(Springfield-jm) – The number of COVID-19 patients in Illinois hospitals is at its highest level in nearly a year. As of Sunday night, there were 3,960 people admitted with COVID, the most since December 31st of 2020. Of those in the hospital, 811 were in the ICU and 432 were on ventilators. State Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike says there’s a common denominator among the patients…

 

 

State Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike. 8 out of 11 regions of the state have less than 30 ICU beds available. Since Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 31,459 new cases and 111 additional deaths. The seven day positivity rate spiked to 7.1 percent. Locally since Friday, Champaign County reported 507 new cases. Vermilion County reported 97 new cases and 2 additional deaths. Iroquois County reported 155 new cases.

 

(Hoopeston-jm) – The City of Hoopeston is mourning the death of their mayor. Bill Crusinberry passed away after a battle with cancer. Crusinberry announced early this month he would be resigning for health reasons.

 

(Urbana-jm) – The National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois announced on Monday that its Blue Waters supercomputer will be shut down on December 31. Blue Waters, fully operational since 2013, held the distinction of being the fastest supercomputer on a university campus worldwide for six years. Intended to operate for only five years, Blue Waters’ operational lifespan was stretched to nine years, during which the computer aided in thousands of scientific and engineering discoveries. The NCSA is planning to build off Blue Waters’ success by commissioning Delta, a new supercomputer, in 2022.

 

(Paxton-tr) – Many local projects such as addressing drainage issues and the purchase of an Air Burner were discussed at Paxton’s Tuesday Meeting. Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold says that many of these issues will be prioritized as the new year approaches…

 

 

Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold.

 

(Champaign-jm) – Champaign County Crime Stoppers is seeking assistance from the public regarding a shooting that happened on November 12. Champaign Police said they were dispatched to Oakwood Trace Apartments on Third Street at around 9 p.m. in response to a reported shooting. When they arrived at the scene, officers learned that several apartments had been struck by gunfire and numerous spent shell casings were located. A short time later, a 40-year-old woman arrived at Carle Hospital with a single gunshot wound.

 

(Gibson City-jm) – 106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City has announced he will run for re-election. Bennett made the announcement today. Bennett has been a state representative since 2015.

 

(Gibson City-jm) – Gibson City police have released their recent activity report. On December 13th, Spencer Miller of Bellflower was arrested for an in-state warrant. 

 

(Iroquois County-jm) – Iroquois County is seeking applications to distribute over $5.2 million in American Rescue Plan funding. The funding is for qualified businesses, not for profit entities and projects based on American Rescue Plan rules. Applications are available on the counties website.

 

(Paxton -tr) The city of Paxton is looking at a potential tax rate drop of nearly 17 cents. With property values in the area going up, PBL Superintendent Cliff McClure says it's important to take note… 

 

PBL Superintendent Cliff McClure.

 

(Danville-jm) – A FedEx facility is coming to the City of Danville. The new ground distribution center will be a 217,000 square-foot facility. FedEx hopes to have it operational in the fall of 2022. 150 and 180 new full time jobs will be created alongside hundreds of part time and seasonal positions.

 

 

(Urbana-jm) – The University of Illinois announced the first week of the spring 2022 semester will be online. Chancellor Robert Jones sent out a mass mail making the announcement that in person classes are tentatively scheduled to resume January 24th. Additionally, because of the spike in cases, faculty and staff, even those fully vaccinated, must show two negative on campus COVID test results when they return.  The campus is still considering whether or not to require COVID booster shots for the spring semester.