(Springfield-jm) -- The Illinois House is voting to set term limits for party leaders. House lawmakers met in Springfield to approve new rules for the current legislative session. They include 10 year term limits for the Speaker of the House and Minority Leader. The change comes after Mike Madigan’s 36 year reign as speaker. Additionally, all bills are guaranteed to be assigned to a committee. But Representative Mark Batinick of Plainfield says that doesn’t go far enough, and that Republicans and the public should be given more notice about which bill will be up for discussion each day…
State Representative Mark Batinick of Plainfield. The new rules also let the House hold legislative hearings remotely. The Senate has been doing that for several months now.
(Springfield-jm) -- The state is expanding eligibility for Phase 1B of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. Governor J-B Pritzker says they plan to include those with dangerous underlying health conditions, regardless of age or profession starting February 25th…
Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. The Governor says this expansion will also include people with disabilities. Nearly one and a half million doses have been administered in Illinois so far.
(Undated-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,825 new Coronavirus cases Wednesday and 53 additional deaths bringing the state’s total number of cases to 1,152,995 and deaths to 19,739. Locally, Ford County reported 4 new cases bringing their total to 1,493. Champaign County reported 122 new cases and 4 additional deaths bringing their total number of cases to 17,186 and deaths to 116. Iroquois County reported 3 new cases bringing their total to 2,728. Vermilion County did not provide a report.
(Paxton-cf)-- Ford County is still in Phase 1-A of the vaccination process, but starting this week, Ford County has been allocated 1,100 doses of the Moderna vaccine says Ford County Public Health Department Community Educator Megan Ruetter
All of the vaccinations in Ford County will be administered at Gibson Area Hospital. The Phase 1-B vaccination process is going to take Ford County a while to get through as it is for teachers, agriculture workers, and patients that are 65 and older. Ford County Public Health Department Community Educator Megan Ruetter is asking everyone to stay patient…
Ford County Public Health Department Community Educator Megan Ruetter. At the end of this week, the health department is hoping to have 700 residents over 65 vaccinated.
(Urbana-jm) -- A team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has created a chip that detects COVID-19 antibodies. It first started as a project, creating a chip that detects the flu that measured proteins in a blood sample, and is now able to detect antibodies for COVID-19. The chip measures 8 centimeters by 8 centimeters. It's made of glass and a biosensor film that was created to show the antibodies on the glass through the microscope. When looking at the test 15 minutes later, the test will show little black dots on the screen. Each test costs less than $2 to produce a sample. It uses just a finger stick amount of blood and can detect antibodies in 15 minutes.
(Springfield-jm) -- The state’s rollout of the Coronavirus vaccine has been slower compared to other states in the country. The most recent data shows Illinois is 41st in the country in getting doses of the vaccine into the arms of those who want to receive it. 103rd District State Representative Carol Ammons of Champaign says the General Assembly will work with the Governor to get the vaccine out to everyone who wants it…
103rd District State Representative Carol Ammons of Champaign.
(Urbana-jm) -- Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana has been named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals by Healthgrades. Its the 6th year in a row the hospital has received the honor.
(Springfield-jm) -- The Illinois House set their rules yesterday during a special session in Springfield. Among the rules set include term limits for the Speaker of the House and House Minority Leader and hold legislative committee hearings remotely. State Representative Dan Brady of Normal voted against the measure saying its more of the same bad policy…
State Representative Dan Brady of Normal.
(Springfield-jm) -- More than 100 new COVID-19 vaccination sites have been added in Illinois. 134 additional sites are coming online including two new mass vaccination sites in Cook County, and at several retail locations around the state including Wal-Mart, Kroger and Jewel-Osco. Locations locally include the Walgreens in Rantoul, the CVS in Hoopeston, the Walgreens in Mahomet and at 6 Walgreens locations in the Champaign-Urbana area. To find other locations and the latest on the pandemic visit the website: coronavirus dot illinois dot gov.
(Undated-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,825 new Coronavirus cases Wednesday and 53 additional deaths bringing the state’s total number of cases to 1,152,995 and deaths to 19,739. As for local active and recovered cases, Champaign County reported 16,300 have recovered, 770 are in isolation and 25 are hospitalized. Iroquois County reported 2,637 have been released from isolation, 33 are in isolation and 1 is hospitalized. Vermilion County did not provide a report Wednesday. Ford County is unable to report local active and recovered case numbers at this time due to an issue with the state reporting system.
(Gibson City-cf)-- Gibson City is hosting a photo contest, with VIVID Studios. Residents of Gibson City can show off their camera skills with different landmarks throughout the community for different prizes. Spokesperson Suzie Tongate has the details…
Gibson City Photo Contest Spokesperson Suzie Tongate.
(Rantoul-cf)-- The Rantoul Rush, a travel baseball and softball program is hosting a fundraiser. The prizes are $3,000 for 1st place, $1,500 for 2nd place, $500 for 3rd place, and there will be 5 $100 winners. Spokesperson Ryan Burch has the details on how to get tickets…
Rantoul Rush Spokesperson Ryan Burch. The winning tickets will be drawn on February 15th.
(Fisher-jm) -- A Fisher youth is receiving a national honor. Jordynn Huskisson was named the top youth volunteer of 2021 by Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The group is America’s largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer service. Huskisson was one of 102 chosen for the award.
