(Springfield-jm) -- State Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office is offering some advice for students, parents and teachers about internet safety. Attorney General Raoul says the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has investigated numerous cases of cyber predators going after kids, as well as an uptick in youth sharing explicit content online...
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Raoul says before sharing information, a photo or video online, students should ask themselves if it’s something that they wouldn’t want to be made public, if they know the person they are sending it to, and if they think that person will share it with others.
(Springfield-jm) -- The Illinois State Police’s Move Over Task Force is making recommendations to further protect officers and first responders. The task force was formed after a rash of move over law violations left two troopers dead in 2019. Four squad cards have already been struck this year, injuring three troopers. State Police Sergeant Joey Watson says the group is proposing several changes. One is simple, requiring drivers to not only change lanes when they see flashing lights on the side of the road, but to slow down as well…
Illinois State Police Sergeant Joey Watson. Other recommendations include stiffer penalties for distracted drivers violating the Move Over law, making the law a national safety priority and better data collection to track how often this occurs.
(Paxton-cf)-- Illinois is starting to move forward with the vaccination process after getting all frontline, and essential work force vaccinated completely. Chain pharmacies are now starting to offer vaccination for the Phase 1-A patients. Ford County Public Health Department Community Educator Megan Ruetter has the details on how you can find which pharmacy is offering the vaccination…
Ford County Public Health Department Community Educator Megan Ruetter. You don’t need to be a resident of that county to receive that vaccine, but you still need an appointment.
(Normal-jm) -- A freight train transporting non-hazardous material derailed in Normal over the weekend. It happened around 6 am Saturday morning. Crews spent the weekend cleaning up the derailment and making repairs.
(Springfield-jm) -- One area state lawmaker is addressing the issues the state will face when it comes to the state’s budget during the next few months. 103rd District State Representative Carol Ammons of Champaign says the pandemic has made it harder to balance the states budget…
Ammons says the budget will also have to focus on people first…
103rd District State Representative Carol Ammons of Champaign.
(Paxton-jm) -- The Ford County Board is encouraging Governor J-B Pritzker to veto the controversial criminal justice reform bill. County leaders say they support a majority of the measures in the bill however, there are some that they say will have significant negative impacts on the safety of both residents and law enforcement officers in the county.
(Springfield-jm) -- A new report from AARP aims to address the needs of older people of color in Illinois. The “Disrupt Disparities” report looks at the additional challenges minority seniors face including less access to healthcare and lack of savings says Senator Jacqueline Collins of Chicago…
State Senator Jacqueline Collins of Chicago. The report recommends expanding the state’s secure choice retirement program, making sure minority communities have access to high speed internet, expanding telehealth care coverage, more property tax relief for seniors and lifting the age cap on the Illinois earned income tax credit.
(Springfield-jm) -- The state’s top public health doctor says if you went to a Super Bowl party last weekend, it’s a good idea to get tested for COVID-19. For those who attended a gathering for the big game, now is the time to get tested if you haven’t already says Illinois Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike…
Illinois Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike. To find a testing site near you, visit coronavirus dot gov and click on “resources.”
(St. Joseph-jm) -- The village of St. Joseph is moving forward with creating a village administrator position. Mayor Tami Fruhling talks about where the process stands right now…
St. Joseph Mayor Tami Fruhling.
(Bloomington-jm) -- OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington has received another honor. The hospital received the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois Blue Distinction for Maternity Care.
(Springfield-jm) -- For more than a year, backlogs of processing applications for Illinois Firearm Owner Identification cards and Concealed Carry Licenses persists. The most recent data through December from Illinois State Police has the average wait time for new FOID cards at 122.5 days and about the same for CCL applicants that provide fingerprints. It's supposed to be 30 days for FOID and 90 days for CCL. 104th District State Representative Mike Marron of Fithian says it looks like a backdoor way for the Governor to implement some form of gun control…
Representative Marron said he cosponsored legislation last year to eliminate the FOID card and will be sponsoring that legislation again this year…
104th District State Representative Mike Marron of Fithian. Illinois State Police said as of January 19, there were 175,751 new FOID applications and 25,518 CCL backlogged.
(Rantoul-jm) -- Rantoul Township High School is receiving grant money to help close the digital access gap. The district received a 71 hundred dollar digital network access grant from the state.
