(Springfield-jm) -- Illinois now has more than 94 thousand cases of the Coronavirus in 100 of the state's 102 counties. Some of the local counties reporting cases, Ford County now has 18 cases,Iroquois County has 117 cases, Champaign County has 387 cases, McLean County has 170 cases and Livingston County now has 27 cases. Reports for Vermilion and Kankakee Counties were unavailable. Governor Pritzker will hold his daily briefing today at 2:30. We will have the latest on our news at 4 and 5.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- The number of tests coming back as positive for the Coronavirus is declining. Governor J-B Pritzker says the positivity rate can be an indication of how widespread COVID-19 infections are in Illinois…

 

Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. Pritzker cautions that a lower positivity rate may be because of less tests run that particular day.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- A mysterious Coronavirus-related illness that only affects children is being reported around the world, including right here in Illinois. It goes by the name “Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children,”. It's a new condition seen in children that have been infected with COVID-19. There's been at least 10 reported cases of the illness in Illinois, all in the Chicago region. But there could be a lot more since official symptoms were only released by the CDC last week. A 15 member task force made up of medical experts from Illinois children’s hospitals. The task force is assigned to better understand the mysterious syndrome.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Businesses in Illinois that Governor J.B. Pritzker has deemed nonessential but open outside of his revised and extended stay-at-home orders could find themselves facing a Class A misdemeanor, according to sources familiar with an emergency rule they say was filed late Friday. If such rules are finalized, local law enforcement would have to enforce them. 

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- With the stress of social distancing leading to drug use relapses and overdoses, a personal finance website has released a report that ranks the states with the biggest drug problems. The WalletHub study compares the 50 states and the District of Columbia over 22 metrics, ranging from arrest and overdose rates, opioid prescriptions and employee drug testing laws. Illinois ranked 27th on the list, but one of its neighbors did not fare as well. Missouri came in at number 1. 

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Illinois’ congressional Republicans have reached out to legislative leaders in Washington asking that Governor J.B. Pritzker be prevented from withholding federal aid from localities that don’t follow his executive edicts. In reaction, Illinois’ federal GOP delegation sent U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Senate President Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer letters asking that any aid package sent to President Donald Trump contain a provision protecting aid meant for local governments from Pritzker’s retaliatory threats.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- The Illinois General Assembly returns to Springfield this week for a short 3 day spring session. 53rd District State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington says they will be on a strict agenda which is unusual…

 

 

Senator Barickman says it's also going to be unusual in other ways as well…

 

 

53rd District State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington.

 

 

(Paxton-jm) -- Paxton firefighters were called to a vehicle fire southeast of Paxton Saturday afternoon. Firefighters got the call just before 3pm. Sunday evening firefighters were called to an electrical fire on E. Bogardus. No injuries were reported in either incident.

 

 

(Undated-jm) -- The month of May started cooler than normal. But how does the rest of the month look? State Climatologist Trent Ford has the details…

 

 

State Climatologist Trent Ford. 

 

 

(Fisher-jm) -- The Fisher school board is adjusting fees for the 2020-2021 school year. Lunch fees will go up 10 cents. Also passes for fall and winter sports will go up from $50 to $55.

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Illinois now has more than 94 thousand cases of the Coronavirus in 100 of the state's 102 counties. According to local health departments and the Illinois Department of Public Health, in Champaign County, Rantoul is reporting 103 cases including 83 at Rantoul Foods and 7 at Vista Outdoors. Ludlow has 3 cases, Thomasboro has 2 cases, Penfield now has 1 case, Mahomet has 11 and St. Joseph has 4. In Ford County, Paxton has 6 cases. In Iroquois County, Clifton has 43 cases, Chebanse and Onarga have 11 each, Watseka has 10, Ashkum has 8,  Crescent City has 7 and Beaverville has 6. In Livingston County 11 are in Pontiac, while 6 are in Dwight. In McLean County, the majority are in the Bloomington-Normal area however, there is a case in Saybrook as well as in Colfax. In Vermilion County, 19 cases have been reported in Danville. As a reminder Governor Pritzker will give his briefing at 2:30. We will have the latest tonight on our news at 4 and 5.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Governor J-B Pritzker says the state is expanding testing for the Coronavirus. Anyone with symptoms is encouraged to get tested at one of the state’s more than 250 sites. Additionally, certain workers can now get tested at a community based testing site, regardless if they have symptoms. They include local and state government employees, grocery store, restaurant and child care workers, and more. Governor Pritzker says it’s an important part of fighting the virus…

 

 

Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. A testing site will open Tuesday at Marketplace Mall in Champaign from 8 to 4. To find other testing sites near you, visit: coronavirus dot illinois dot gov and click on resources.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- Some Illinois Facebook users could receive as much as $300 from a $550 million settlement in a class-action suit, which alleges the social media site’s facial-tagging feature violated state privacy law. However, the Chicago Tribune reports there is no timeline yet for when people will be notified of eligibility or when payments could be issued. Illinois law permits people to sue companies that don’t get consent before collecting consumers’ data. Attorneys alleged in the 2015 lawsuit that Facebook's photo tagging feature was powered by facial recognition data used to create and store “face templates.”

 

(Springfield-jm) -- When Illinois legalized hemp planting in 2018, nearly 600 farmers began growing a plant that had not been cultivated since WWII, and they had high hopes. But, in the short term, the boom has gone bust. A lack of infrastructure, incomplete FDA guidelines and the COVID-19 pandemic, have put a damper on the industry. As the price has plummeted from $40 a pound to $5 or $6, about half of those who planted last year have decided they cannot afford to do so again.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) -- A statewide law enforcement organization is pushing back against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s threat to withhold federal funding for areas where local officials refuse to enforce his executive orders. The governor’s stay-at-home orders say no area of the state is ready to reopen in May and restaurants are banned from offering dine-in service through June. The orders were imposed to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The Governor threatened legal action against those that won’t enforce the orders. The Illinois Sheriffs Association called the Governors comments outrageous and an insult.

 

 

(Undated-jm) -- Three area school boards meet tonight for their May meeting. WPXN’s Jason Madden has the details…

 

 

(Gibson City-jm) -- The state legislature will return to Springfield this week for an abbreviated session. 106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City says they will only be allowed to discuss certain topics…

 

106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City.

 

 

(Hoopeston-jm) -- The City of Hoopeston is reopening some of their parks for activities. The city announced tennis courts and baseball and softball fields will be reopening today. The city reminds those who use the facilities to continue practicing social distancing. Basketball courts, pavilions and the civic center will remain closed. 

 

 

(Washington--jm) -- If current projections prove true, there will be a lot of low priced corn in the U.S. and around the world in this coming year. Gary Crawford has the details…