(Ogden-jm) – A Champaign woman is dead following a single vehicle accident on I-74 near Ogden. Illinois State Police say the accident happened just before 6 am Saturday morning. A vehicle, driven by 26 year old Jasmine Alexander-Jordan of Champaign, went off the road, struck a tree stump and rolled several times. Alexander-Jones was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene by the Champaign County coroner’s office. 

 

(Springfield-jm) – The new official Illinois highway map is now available. While you may mostly use your smartphone for directions, paper maps can still be a good resource, says State Department of Transportation Spokesperson Paul Wappel…

 

 

State Department of Transportation Spokesperson Paul Wappel. The new map includes QR codes you can scan with your phone to get information about travel conditions, Amtrak, state parks and more.

 

(St. Joseph-jm) – The St. Joseph Ogden School District is changing graduation honors. The district is the latest in the area to drop the Valedictorian/Salutatorian designation in favor of the Latin Distinction.

 

(Danville-jm) – The Vermilion County Health Department will be hosting a free electronic recycling collection event Saturday for Vermilion County residents. The event will take place in the north parking lot of Danville Area Community College on May 14 between 9 and 11 a.m. People are encouraged to bring broken, obsolete or unwanted TVs, computer monitors and other electronic items so they can be recycled. However, only a maximum of four TVs or monitors will be accepted per resident.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Over the past several years there have been several issues with the Department of Children and Family Services. Those issues continue as the Director has been hit with another contempt charge says 106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City…

 

 

106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City. Bennett says Republicans have been calling on the director to resign.

 

(Mahomet-jm) – Students in the Mahomet Seymour school district will not see an increase in their lunch fees. The district received a recommendation to raise fees ten cents to 25 cents more. However, school board members voted 4-3 to not raise the fees and absorb the cost instead.

 

(Washington-jm) – U.S. agricultural exports are still going strong, still on their way to a record level.  Gary Crawford reports…

 

 

(Undated-jm) – The former site of the Myna Thompson School in Rantoul could be sold tonight. The Rantoul Township High School board will vote at 6 tonight to purchase the site as well as discuss a modified open campus for the 2022-2023 school year. Gibson City leaders will discuss a new storm tile at Falcon Point and consider an engineering agreement for water plant filter upgrades at 7. Also tonight at 7, the Ford County Board is expected to consider a moratorium on solar projects in the county and consider a contract for tower lease space after the emergency communications tower at the courthouse had to be removed following inspection issues.

 

The City of Paxton will be flushing hydrants starting today.

 

(Hoopeston-jm) – A former Hoopeston man found guilty of attacking his estranged wife in a home invasion was sentenced to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Donald Langston was found guilty in March of home invasion and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. 

 

(Springfield-jm) – Tulips fading? A horticulturist at the University of Illinois Extension is offering some advice about how to care for spring bulbs after they bloom. For the most part you should just leave the plant alone for awhile says the Extension’s Ken Johnson…

 

 

University of Illinois Extension Horticulturist Ken Johnson. For smaller bulbs like snowdrops, the leaves will die-back fairly quickly. Tulips and daffodils may take several weeks to turn yellow. Johnson says you can go ahead and remove the faded blooms so the plant looks a little nicer and to prevent seedpods from forming.

 

(Urbana-jm) – Unarmed community service officers will soon be helping with non-emergency incidents in the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign campus area. The University of Illinois Police Department is looking to hire people to fill the role to handle less serious calls.

 

(Champaign-jm) – Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County and ReStore is moving. The organization is purchasing the old ValuCheck space, located at 1914 Glenn Park Drive in Champaign. They say this purchase will help consolidate all operations under one roof. Habitat Champaign has been renting out separate spaces in Champaign and a warehouse in Urbana. Operations are expected to move in September with an October 1, 2022 grand re-opening of the restore. 

 

(Springfield-jm) – The latest unemployment numbers are in and it shows some promising news for the area. 106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City explains…

 

 

106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City.

 

(Paxton-jm) – Changes could be coming to the Paxton Buckley Loda Junior High handbook when it comes to cell phones. The board will hear a proposal at the May meeting that would ban students from having their phones on them in class. The change would only affect junior high students and not high school students.

 

(Washington-jm) – U.S. agricultural export values continue to top last year's numbers, but what about actual export volumes? Gary Crawford reports…