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Corn Farmers Have a Huge Decision to Make as the June 5th Deadline Approaches

(Springfield--jc)  --Corn farmers in Illinois have a decision to make: Do they plant or do they punt?Federal crop insurance programs start paying less and less soon. Farmers in Illinois, and the rest of the country, need to decide if they will try and plant a corn crop this year, or if they will simply take the payout. Illinois Department of Agriculture boss John Sullivan said it’s an important decision to make. The preventive plant date for most of Illinois is June 5.About 35 percent of Illinois’ corn crop had been planted as of last week. Last year, it was 99 percent.Farmers are facing a similar crop insurance deadline for soybeans on June 15 or June 20, depending on where they live.

 

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — A federal judge in central Illinois is questioning would-be jurors at the death-penalty trial of a former University of Illinois student charged with killing visiting Chinese scholar Yingying Zhang. One potential juror told the judge on the first day of jury selection Monday that she opposed capital punishment because she said God didn't approve of vengefulness. The selection of jurors to hear evidence against 29-year-old Brendt Christensen is expected to take more than a week.

 

(Undated--jc)  -- Federal prosecutors are seeking to postpone Michael Hari’s July trial until after his trial in Minnesota. The Record reports that the Minnesota trial is expected to continue through the month of September. Hari is charged in Federal Court in Urbana  with alleged acts of terrorism A June 18th status hearing will decide which case goes first.


 

(Washington--ba)  The Agriculture Secretary spoke Monday about some of the topics discussed earlier in the day between himself and Mexico's Ag Secretary visiting the Nation's Capital.  Rod Bain reports.

 

 

(Paxton--ba) -- The position of the Paxton Buckley Loda Board is clear on the demolition of Eastlawn Elementary school. WPXN’s Braedon Arnett has that story...

 


 

(Iroquois--ba) --The Iroquois County Relay for Life is this Friday, American Cancer Society Spokesperson Carrie Robinette says  several different events are planned for the relay at Watseka High School.

 

 

Iroquois County Relay for Life Spokesperson Carrie Robinette  

Friday afternoon at 5pm is WPXN Summer Fun Stop Number 2. Becky Puetz will be broadcasting live to help kick off the Relay For Life Event at Watseka High School.

 

 

(Springfield--jc)  Planting continues to lag behind as we hear the the weekly crop report. State Crop Statistician Mark Schleusener says 45 percent of corn is in the ground, compared to 98 percent normally…

 

 

State Crop Statistician Mark Schleusener.

Just 30 percent of the winter wheat crop is rated in good to excellent condition.

 

 

(Undated--jc)  -- A former University of Illinois and now professional sports gambler’s time on Jeopardy has concluded. James Holzhauers played 33 games, but lost to a Chicago librarian on Monday. His average daily winnings was 77 thousand dollars and he finished 58 thousand dollars short of Ken Jennings record of 2 point 52 million dollars


 

(Watseka--jc)  The Watseka McDonalds store is expected to open this morning. As of 10-30 this morning the Watseka McDonald’s is officially open. Store hours will be from 5 am to 11pm Mondays through Thursdays and 5am to midnights Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday hours are 6am to 11pm. The store has a modern urban look. Watseka city leaders were given a private look at the new store last night.

 

 

 

(Springfield--jc)  --More reaction from area lawmakers after the passing of a new budget, infrastructure package, gambling bill and marijuana bill over the weekend 106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City says  the reforms in the budget are good for Illinoisans.

 

 

106th District State Representative Tom Bennett, Republican of Gibson City

 

 

KANKAKEE, Ill. (AP) — Prosecutors in Kankakee County have dropped charges against a man who spent nearly two decades in prison for a murder conviction in a case he says was self-defense. The Chicago Tribune reports Terrence Haynes' attorney told him when he arrived at court Monday morning that he wouldn't be retried in the 1999 shooting death of 18-year-old Cezaire Murrell. Last month prosecutors said they were reconsidering whether to retry Haynes after a child witness recanted testimony.

 

 

CHICAGO (AP) — The MacArthur Foundation plans a $5 million grant to create a new Chicago Public Library branch at the Obama Presidential Center. The Chicago-based nonprofit made the announcement Monday, saying the money will help pay for construction at the planned site of former President Barack Obama's $500 million presidential center in Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side.

 

 

(Joliet--jc)  -- A Joliet worker who wants to kick the Teamsters out of her workplace is taking her complaint to the National Labor Relations Board after a regional ruling blocked a union decertification vote. Angelika Van Meeteren, who works at the Langer Transport Corp. facility in Joliet, asked the National Labor Relations Board to review a ruling that prevented workers at the company from holding a decertification vote.

 

(Undated--jc)  --Who is the largest employer in Illinois. The answer is Walmart.

Walmart employs 52,603 workers in Illinois, making it the largest employer in the state,State governments are often the largest employers in individual states, but the 24-7 Wall Street  group include public entities that operate as companies, such as hospital groups and state university systems. Walmart was classified as being in the retail industry in the study. Walmart was found to be the largest employer in 22 states.

 

 

(Fisher--jc) Fisher’s 3rd annual Lucky Foot Festival is set for Saturday. The day starts with  a 5-K run and a Pig Out day for youth baseball and softball. Event Spokesperson Joe Wier says the smells of a Barbeque contest and other food like pork chops will also be part of the celebration..

 

 

Fisher Lucky Foot Festival Spokesperson Joe Wier.

WPXN will be broadcasting live from the event on Saturday between 10 am and noon.

 

 

(Springfield--jc)  -- Illinois state lawmakers repealed a measure that was intended to curb pension spiking for public educators as the state's unfunded pension liabilities continue to grow. The bill enacting the next budget for the state of Illinois that is on the way to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk would allow local schools and public universities to give teachers end-of-career pay bumps of up to 6 percent without having to pay for the increased pension costs of those raises. As part of the budget implementation bill for the coming fiscal year lawmakers passed

in overtime session by the Senate Sunday, language was included to repeal last year’s 3 percent cap on pension spiking.

 

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