(Springfield-jm) -- Every Illinois household would have to pay $11,000 to cover the cost of taxpayer-subsidized healthcare benefits for retired state workers, a figure that is expected to grow, according to a new report from public finance watchdog Wirepoints. Illinois has more than $137 billion of unfunded pension liabilities for retired state employees. That is up more than $3.5 billion from the year before, according to the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. That doesn’t include healthcare costs. Some employees who work 20 years for state government get healthcare coverage with no copays. Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski said numbers from state actuaries show the state provides 567,000 public sector workers and retirees subsidized health insurance benefits. Those getting fully subsidized benefits could cost $200,000 to $500,000 per retiree. To cover the expected $68 billion in healthcare liabilities would cost each household thousands of dollars.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- As cold weather grips most of the state, it is not uncommon to see a car left unattended and running, but many motorists don’t realize this is against Illinois state law. The Illinois State Police is reminding drivers who leave their cars running and unattended could face fines or a bigger problem: Car theft. Drivers could face up to a $250 fine. The law does not apply to cars with a remote starter system. In those instances, the doors are automatically locked, which prevents someone from being able to get in.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office is suing Juul Labs, the largest manufacturer of e-cigarettes. The lawsuit alleges that Juul is violating the state Consumer Fraud Act by misrepresenting the ability of its product to help people quit smoking and by promoting vaping to teens says Attorney General Raoul…

 

 

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Raoul says this is just the beginning, as his investigation into other e-cigarette manufacturers and retailers continues. 

 

 

(Hoopeston-jm) -- A Hoopeston man has been arrested on multiple charges. Police say a woman reported her minor pregnant granddaughter had been battered. Police arrested 22-year-old James Brayboy on charges of aggravated battery, domestic battery, battery of an unborn child and criminal trespassing. He was taken to the Vermilion County Jail.

 

 

(Washington-jm) -- Surprises are few and far between in USDA's new round of crop reports. In fact, surprises are pretty much missing this month.  Gary Crawford reports…

 

 

 

(Gibson City-jm) -- Parts of Gibson City are under a boil order. City officials say a water main broke near 15th and Church Streets. Residents affected will have a door hanger on their door.

 

 

(Rantoul-jm) -- The village of Rantoul is the latest community to pledge funds to bring the state’s basketball tournament back to the area. The village is contributing $5,000 to bring the tournament back to Champaign-Urbana. Savoy recently voted to contribute $10,000 and Champaign voted to contribute $50,000. The IHSA will select the location for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 tournament location in March.

 

The Paxton Park District will hold their breakfast with Santa on Saturday, from 8-10:30 am.

Children are invited to storytime with Santa at the Watseka Elks Lodge on Saturday starting at 9 am.

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Illinois lawmakers were only five voters away from reaching a deal to build a Chicago casino, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said this week in a discussion about her lobbying trip to Springfield last month. An amended Senate Bill 669 was the target that Lightfoot and other Chicago lawmakers couldn’t get across the finish line. The bill would have removed costs that were to be put on a potential developer of a Chicago casino, increase the city's share of casino revenue, and lower the amount of potential revenue the state would get from a Chicago casino. Some lawmakers bristled at the changes. They said the bill would have lowered builder costs only at the expense of the state’s cut of gambling revenue, potentially putting projects in the Rebuild Illinois infrastructure plan at risk.  But her lobbying efforts hit a roadblock when news broke that a state lawmaker had been arrested for allegedly offering a state senator who had been wearing a federal wiretap a series of bribes in exchange for supporting another piece of gambling legislation.

 

 

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois officials say they're inching closer to selling a Chicago building that houses state government offices. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday that Illinois has selected a project manager to oversee the sale of the James R. Thompson Center following a competitive process. He says Ernst & Young Infrastructure Advisors, LLC will also help with relocation options for current employees. Pritzker says the building has outlived its purpose and costs $17 million annually to operate. The Thompson Center was designed by architect Helmut Jahn and opened in 1985. Parts have fallen into disrepair and there heating and cooling issues. 

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Governor J-B Pritzker is urging business leaders to get involved in the state’s census 2020 effort. The Governor spoke to a group of employers in Chicago, stressing the importance of getting an accurate count. He says the more people counted in Illinois, the more federal money Illinois will receive…

 

 

Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. Governor Pritzker is asking members of the business community to talk about the census with their employees, and offer to let staff complete the form on census day from their work computers. 

 

 

(Ashkum-jm) -- District 21 Illinois State Police in Ashkum have released results of recent occupant restraint enforcement patrols. The detail was held December 2nd in Kankakee County. 18 seat belt citations and one child restraint citation were issued.

 

 

(Undated-jm) -- More than 17,000 high school students in Illinois are being recognized by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for outstanding academic achievement. WPXN’s Jason Madden has the Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School scholars…

 

 

 

(Fisher-jm) -- Fisher high school has a new athletic director. The school board recently approved Cody Diskin to take over as high school athletic director and k through 12 dean of students. Currently Diskin serves as high school physical education and drivers education teacher and head boys basketball coach. Diskin takes over for Jake Palmer who is taking over as grade school principal.

 

 

(Gifford-jm) -- The Gifford Grade School District has received their report card from the state. The report card shows a 45 percent proficiency rating in English language arts, 36 percent in math and 72 percent in science. The report card also shows that of the 185 students in the district, 92 percent were white with one percent black and seven percent two or more races. It also shows 31 percent of them fall in the low income category.

 

St. Christopher Episcopal Church in Rantoul will hold their Bake and Cookie sale on Saturday from 9-2.

 

The Iroquois County Animal Rescue will hold their annual Christmas Garage Sale on Saturday from 10-3 at the Watseka Park District.