(Springfield-jm) -- The Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules upheld new standards passed by the Illinois State Board of Education. The state board of education passed the Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards in December 2020, just before the Illinois General Assembly passed the education reform bill during the lame duck session. The learning standards will provide training to teachers on how to teach in diverse classrooms more effectively. These new teaching standards will take effect in October 2025.
(Springfield-jm) -- Governor J-B Pritzker gave his state of the state and budget address yesterday. The pandemic and its effect on the state’s budget were a significant portion of the address. One topic the governor did touch on was education funding…
Governor Pritzker also called on the General Assembly to pass ethics reform…
The Governor took time to address the pandemic and thanked Illinoisans for their perseverance during the pandemic…
The Governor said there is good news when it comes to the fight against the pandemic…
Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington reacts to the Governor’s address…
State Senator Dan Brady reacts to the Governor’s address…
(Undated-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,795 Coronavirus cases and 24 additional deaths bringing the state’s total number of cases to 1,166,717 and deaths to 20,057. Locally, Champaign County reported 13 new cases bringing their total to 17,622. Iroquois County reported 16 new cases bringing their total to 2,757. Vermilion County reported 27 new cases bringing their total to 8,291. Ford County did not provide a report Wednesday.
(Urbana-jm) -- The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Board of Trustees is dealing with a lawsuit from two Chinese women for trafficking claims. Xingjian “Vina” Sun and Xing “Ely” Zhao claim the university deliberately overlooked their allegations of sexual violence and harassment by one of its now-former professors, Gang “Gary” Xu. The lawsuit alleges the university overlooked the claims in order to safeguard future revenues from the Chinese student population.
(Washington-jm) -- Despite the pandemic, U.S. agriculture did a booming export business in 2020. Gary Crawford reports…
(Washington-jm) -- 16th District Congressman Adam Kinzinger has been named to Time Magazine’s 2021 Time 100 Next list. The tabloid says Kinzinger was named to the list for his efforts in shaping the future of politics and defining the next generation of leadership. Kinzinger has been under fire recently for voting to impeach former President Donald Trump. Earlier this week, he was censured by the Iroquois County Republican Central Committee.
The Paxton Emergency Response Service will host their All You Can Eat Chili Supper tonight from 5 to 7:30 at their station at 134 W. State Street. Cost is $8 for a meal that includes chili drink and dessert.
(Springfield-jm) -- There could be a renewed effort to require fingerprints for applicants seeking a Firearm Owner Identification Card. Democratic state Senator Ram Villivalam told the Chicago Tribune he plans to sponsor such a bill. Republican state Representative Andrew Chesney filed House Bill 1770 to repeal the FOID Card Act, saying persistent FOID processing delays are violating people’s rights. The Illinois State Rifle Association who’s suing the state over delays said the system is obsolete and should be ended.
(Undated-jm) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,795 Coronavirus cases and 24 additional deaths bringing the state’s total number of cases to 1,166,717 and deaths to 20,057. As for local active and recovered cases, Champaign County reported 16,841 have recovered, 658 are in isolation and 15 are hospitalized. Iroquois County reported 2,667 have been released from isolation, 32 remain in isolation and 1 is hospitalized. Vermilion County reported 313 cases are active and 12 are hospitalized.
(Urbana-jm) -- Carle said it is pausing all of its COVID-19 vaccine scheduling. The pause is due to weather-related vaccine delivery delays. Officials said scheduled appointments will continue as planned, unless you hear otherwise directly from Carle. Carle plans to resume online form callbacks when more COVID-19 vaccine doses become available.
(Washington-jm) -- China made major increases in purchases of U.S. agricultural products during calendar year 2020. Gary Crawford reports…
(Springfield-jm) -- The 2022 campaign cycle is already underway with statewide candidates from both parties announcing their intentions. The Illinois Republican Party is joining the fray, launching a cycle-long campaign, titled Fire Pritzker, to oust incumbent Illinois Governor, Democrat J-B Pritzker. Former State Senator Paul Schimpf and businessman Gary Rabine have declared they are running for the top spot so far for the GOP. Governor Pritzker has yet to announce whether he will run for a second term.
