(Oakwood--jc)  The second accident within one hour along Interstate 74 caused major traffic delays in the area and a fatality. Police say an accident in the westbound lanes near Oakwood slowed traffic just before 3 Thursday afternoon. Then as traffic was moving slowly, a semi struck the back end of another semi causing a crash, as one of the vehicles burst into flames. Westbound lanes were closed for several hours. Traffic was backed up for 4 miles as clean up crews arrived to clear the accident. WPXN news will update this story as more official news becomes available

 

(Undated--dg)  -- Piper City will be celebrating its 150th Anniversary today and tomorrow. Opening ceremony will be at 5 this afternoon with a reveal of a 1969 time capsule to follow. Games on the midway, bingo, bounce houses, and live music featuring a barbershop quartet and the Esh Van Project will provide entertainment for all ages. A grand parade steps off at 1 Saturday afternoon. A show and shine car and tractor show, games and contests will take place at Branch Park. The Sesquicentennial Celebration will conclude Saturday evening  an Alumni Dinner, along with games on the midway, bingo, bounce houses, and live music featuring The New Relation.

 

(Paxton--jc)  -- Ford County Public Health Department Offering School Immunizations at the office in Paxton. Public school vaccinations are required for Kindergarten, 6th Grade and High School students. Health Department officials recommend that all children be vaccinated whether enrolled in public, private or home school settings. Available vaccinations include tetanus, diptheria to rubella, meningitis and chicken pox. The Ford County Public Health Department  offers Walk-In and Scheduled Vaccine Appointments. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact Ford County Public Health Department at (217)379-9281. 

 

 

(Paxton--jc) A Free Senior Fair is set for Saturday August 10th in the city of Paxton. Organizer Mike Evinger says those attending the event will get to talk with 25 vendors about services for senior citizens…

 

 

Paxton Senior Fair Organizer Mike Evinger

The event runs from 10am until 6pm at Pells Park in Paxton on Saturday August 10th. 

 

 

(Urbana--jc)  - It was the second day in a row where a bomb threat was made in Urbana. Champaign County authorities were called to Carle Hospital early Thursday with the threat. Police conducted an investigation. No bomb was found. Earlier this week a bomb threat was made at the Urbana Wal-Mart Store. That threat caused the store to be evacuated for about one hour. No bomb was found.

 

(Champaign--jc)  --In the latest U-S drought monitor, portions of western and central Illinois are considered abnormally dry. July also ushered in warmer weather. Average rainfall in the state was about 3 inches says Illinois Water Survey in Champaign Spokesperson Brian Kerschner…

 

 

Illinois Water Survey in Champaign Spokesperson Brian Kerschner

The average temperature was just over 77 degrees.

 

(Bloomington--jc)  -- It’s day 3 of the McLean County Fair today. On the entertainment schedule tonight is the Natu Band followed by Chase Bryant at 8pm. On Saturday at the grounds in Bloomington it’s the annual Demolition Derby at 7pm. The McLean County Fair runs through Sunday

 

(Mahomet--jc)  -- The Mahomet Seymour School board has a special session meeting set for Monday afternoon.  A closed session discussing pending litigation is the agenda item. The meeting comes to order at 5-30 Monday afternoon at Middletown Prairie School.

 

(St Louis--jc)  --Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that a new St. Louis Cardinals permanent Illinois license plate will be coming soon and available for purchase after Labor Day.  White says it’s a way to support your team…

 

 

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White

The license plate, which features the Cardinals iconic ‘Birds on Bat’ logo, was unveiled by White at Busch Stadium prior to the Cardinals game last night.

 

 

(Paxton--jc)  -- On the menu at the Paxton IGA fundraiser cookout is ribeye steak sandwiches, chips and pop. Money raised from 10am until 2pm on Saturday goes to the Loda American Legion

(Springfield--jc)  --A taxpayer advocacy group is touring parts of Illinois highlighting what it said are lavish public sector pensions in an effort to spur change. Taxpayers United of America Founder and President Jim Tobin was in Champaign this week to highlight public pensioners making more than $1 million over the lifetime of their retirement. Statewide, the number of public pensioners getting six-figures a year has increased by more than 2,500. Tobin says this brings the new total to 22,053 retired government employees receiving over 100 thousand dollars per year

 

(Springfield--jc)  -- The Illinois State Fair opens next Thursday in Springfield. New promotions have been added to attract fairgoers. The goal is to boost attendance, especially by families during the weekdays. State Fair Manager Kevin Gordon says they will have a big raffle Monday through Thursday at the fair, a daily treasure hunt and more..

 

 

Illinois State Fair Manager Kevin Gordon

Some other new items are 4 new carnival rides, racing pigs and Team Big Air. The fair runs August 8th through the 18th.

 

(Springfield--jc) -- The hot days of July are complete for the year and August weather is expected to be much of the same thing. Though it’s summer, Illinois Department of Transportation are looking to hire Winter Highway Maintainers and Snow Removal Operators in all 9 districts in the state. Those interested are asked to check out the employment page on I-Dots website

 

Updated from pm new

(Undated--jc)  --Illinois finished 33rd in a ranking by the website 24-7 Wall Street of relative purchasing power within each state.The value of a dollar in Illinois came in at One dollar-one-cent. Goods and services in relatively poorer states tend to be less expensive than in states that are home to large, wealthy metropolitan areas, according to the analysis .Each state’s dollar value was estimated by dividing 100  by estimates for regional price parity. The best value state is Mississippi and the worst value state is Hawaii.

 

(Rantoul-jc)  The Half Century of Progress Show is coming to Rantoul later this month. Event Spokesperson J C Reitmeir says a tractor drive helps kick of the event on Thursday August 22nd…

 

 

Half Century of Progress event Spokesperson JC Reitmeir

The event runs from Thursday August 22 through Sunday August 25th at the Rantoul Airport area

 

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois lawmakers say they will investigate the use of a loophole in the state's guardianship law that wealthy families took advantage of to qualify their children for college financial aid. Recent reports indicate some parents were transferring guardianship of their children to friends or relatives to make it appear they came from poorer backgrounds. Members of the Illinois House Higher Education Committee scheduled an Aug. 8 meeting to look into the practice.

 

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois will get about $382,000 of a national settlement following a computer security expert's whistleblower lawsuit against Cisco Systems Inc. James Glenn had reported security flaws in Cisco video surveillance software used at major U.S. airports and by federal agencies. According to the 2008 lawsuit he filed under the federal False Claims Act, Glenn lost his job instead of being rewarded.