(Springfield-jm) – The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Wednesday it is providing a one-time bulk shipment of 1 million over-the-counter COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to K-12 public school districts outside of Chicago for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year. The tests will be provided free of charge. The tests are being offered upon request and are intended to supplement testing at school districts for the duration of the upcoming school year. Only one request is permitted per district. The tests will be delivered to a single hub location in the district. Districts will then be responsible for distributing the tests to their local schools. The number of tests distributed will be based on the size of the district.
(Springfield-jm) – Officials unveiled the 2022 Illinois State Fair butter cow at the fairgrounds in Springfield Wednesday. It took over a week and 800 pounds of butter to make this year’s cow. The bovine is seen holding a sunflower in its mouth as a farmer kneels nearby. Governor J-B Pritzker was on hand for the unveiling…
Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. The butter cow is located in the Dairy Building. The state fair runs through August 21st. Tonight is the Twilight Parade at 5:30.
(Champaign-jm) – Registration is now open for the Illinois Marathon’s Run to Remember 8k happening next month on the U of I campus. The Run to Remember will take place on September 17 and registration for this event is taking place until August 15. Participants will receive a commemorative race shirt and a finisher medal with post race food and music from local band Jimi Dragonfly. Registering to run will cost $43. The registration form can be found on the Illinois marathon website. People who register for the Run to Remember will also receive $10 off any race held during the Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend in April 2023. People should receive a unique promo code by Aug. 22 that can be used any time before April 23.
(Rantoul-jm) – Officials with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District said there have been no cases of secondary spread regarding a case from a Rantoul daycare. Last week, the health department announced a positive monkeypox case associated with a worker at the daycare. All adults and children who had potential exposure were screened and offered the Jynneos vaccine.
(Champaign-jm) – A lane on eastbound Kirby Avenue in Champaign will be closing later this week in order to allow construction crews to complete driveway and sidewalk construction. The closure will take place between Rose and Waverly Drives and will begin today. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in this area until the closure ends on Tuesday.
(Paxton–jc) The 10th annual Paxton Swine and Dine is set for Saturday September 17th in the downtown area of the city. Paxton Chamber of Commerce Spokesperson Alan Meyer says a nationally known country artist will perform…
Paxton Area Chamber of Commerce Spokesperson Alan Meyer.
(Undated-jm) – If you are a believer in the Farmers' Almanac winter predictions, you may not want to hear what they have to say about Illinois. The publication is warning readers that this winter will be filled with plenty of shaking, shivering and shoveling.
(Washington-jm) – Grain and cotton traders will likely have a much better idea of this year's expected yields and production when they see this Friday's new round of USDA forecasts. Gary Crawford reports…
(Springfield-jm) – A federal judge has found the Illinois Department of Corrections in contempt of court for failing to make systemic health care improvements following a lawsuit from more than a decade ago. A report found older inmates were left sitting in their own waste, developed bed sores, and had cancer symptoms ignored. IDOC has had more than three years to develop a comprehensive health care plan as outlined in a 2018 consent decree.
(Springfield-jm) – Governor J-B Pritzker is urging Illinois school districts to apply for the federal clean school bus rebate program. Applications are due by August 19th, so if school administrators haven’t checked out the program yet, they may want to do so, says Governor Pritzker…
Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. The rebates are for schools replacing existing buses with low and no-emission versions. More information is available online at: epa dot gov slash clean school bus.
(Watseka-jm) – The Iroquois County Sheriff's Office is alerting the public to pop-up underage drinking parties that attract hundreds and are being held at random rural roads. The sheriff's office became aware of digital flyers being shared through social media apps like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and more. These flyers contain locations of planned parties, usually through GPS pindrops. Last summer, police came across a party on a rural Cissna Park road that had over 300 people gathered. About two weeks ago, a deputy out on patrol found over 150 people gathered on a rural Milford road. Last Saturday, Iroquois County deputies heard about a party on Butterfield Trail property in rural Gilman. Deputies came across vehicles from Rantoul, Westville, Henning, Bradley, Frankfort, Cullom, and more towns. The parties are taking place on weeknights as well as weekends and are occurring regularly, police said.
(Champaign-jm) – A 58-year-old man is behind bars after police say he was trespassing on University of Illinois Urbana Champaign property.
U of I police say an employee notified them that Gregory Cowart was seen trying to enter Illinois Hall through a door that is currently out of service for a remodeling project. Officers found evidence that Cowart had been living there. Cowart was arrested for criminal trespassing on state-supported property.
(Paxton-jm) – The Paxton Masonic Lodge will hold their 3rd annual Get Out of Dodge raffle on September 17th. Spokesperson Jim Sherl talks about how they came up with the idea for this fundraiser…
Paxton Masonic Lodge Spokesperson Jim Sherl. This year’s grand prize is a trip to New York City.
(Decatur-jm) – This weekend's KANSAS concert with guests Blue Oyster Cult at the Devon Amphitheatre in Decatur this Friday has been canceled. Multiple members of the band KANSAS and its touring organization have tested positive for COVID-19 and are experiencing symptoms. There is a plan to reschedule the show.
(Springfield-jm) – A recent audit shows just how bad the unemployment fraud was in the state during the pandemic. 106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City shares the shocking results…
106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City.
