(Chicago-jm) – The call to stop the flow of migrants coming to Illinois is growing louder. A group of Englewood residents is calling on the city to turn migrant buses around. Held at the Center of Englewood, a group of residents attended what they called a “Stop the Buses” rally. So far this year, Chicago has welcomed 376 buses filled with migrants from the Texas border.
(Springfield-jm) – Illinois State Police officials say they are finalizing rules that will tell people what types of guns, ammunition, and attachments they will soon have to register to comply with the state’s assault weapons ban. Capitol News Illinois reports those items are now strictly controlled under the Protect Illinois Communities Act. People who owned them before the law took effect must register them with the state police before January first. I-S-P special counsel Suzanne Bond told a legislative committee Tuesday that the agency just concluded a series of public hearings around the state, and officials are still trying to answer all the questions they’ve received…
Illinois State Police Special Counsel Suzanne Bond. People who want to comment on the proposed rules have until November 20th to submit those comments in writing.
(Gibson City-jm) – Gibson City will be holding a public hearing next week to share and receive input on a city drainage study. They will be meeting on November 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Elementary School. The City wants to hear community feedback on drainage issues to help complete the study, which was conducted by Donohue & Associates Engineering from April to June of this year.
(Cissna Park–jc) The Cissna Park F F A Chapter brought home some awards from the National F F A convention in Indianapolis last week. Cissna Park F F A Advisor Jeff Clifton says 5 American degrees…
Cissna Park F F A Advisor Jeff Clifton
(Champaign-jm) – The Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health Dr. Sameer Vohra, will join the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Administrator at an event at which he will receive a COVID-19 shot at 9:30 a.m. this morning.
(Philo-jm) – A lottery player in Philo recently hit it big when he bought a $1 million scratch-off ticket from a local gas station. The Illinois Lottery said the winning ticket was bought at the Phillips 66 located at Lincoln and Washington Streets. The winner, who wanted to stay anonymous, told the Illinois Lottery that it’s the craziest thing to ever happen to him. The winner, who has worked in the construction industry for nearly 30 years, said he bought a cup of coffee and a $20 scratch-off ticket at the gas station, part of his daily routine, before heading to work. He was on his way there when he realized the ticket he bought was a $1 million winner.
(Washington-jm) – Weather has been generally good for corn and soybean harvesting. Gary Crawford reports…
(Undated-jm) – New data from Bloomington-based State Farm shows that in the first half of this year, catalytic converters thefts in Illinois were down compared to the previous year. During the first half of 2023, the number of claims in the state was 1,300, a 33% decrease. Despite the decreasing numbers, Illinois is still 3rd in the nation in the number of catalytic converter thefts. Only California and Texas ranked higher.
(Springfield-jm) – Illinois Tuesday received its ninth credit rating upgrade in the last two years. The upgrades signal Wall Street’s growing confidence in Illinois’ ability to pay its creditors after years of fiscal crises. But as Capitol News Illinois reports, the upgrade news came as lawmakers in Springfield were questioning the state’s unemployment agency about how it lost more than five-billion dollars to unemployment fraud during the pandemic. That figure was first reported in July, as part of a comprehensive audit of the state’s unemployment benefits program during COVID. But Republican state senator Craig Wilcox of McHenry asked agency leaders if they were ready for another economic downturn, especially considering the conflicts that have sprung up all over the globe…
State Senator Craig Wilcox. In response, agency leaders said they’ve doubled their technological capacity in the last few years, and are still working to recover fraudulent COVID-era unemployment claims. Illinois was far from the only state to experience fraud on such a scale, but auditors pointed to weaknesses in the state’s systems that made certain programs extremely vulnerable to fraud.
(Danville-jm) – The Vermilion County War Museum will honor veterans this Saturday with a special Taps program. The ceremony will take place at 11 am with a moment of silence, playing of Taps and the reading of “In Flanders Field'' by Greg Green. This event is being held in cooperation with “Taps Across America” and “Taps for Veterans.”
(Springfield-jm) – The final days of the fall veto session are underway. 53rd District State Senator Tom Bennett of Gibson City shares what Republicans are hoping to address…
53rd District State Senator Tom Bennett of Gibson City.
(Vermilion County-jm) – Vermilion County has received an approved SBA Disaster Declaration in connection with the storms we experienced from June 29th to July 2nd. The SBA has opened a Disaster Loan Outreach Center which is located in the basement level of the Vermilion County Joseph Cannon Administration Building. The Center will be open through Friday November 17th.
(Undated-jm) – The annual Conservation Cropping Seminar will be taking place January 31st, 2024 with both virtual and in-person options. The event will be held from 9am-3:30pm with the in-person attendees meeting at the Illinois Department of Ag Building in Springfield, IL. The in-person event costs only $25 (lunch included) and the virtual tickets are only $15.
(Washington-jm) – We are only hours away from USDA's new forecasts for U.S. and Global crop supply and demand. Gary Crawford reports…
