers set to air during the noon news today.
(Springfield-jm) – Members of a joint Illinois House committee met with officials from the healthcare industry to hear about possibly limiting how many patients a nurse can care for at one time. Opponents say that could drive up health care costs. Legislators met last week to go over potential solutions for fixing delays in new licenses going out to health care professionals, making some unable to work. This week, they addressed staffing ratios and said that the nurses and other health care professionals are seeking a change to the current law, which states that there is no limit to how many patients a nurse can be responsible for at one time. According to National Nurses United, poor staffing endangers patients and drives nurses from the profession. From previous opposition to mandated staffing proposals, the Illinois Health and Hospital Association said such policies would threaten struggling hospitals and drive up health care costs in Illinois by $2 billion a year.
(Danville-jm) – Dozens of people gathered at Danville Area Community College Wednesday to honor the life and legacy of the late senator Scott Bennett. A tree was planted on the school's campus. Senate President Don Harmon spoke to the crowd about Bennett’s legacy…
Senate President Don Harmon.
(Paxton-jm) – A former pharmacy in downtown Paxton continues to be for sale after no bids were put in during a public auction. The auction was held for the former Doug’s Pharmacy building, however, no bids were received so Lennington Realty will be trying to sell the property.
(Rantoul–jc) – One reason Rantoul leaders are looking for developers to start housing subdivisions is the short supply of rental properties and the small number of existing homes on the market. Rantoul Mayor Chuck Smith says bringing new homes into the village is a definite positive for Rantoul…
Rantoul Mayor Chuck Smith
(Savoy-jm) – The amount of travelers going through Willard Airport in Savoy has increased. In 2021, the airport saw 56,700 travelers. In 2022, that number rose to 64,715. Willard Airport expects that number to be around 70,000 this year. The airport currently offers 3 flights daily to Chicago, however, one of them will drop in November and 2 flights to Dallas Fort Worth.
(Paxton–jc) – The 5th annual Wine and Chocolate Walk is set for Saturday in the city of Paxton. The event is sponsored by the Paxton Area Chamber of Commerce. Paxton Area Chamber of Commerce Vice President Dawn Stack says the local chamber looks at the economic impact of the Wine and Chocolate walk that brings 250 participants and others to the city…
Paxton Area Chamber of Commerce Vice President Dawn Stack.
(Savoy-jm) – One Central Illinois fire department is considering the implementation of fees for one of its services. The Village of Savoy is set to vote on a new ordinance that would specifically affect non-emergency calls at assisted living facilities within the village. The non-emergency service would primarily be lift assistance. To reduce pressure on its firefighters, the village is advocating for these fees. If passed, this ordinance would align Savoy with other fire departments in the area, like Champaign and Rantoul, which charge $300 to $400 for lift assist calls.
(Washington-jm) – A new report shows that globally the yearly growth in agricultural productivity is shrinking. Gary Crawford reports…
WPXN News Notes…
Parkland College in Champaign will hold a free CarFit check today from 8:30-2:30 at Stone Creek Church in Urbana. Sign up at parkland dot edu slash carfit.
The Ford County Public Health Department will hold a flu clinic this morning from 9-11 am at the American Evangelical Lutheran Church in Gibson City.
Hudson Drug and Hallmark will hold a vaccine clinic at the Paxton Firehouse from 4-7pm. Flu shots and Moderna Covid boosters will be available.
