(Springfield-jm) – Prosecutors want former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's longtime chief of staff to spend up to five years in prison to send a message to Springfield while defense attorneys want him to avoid prison. Tim Mapes, served for decades under Madigan as the clerk of the Illinois House and as Madigan's chief of staff. In August, a federal jury found Mapes guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to a grand jury investigating Madigan and others. Mapes' defense attorney asked for time served, supervised release and community service hours.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Former President Donald Trump has scored a victory in his battle to be included on the primary ballot in Illinois.  The Illinois State Board of Elections voted 8-0 Tuesday to reject a challenge to Trump’s candidacy.  Several Illinois voters contend that Trump encouraged the Jan. 6 violence at the U.S. Capitol during protests of the 2020 election results and the 14th Amendment would apply to him. The State Board of Elections say they don’t have the jurisdiction to decide a complex constitutional dispute.

 

(Chicago-jm) – Taxpayer costs to care for migrants amount to $1.5 million a day, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said, and now those who faced eviction from city shelters will be able to stay until March. Johnson has extended the 60-day stay deadline at the city's homeless shelters twice due to weather concerns. Close to 2,000 migrants would have been forced out of the shelters Thursday had the deadline remained in place. Johnson said the policy was intended to clear shelter space and speed up connecting migrants to permanent housing. During a news conference Monday, Johnson said what Chicago is dealing with is historic…

 

 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. Governor J.B. Pritzker said the state has allocated an additional $160 million to help the city…

 

Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker.

 

(Watseka-jm) – Iroquois County Clerk Breein Suver would like to remind voters of a helpful tool which allows individuals to check on their voter registration status quickly and easily. You can access the link through the Iroquois County website at: iroquoiscountyil.gov/elections. Click on “Are You Registered to Vote?” It will bring up a box for you to enter your name, birth date, zip code and then your address. Your voter registration status will be displayed, as well as the location of your polling place This will display the districts you are eligible to vote on. Should you have further questions regarding the access of this website or to check on whether you are a registered voter in Iroquois County, please do not hesitate to contact the County Clerk’s office at (815) 432-6960.

 

(Paxton–jc)  The Paxton Buckley Loda Sports Booster Club has a specific project in mind for funds to be raised at a February “Glo Bingo” event. The fundraiser is set for Saturday February 17th, starting at 5-30 and bingo starting at 7pm. Paxton Buckley Loda Sports Booster Club President Nicole Bruns says they started with over 200 tickets, to date around 80 are left…

 

 

Paxton Buckley Loda Sports Booster Club President Nicole Bruns. The tickets are available on line with Event Brite. 

 

(Undated-jm) – Illinois Farm Bureau and COUNTRY Financial are partnering to host four “Emergency Planning on Your Farm” seminars around the state in February to help farm families and businesses prepare for crisis situations and farm emergencies. Seminars will provide those attending with information and questions that are essential to being prepared if a farm emergency occurs. The seminars are scheduled February 8-12 in Rock Island, Edwardsville, Effingham and virtually online.  Local Farm Bureau offices can provide more info.

 

(Washington-jm) – USDA's Farm Service Agency will soon accept payments from direct farm loan borrowers by a new application on "farmers.gov". Rod Bain reports…

 

 

(Springfield-jm) – Several law enforcement groups in the state are opposing a new proposal that would limit traffic stops. According to the bill’s summary, police in Illinois would be stripped of the ability to pull over a driver for expired registration, not following the general speed limit, tinted windows, not wearing a seatbelt or improper lane usage. The exception would be in the event that an offense qualifies as a misdemeanor or felony. Motorists also could not be stopped for violating vehicle lamp requirements, excessive exhaust or defective mirrors, windshields, windshield wipers or bumpers. There is also a provision of the law that would make any evidence of other crimes found while conducting stops for the listed offenses inadmissible in court.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Grammy award-winning artist Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit have been added to the Illinois State Fair Grandstand lineup. The band will perform Sunday, August 11 with special guest Ashley McBride. Tickets for the show go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, February 3, on Ticketmaster. They are the first musical acts to be unveiled for the 2024 Illinois State Fair.

 

(Chicago-jm) – Illinois seeks to better provide parents and children more access to behavioral health services through a new partnership program with Google. Governor J.B. Pritzker was at Google Chicago to announce the creation of BEACON, or the Behavioral Health Care and Ongoing Navigation, a service access portal for Illinois families to access behavioral and mental health resources for children. The plan will incorporate artificial intelligence and create an online portal that provides families with access to behavioral and mental health resources. Chris Hein, director of Customer Engineering for Google…

 

 

Google Director of Customer Engineering Chris Hein. According to the state, the portal will look to achieve five different goals by making it easier for youth and families to access services, adjusting capacity to ensure the right resources are available, intervening earlier to prevent crises from developing, increasing accountability to ensure the state has a transparent system, and developing agility so that the system can adjust to meet the evolving needs of youth.

 

(Paxton–jc)  The Paxton Buckley Loda F F A Annual Toy Show is set for Saturday February 10th at the high school in Paxton. Paxton Buckley Loda F F A Member Ben Strebeck says each year there is a featured toy show tractor…

 

 

Paxton Buckley Loda F F A Member Ben Strebeck.

 

SPRINGFIELD, ILL. – Each year the Illinois Pork Producers Association awards a summer internship. JoBeth Matli has been selected as the 2024 Illinois Pork Ambassador. JoBeth Matli is from Raymond, Illinois and is a freshman at Lincoln Land Community College pursuing a degree in Agribusiness. JoBeth has worked for Borgic sow farm in Nokomis, Illinois, since she was 14 years old. 

 

(Springfield-jm) – A pipeline project to transport carbon dioxide captured from ethanol and fertilizer production to a permanent storage site in Illinois is raising concerns about safety and potential damage to surrounding land. Terri Dee reports…

 

 

(Undated–jc)  The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is set to help with their annual Random Acts of Kindness Week. Those days are February 11th through February 17th. Random Act of Kindness Foundation Vice President Brooke Jones says being kind matters more now than ever.

 

(Washington-jm) – Big temperature swings are causing concern for the effects on the winter wheat crop. Gary Crawford reports…