(Springfield-jm) -- Phase four of Governor J-B Pritzker’s “Restore Illinois” plan begins today in Illinois. Phase four means indoor dining, youth sports, gatherings of up to 50 people and museums, theatres, fitness centers, bowling alleys and more can open back up with limited capacity. But the Governor says that does not mean people can stop wearing a mask and social distancing when possible…
Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. Governor Pritzker says if COVID cases begin to spike again, he will not hesitate to move Illinois back to tighter restrictions.
(Springfield-jm) -- Illinois reported 894 new COVID-19 cases and 41 additional deaths Thursday. McLean County reported 1 new case bringing their total number to 254. Vermilion County also reported 1 new case bringing their total number to 50. Livingston County reported 2 new cases bringing their total number to 44. Kankakee County reported 45 new cases bringing their total number to 1,300. Iroquois County reported 4 new cases bringing their total number to 155. Champaign County is reporting 9 new cases bringing their total number to 815.
(Undated-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health along with area health departments are reporting cases in area communities. In Ford County 8 cases are reported in Paxton and 6 in Gibson City. In Iroquois County 52 are reported in Clifton, 16 in Watseka, 15 in Onarga, 14 in Chebanse, 10 in Ashkum, 7 in Crescent City and 6 each in Gilman, Danforth and Beaverville. In Livingston County, 18 are in Pontiac and 6 in Fairbury. In Vermilion County, 32 are in Danville. In Champaign County, 184 are in Rantoul, 6 in Ludlow, 3 in Fisher, 2 in Thomasboro, 38 in Mahomet, 6 in St. Joseph and 1 each in Gifford and Penfield.
(Springfield-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health is launching a new tool to help assess the threat of the Coronavirus in your area. The risk assessment tool provides information like the number of new cases in your county, ER visits with virus like symptoms and whether there have been any clusters of infection. State Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike says it’s displayed as a map...
Illinois Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike. To access the information, visit: dph dot illinois dot gov slash county metrics.
(Springfield-jm) -- The Illinois Gaming Board announced public casino gambling and video gaming can resume at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1. Casinos and terminal operators have provided a Pandemic Resumption plan to the IGB that will guide their operations when gaming resumes.
(Springfield-jm) -- Since the beginning of March, about 1.4 million Illinoisans have filed for unemployment benefits, driven by the governor’s orders restricting sectors of the economy during the coronavirus pandemic. As the Illinois economy slowly opens up, people are returning to work. As of June 13, more than 705,000 workers remained unemployed. Last week, there were 1.5 million new unemployment claims nationwide, compared to 6.9 million during the peak of the pandemic. A study by the website WalletHub, using three metrics, attempts to identify which states' work forces experienced the quickest recovery in unemployment claims since last week and since the pandemic began. Illinois ranked 22nd in the country in the quickest job recovery since last week, and ninth since the pandemic began.
(Washington-jm) -- The latest USDA dairy outlook projects increased production and stronger prices. Rod Bain has the latest…
(Undated-jm) -- Amtrak is cutting service routes nationally later this year to three times a week instead of daily due to lower ridership numbers. One of the routes affected is the City of New Orleans which has stops in Gilman, Rantoul and Champaign. The changes start October 1st and could last through next year.
(Urbana-jm) -- A second lawsuit filed against two U of I social workers by the estate of Yingying Zhang has been dismissed. The family of the slain Chinese scholar filed a lawsuit in federal court but that lawsuit was dismissed. The family then filed the lawsuit in state court. Zhang’s family says the two social workers didn't do enough to prevent Brendt Christiansen from kidnapping and killing Zhang three years ago. He was sentenced to life in prison.
(Rantoul-jm) -- It may be June but the Rantoul Area Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for some fall activities. One of the activities making a return is the halloween trick or treating in downtown says Director Amanda Vickery…
Rantoul Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Amanda Vickery.
(Rantoul-jm) -- A Rantoul man has been arrested on child pornography charges. 55 year old Dwayne White is being held by federal authorities on possession, distribution and trafficking of child pornography. His case will go before a grand jury next month.
(Gilman-jm) -- Some streets in Gilman will receive some work this summer. The city council approved spending over $127,000 to repave East Front Street, North Hartwell and North Maple.
Gilman townwide garage sales will take place today and tomorrow
Paxton IGA will hold a cookout benefiting Paxton Knights of Columbus Council tomorrow from 10-2.
(Springfield-jm) -- Illinois reported 894 new COVID-19 cases and 41 additional deaths Thursday. As for active and recovered cases locally...in McLean County 228 have recovered with 12 in isolation. In Vermilion County, 41 have been released from isolation, 6 remain in isolation and 1 is hospitalized. In Livingston County, 36 have been removed from isolation and 6 are active. In Kankakee County, 971 have recovered, 266 are active with 10 hospitalized. In Iroquois County, 125 have recovered, 22 are in isolation and 3 are hospitalized. In Ford County, 21 have been released from isolation and 5 remain in isolation. In Champaign County, 724 have recovered, 79 are active and 9 are hospitalized.
(Springfield-jm) -- Governor J.B. Pritzker said Illinois isn’t “punishing” nonprofits by reducing their state payouts based on the federal payroll loans they’ve received. Both Republicans and Democrats are pressuring Pritzker’s office to stop reducing or delaying state reimbursements to nonprofits, such as foster care providers and facilities that care for people with special needs, that had Payment Protection Program loans forgiven.
(Springfield-jm) -- Democrats and Republicans will bring a mix of ideas to the newly formed Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission, which will provide recommendations for reviving the state’s economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. For months, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been using his executive authority to decide how the state’s economy should operate during the pandemic. During the truncated legislative special session last month in Springfield, lawmakers passed a bill the governor signed that creates the Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission, which puts a group of lawmakers together with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.The commission has 14 members, eight Democrats and six Republicans split evenly from the House and Senate. The commission’s first report through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is due July 1.
(Urbana-jm) -- A Danville man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a violent home invasion in Rantoul. Willie Barfield received the sentence after he pleaded guilty in February to entering the home in December and stabbing a resident in the shoulder while he was under the influence of alcohol. As part of his plea deal, prosecutors capped the sentencing recommendation to 10 years, instead of the 30 years he could have faced, and dismissed a count of aggravated battery to a peace officer after he allegedly bit an arresting officer. Barfield was given credit for 193 days served.
(Gibson City-jm) -- Officials are reminding everyone to fill out your census. Census takers will soon be going to your doorstep if you haven’t already filled it out. 106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City talks about the importance of filling out the census…
106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City.
(Champaign-jm) -- When work intrudes after hours in the form of pings and buzzes from smartphone alerts, it can cause spikes of stress that lead to a host of adverse effects for workers, including negative work rumination, poor affect and insomnia. But according to research co-written by a team of researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who study occupational stress and employee well-being, those who have greater “boundary control” over their work and personal lives were better at creating a stress buffer that helped protect them from falling into a negative-rumination trap.
(Mahomet-jm) -- The 2020 Mahomet Music Festival is canceled due to the Coronavirus. The two day music festival was scheduled to take place August 28th and 29th. Organizers say they are already planning next year’s event.
A Cruise night will take place tonight in downtown Gibson City. There will also be live music.
Bayles Lake Community Garage Sales will take place tomorrow from 8-1.
