(Undated-jm) – It’ll be another remote learning day for students in the area. PBL, GCMS, Iroquois West, Christ Lutheran Buckley, Fisher, Gifford Grade, Ludlow Grade, Mahomet-Seymour, Parkland College, Rantoul Township High School, St. Joseph Community and St. Joseph Ogden High School are all on remote learning. St. Malachy, Thomasboro Grade and Rantoul City Schools are all closed.
(Undated-jm) – Vermilion County government buildings will be closed today. The Champaign County Courthouse is also closed today. Iroquois County government buildings are expected to be open.
(Paxton-dg)-Road crews have been busy to say the least. Once the winds died down crews were able to do a better job of clearing the roads. Most North/South roads are passable but are still very slick. East/west roads are still snow packed with many drifts. Route 9 from Gibson City to Bloomington is still closed. Please give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination and make sure your route is available.
(Undated–jc) Mahomet and Tolono were the winners of snow totals in the area. The two villages received just over 15 inches over the past two days. The snow total in Paxton was 13 inches, the same for Gibson City. Rantoul received 12 inches with Champaign Urbana at 12 and a half inches of snow. 12 inches of snow fell in Pontiac and 8 inches in Milford.
(Rural Paxton-jm) – Crews from multiple departments were called to a house fire Thursday evening. Crews from Paxton, Buckley, Loda, Roberts and Melvin were called to the fire at 800 North 1717 East just after 6pm. No word on the cause of the fire.
(Washington-jm) – On February 9th USDA will issue its new forecasts for South American corn and soybean production, but those forecasts pose a real challenge for the analysts who will make them. Gary Crawford reports…
(Springfield-jm) – Governor J-B Pritzker’s robust budget proposal for the next fiscal year aims to provide tax relief to Illinoisans and solidify the state’s financial footing. The Governor is proposing the Illinois Family Relief Plan, suspending the state gas tax for one year and doubling the property tax deduction for homeowners. Governor Pritzker says this is possible in part because the state is ending this fiscal year with a one point seven billion dollar surplus…
Illinois Governor J B Pritzker
Governor J-B Pritzker is offering tax breaks in the next fiscal year, but they don’t go far enough, says Senator Sue Rezin of Morris…
Illinois State Senator Sue Rezin of Morris
Local State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington has a few criticisms of the plan, saying the proposed one year tax breaks should be made permanent and that there’s not enough fiscal restraint…
53rd District State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington. G-O-P lawmakers also say the Governor’s plan doesn’t do enough to address the rise in violent crime in Illinois
(Champaign-jm) – Centennial High School will soon be on the hunt for a new principal. The current principal, Charles Neitzel, announced in a letter to staff and families on Thursday that he plans to retire. He has served the school for 14 years and will take his leave from that position at the end of the school year.
(Springfield–jc) Current Secretary of State Jesse White is not running for re-election to a position he has held for a long time. One former U S State’s Attorney has announced he is seeking to become the next Illinois Secretary of State. He is John Milhiser of Springfield…
Illinois Secretary of State candidate, Republican John Milhiser of Springfield.
Illinois’s primary is June 28th with the fall election set for November 8th.
(Watseka-jm) – Country music superstar Tracy Byrd will be coming to Iroquois County this summer. The Watseka Family Festival announced Byrd will headline this year’s event set for August 26th and 27th.
(Undated-jm) – Vermilion County government buildings will be closed today. The Champaign County Courthouse is also closed today. Iroquois County government buildings are expected to be open.
(Washington-jm) – Assistance for livestock and crop producers for weather related disasters over the past two years will soon be available, with USDA making the announcement Thursday. Rod Bain reports…
(Undated-jm) – Three more Illinois State Troopers were hit during yesterday's snowstorm. Two of them happened in our area. One of the troopers was hit on I-74 near Urbana while the other local incident happened on I-74 near Muncie, Illinois in Vermilion County. The other crash happened near the Chicago area.
(Paxton—jc) The Paxton Buckley Loda competitive cheer squad qualified for state competition last weekend. State competition is set for this weekend at the Arena in Bloomington. P-B-L Competitive Cheer Coach Madison Warner says the Panthers placed in the top 4 out of 16 teams at sectionals to make it to state competition…
Paxton Buckley Loda High School Competitive Cheer Coach Madison Warner
(Mahomet-jm) – The Village of Mahomet plans to have six tennis courts at Middletown Park built prior to the 2022 IHSA tennis season. The Mahomet-Seymour School District gave the Village of Mahomet Middletown Park and 13 Acres in 2021 with the promise that the Village would use $750,000 of state funds to construct tennis courts within five years time. The Village has not received the funds from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, yet. As they wait for the release of those funds, the Village might bond against the promise in order to complete the project by the late summer months. Plans are expected to be finalized by March.
CU at Home will host their 11th annual One Winter Night tonight in downtown Champaign to raise awareness about homelessness in the area.
Christ Lutheran High School in Buckley will hold a drive thru spaghetti lunch on Sunday from 11-12:30.
