(Mahomet-jm) – An Arrowsmith man is dead following a crash in Mahomet Monday. Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup says 70 year old William Rigsby died at the scene of the accident at Route 150 and Oak Creek Road in Mahomet. Authorities say Rigsby was traveling westbound on Route 150 when he crossed into the eastbound lane and struck an eastbound pickup truck with a trailer. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.

 

(Springfield-jm) – The state is launching an effort to expand COVID-19 testing availability and booster shot sites amid the recent jump in new cases. Beginning January 3rd, the state’s free community based testing sites will be open six days a week to accommodate the rising number of people wanting to see if they have the virus. Additionally, vaccination efforts are increasing, says Governor J-B Pritzker…

 

 

Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. The move also includes the testing site at Marketplace Mall in Champaign. The Governor invites local organizations to host a vaccine clinic. More information is available online at: dph dot illinois dot gov. Click on COVID-19 updates then vaccine clinic application. Locally since Thursday, the state reported 55,958 new cases and 153 additional deaths. The seven day positivity rate spiked to 11.7 percent. Since Thursday, Champaign County reported 892 new cases. Iroquois County reported 155 new cases and 2 additional deaths.

 

(Champaign-jm) – Champaign police are investigating a weekend stabbing. Police were called to CU at Home after a person showed up to the homeless shelter with a stab wound. They say the stabbing did not occur at the homeless shelter.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Inflation has brought the price of most products and services up this past year. 106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City looks at how that’s affecting you…

 

 

106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City.

 

(Urbana-jm) – A homeless man is behind bars after he allegedly broke into and stole from a campus apartment while University of Illinois students were gone for break. According to the News-Gazette, Champaign police used surveillance video from an apartment building in the 500 block of South Locust Street to identify Daniel Bailey as one of two men seen inside the building taking items last week. Earlier this month, Bailey pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated robbery for trying to rob a UI student at an ATM inside a campus bar November 16 while insinuating that he was armed. He was sentenced to 30 months of probation and two weeks in jail.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Governor J-B Pritzker says how the pandemic continues into 2022 depends on all of us. Between the Delta and Omicron variants, new cases have been increasing in recent weeks and as of last night, more than 47 hundred COVID-19 patients were in the hospital. The key to getting through this surge is to get your shots, says State Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike…

 

 

State Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike. At least four regions of the state have less than 10 ICU beds available. Ezike says masking up and getting tested is also vital as the pandemic continues into the new year.

 

(Undated-jm) – OSF HealthCare is hoping those in the community without COVID-19 symptoms stop coming into their facilities for COVID-19 testing. Doctors with OSF HealthCare attribute their request to the rise in COVID-19 cases among the unvaccinated. This applies to all OSF facilities.

 

(Paxton-tr) - The Paxton Buckley Loda school district has a few plans in motion to upgrade classrooms with more electrical outlets. Since the district embraced more technological forms of learning, students are requiring more electricity to power the technology, says PBL Superintendent Cliff McClure…

 

 

PBL Superintendent Cliff McClure.

 

(Champaign-jm) – A 20-year-old man was arrested in relation to a shooting that happened at the Golden Hour convenience store last week. Officers said Rashard Montgomery went to the police station to report that he had been outside the Golden Hour at around 1:50 p.m. on Tuesday. According to Montgomery, he was waiting outside while his friend went into the store. He heard gunshots coming from the store so he got out of his car to go check on his friend. When they met up inside the Golden Hour, this friend told Montgomery that 18-year-old Randy Willis had fired shots at him. This prompted Montgomery to exit the store and fire shots in the direction of a car that Willis just entered. Both Montgomery and Willis are being held in the county jail in lieu of $200,000 and $250,000 bonds.