(Springfield--ba) --  Illinois' Roman Catholic bishops have taken a stand against legalizing recreational use of marijuana. WPXN’s Braedon Arnett has the story.

 

 

 

CHICAGO (AP) — A new study by the American Lung Association says Illinois is not doing enough to reduce tobacco use. The report titled "State of Tobacco Control" gives Illinois grades in funding for smoking cessation and prevention programs, tobacco taxation and access to existing quit-smoking services. The Chicago Tribune reports the state got a failing grade for keeping the minimum age to buy all tobacco products including e-cigarettes at 18.

 

 

(buckley--jc)  Federal Crop insurance premiums must be completed by March 15th.  Prices will be set later this month by the government. Abbe Insurance-Diversifited Insurance Agent Larry Abbe talks about what premiums and prices could be…

 

 

Abbe Insurance-Diversified Insurance of Buckley Agent Larry Abbe.

 

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Illinois health officials are requesting about $5 million more from the state to implement new rules aimed at identifying and caring for children under 6 years with lead poisoning. The Southern Illinoisan reports that the Illinois Department of Health received about $10 million this fiscal year to send nurses and inspectors into the homes of children who tested positive for lead poisoning. Experts say lead can cause behavioral problems, developmental delays and other health issues.

 

 

SEATTLE (AP) — Winter weather is pounding a swath of the U.S. West, closing schools, snarling traffic and turning coastal cities like Seattle that rarely get much snow unusually white. The Pacific Northwest's first major winter snowstorm Monday comes as the Midwest warmed up following a dangerous blast of cold last week. Parts of California and Montana are bracing for the threat of mudslides and avalanches.

 

 

In the weeks before freshman Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s first budget address, his Democratic comptroller is reminding him about the fiscal reality of Illinois’ finances.Comptroller Susana Mendoza called on the Chicago Democrat to use the Debt Transparency Act report, one of the transparency issues she championed that passed into law last year, to propose a budget that uses“realistic projections when estimating revenues and cost savings and to avoid relying on any concepts they know cannot be realized in fiscal year 2020.”Assistant Republican Leader Keith Wheeler, from Aurora, said he was happy to see Mendoza asking for fiscal sanity, something he said has been absent from the state budget in recent years.

 

CHICAGO (AP) — O'Hare International Airport in Chicago was the busiest airport in the U.S. last year, surpassing Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for the first time in four years.The Federal Aviation Administration released data today showing that O'Hare had more than 903,000 arrivals and departures during 2018. Atlanta's airport was second, with more than 895,000 arrivals and departures. Los Angeles International Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Denver International Airport round out the top five.

 

 

 

(Springfield--jc)  Democrat Assistant Majority Leader Don Harmon has filed legislation in Springfield to ask voters to change the state's constitution to allow for a progressive tax system, but the bill provides no details about what that structure would look like.  Harmon's bill would allow for the state to impose higher income tax rates on those who earn more, but is devoid of detail. It "provides that the income tax may be a fair tax where lower rates apply to lower income levels and higher rates apply to higher income levels," according to a synopsis of the legislation.  Governor J.B. Pritzker has pledged to change the state's flat income tax to a graduated one, but he has avoided talking about specifics such as tax rates. He's said that the rates would be negotiated with the legislature.

 

(Springfield--jc)  -- Some at the statehouse want a constitutional amendment to change how the state taxes income, while others want to amend the constitution’s pension protection clause to change pensions for state employees.State Representative. Jay Hoffman, Democrat from Swansea, says Governor. J.B. Pritzker expects quick action to get the graduated income tax question to voters.

Hoffman says that Governor Pritzker has made it very clear that he would like to see on the ballot in 2020 a constitutional amendment regarding a progressive tax.

 

 

(Urbana--jc)  In an update from Monday, 7 high school students and one parent were arrested after a fight broke out at Urbana High School on Monday.  One Urbana High School teacher was injured and was sent with injuries to a local hospital. Police say the first fight occurred Monday morning and more conflicts continued throughout the day.  35 year old Adrian Pettis was arrested on a charge of obstructing a police officer. The fights resulted in charges of mob action and resisting a police officer. Urbana police continue to investigate the incident and motives for the fights.

 

(Illinois--ba)-Schools across Illinois might not have to make up all the recent days missed due to snow and cold. WPXN’s Braedon Arnett has the story.

 

 

(Springfield--jc)  -- Several gun dealers in Central and Southern Illinois are closing their businesses rather than pay what they’re saying is thousands of dollars in costs to comply with a law enacted last month.When he signed the bill into law last month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the Gun Dealer Licensing Act was about stopping straw buyers.“The reason for it is to deter straw purchases so that we can prevent someone from buying a gun for someone else who is not legally allowed to own a gun,” he said at the signing ceremony in Chicago.

 

(Washington--jc)  - Want a job with the U-S-D-A as a poultry grader, there are some available. Those wanting to apply need to do so by Thursday says U-S-D-A Branch Chief Dana Stahl…

 

 

U-S-D-A Branch Chief Dana Stahl

More information is found on line at U-S-D-A-dot-gov

 

 

 

Springfield--jc)  -- As other states look at upping financial literacy requirements, should Illinois high schools require students to learn basic budgeting before getting a diploma? Just this month, lawmakers in Florida introduced a bill that would require all students to take a class on basic skills, like how to save money and apply for loans. A new bill in South Carolina would make passing a financial literacy test a graduation requirement. Starting in 2017, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs’ office has partnered with Econ Illinois, a nonprofit affiliated with Northern Illinois University, to create the first ever standards-based financial literacy curriculum for grades 1-8 in Illinois. According to spokesman Greg Rivara, grades 1-3 currently are online at the treasury’s website. Grades 4-8 will be available shortly.

 

(Rantoul--jc) Champaign Crime Stoppers is looking for your help to solve  several gun shots into 2 Rantoul homes. Shots were fired into a home in th 13 hundred block of Abram Drive on Wednesday January 16th and also at a home on Frost Avenue on January 18t or 19th. Anyone with information is asked to call Champaign County Crime Stoppers at 217-373-8477.

 

 

(Pontiac--jc)  --O- S-F HealthCare Saint James-John W. Albrecht Medical Center is the latest Central Illinois hospital to enact visitor restrictions because of an increase in seasonal flu and other upper respiratory illnesses. The Pantagraph reports thatn Saint James announced Monday that, effective immediately, visitors would be limited as a precaution to limit the spread of flu. The Illinois Department of Public Health  reports seasonal influenza is widespread in Illinois during this first week of February/ .Hospital visitor restrictions generally are enacted when flu becomes widespread in an area and are lifted in the spring when flu activity decreases.

 

(Springfield--jc)  Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed an executive order that boosts the state’s efforts in fighting the H-I-V epidemic. The order re-establishes the state’s commitment to prevention and testing programs. Aids foundation President John Peller says reaching out to minorities is espcially critical…

 

 

Aids Foundation President John Peller