(Springfield-jm) – The Department of Children and Family Services has been called out in court once again. A Cook County juvenile court judge hit Director Marc Smith with his seventh contempt of court order in just 10 weeks. This time, for a boy who has been living in a temporary shelter for over a year. This is a child with highly specialized needs. A court ordered DCFS to place him last March, and now a year later, he still has no place to go.
(Springfield-jm) – Applying for a cannabis dispensary license in Illinois should get easier. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation is filing rules to simplify the cannabis dispensary license application process, remove barriers for social equity applicants, and expand opportunities targeted to the communities most impacted by the war on drugs. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation is required by the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act to issue at least 50 new adult-use cannabis dispensary licenses by the end of 2022.
(Springfield-jm) – Illinois House Democrats have put together new legislation addressing the war on Ukraine. Bill sponsor, Representative Lindsey LaPointe of Chicago says this is one of the most comprehensive state responses to the war…
State Representative Lindsey LaPointe of Chicago. The measure also creates a Ukrainian refugee settlement program and sets up a state money laundering and real estate task force to weed out illicit connections to Russia.
(Urbana-jm) – An Urbana tradition took place once again on Thursday. The World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade ran through downtown on West Main Street. It happened between Race Street and Broadway Avenue – just one city block – and lasted for only 10 minutes. The first parade was held in 2016 and has been a fun favorite ever since.
(Rantoul-jm) – The Rantoul Fire Department is now accepting applications from city residents to become firefighters. Duties include responding to incidents, attending ongoing training and operating and using apparatus equipment to which assigned. The job requires a high school diploma or equivalent, a valid Illinois driver’s license and the ability to be certified as a Firefighter Basic within three years of appointment on the Fire Department. Applicants must be at least 21 years of age, reside in Rantoul and must pass a physical agility test and a written skills exam along with a background check. People may apply online or by visiting the Rantoul Municipal Building at 333 South Tanner Street from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Applications are due by April 15.
(St. Joseph-tr) – Wyldewood Cellars in St. Joseph is expanding its production to better serve the residents of St. Joseph. Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges shares an update on that expansion…
St. Joseph Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges
(Champaign-jm) – Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup is releasing the name of a Champaign man who died in a shooting. Northrup says 25 year old Brandon McClendon died at Carle Foundation Hospital. Champaign Police say they were called to the 400 block of Ginger Bend Drive Wednesday night for a shooting with injuries.
(Mahomet-jm) – The Champaign County Forest Preserve District was recently awarded $726,900 in grant funding by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Museum Capital Grant Program. This will support the construction of an improved Discovery Garden, replacement greenhouse and program facility at the Museum of the Grand Prairie, located in the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve. According to officials, the new facility will provide plant production space for the Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden, conservatory space open to the public and for programs, restrooms for preserve patrons and indoor/outdoor classroom space for garden interpretation programs. The facility will improve energy efficiency by replacing the existing 52-year-old, inefficient greenhouse.
(Washington-jm) – The USDA's latest look at the dairy industry is forecasting a record high all-milk price. Stephanie Ho reports…
Paxton IGA will hold their cookout benefiting the Loda American Legion on Saturday from 10-2.
(Undated-jm) – Tow truck driving can be a dangerous job when workers are along the interstate cleaning up the scene of an accident or towing a vehicle away. After the loss of Ross Booker, local tow truck drivers are asking if something can be done to make their jobs easier. Booker was killed by a 16-year-old after a Scott's Law violation in early March. They want to see if drivers can use red and blue lights on their trucks, along with the white and amber they already use. It would only be used during recovery or towing on busy roads and interstates or in instances of public assistance like changing a tire. While this will not be appearing in front of the General Assembly immediately, legislators said it is something they want to look into.
(Springfield-jm) – The Illinois Department of Agriculture plans to distribute more than $586,000 over a three-year period thanks to funding allocated in the Specialty Crop Block Grant program in the federal Farm Bill. The funding would help expand the availability of fresh, locally-grown produce and strengthen the competitiveness of the state's specialty crop industry. Application for grant funding is available on the Illinois Department of Agriculture website and must be returned to the Department by 4:00 p.m. on April 15. To be eligible for funding, all projects must begin in calendar year 2023. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations, local and government entities, trade and commodity associations, public and private colleges/universities.
(Springfield-jm) – The January unemployment rate was down in all 14 Illinois metro areas. This was the 10th month in a row for a decline in the jobless rate compared to one year ago, says State Department of Employment Security Acting Director Kristin Richards…
State Department of Employment Security Acting Director Kristin Richards. All but Champaign-Urbana and Kankakee enjoyed job growth as well in January. Industries that saw the most growth include leisure and hospitality, wholesale trade and government.
(Champaign-jm) – Covid-19 numbers are going down in Champaign County. The Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department counted 197 cases in the last two weeks. Last March, staff counted more than 700 cases. The health department says the habits that have emerged from COVID-19 will remain despite masking and social distancing requirements changing. The health department adds masking may become a norm especially when we see cases go up, during the winter months and flu-season being right around the corner.
(Paxton-tr) – The Paxton Buckley Loda school district is currently preparing to install many more electrical outlets throughout the highschool. PBL Superintendent Cliff McClure says having so few outlets may have been okay years ago when the high school was built, but not in 2022…
PBL Superintendent Cliff McClure.
(Mahomet-jm) – The Mahomet-Seymour Board of Education recently announced the hiring of Dr. Kenny Lee as the new superintendent of the Mahomet-Seymour Schools. Dr. Lee is currently in his sixth year of serving as superintendent of the Minooka Community High School District #111. Prior to being in this position, he served as the superintendent of Iroquois County CUSD #9 in Watseka for six years. Lee is originally from Paxton.
(Champaign-jm) – Plans for the University of Illinois System’s new Access 2030 initiative to increase the number of graduates from ethnic and racial minorities were introduced to the Board of Trustees at its regular meeting on Thursday. Access 2030 is being created to increase the number of graduates from underrepresented groups by 50 percent by the end of the decade. This will include students from disadvantaged backgrounds — ethnic and racial, rural and urban. The new initiative is intended to increase equity and diversity across the U of I System universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield.
(Washington-jm) – China's purchases of U.S. agricultural products are falling below levels of a year ago. Gary Crawford reports…
