(Onarga-jm) – The Iroquois County Sheriff’s office responded to a reported home invasion on Saturday evening. Upon their arrival on scene at the 600 block of W. Lincoln Ave., deputies spoke with the alleged victim’s daughter when a single gunshot rang out from inside the garage. Deputies attempted to secure the scene awaiting additional officers, but upon their entering the residence, the suspect had fled out the back door. Police said the suspect is the victim’s daughter’s ex-husband, 29-year-old Jordan R. Johnson of Kankakee. The suspect allegedly threatened to kill the victim and reportedly fired one shot at them during a brief altercation inside the garage. Officers from numerous surrounding agencies responded to the scene in search of the suspect. Around 10:45 p.m., officers located the suspect near the area of Bork Nurseries and fled on foot through a bean field. Officers pursued Johnson through the field, during which time he produced a gun and fired one shot, resulting in a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound. Emergency medical personnel who were on standby immediately responded to the scene and pronounced Johnson dead.
(Washington-jm) – What does USDA's Chief Economist see as the trend for major commodity ending stocks in global balance sheets for the 2022-23 marketing year? Rod Bain reports…
(Paxton-jm) – Paxton IGA has announced the latest receiver from their charitable rebate program. St. John’s Lutheran School received a check from IGA for $1,000. The charitable rebate program gives local non-profits $1,000 by collecting $200,000 in IGA receipts. St. John’s Lutheran School is the 55th organization to receiving a check from IGA since the program was created in September of 2009.
(Champaign-jm) – A 22-year-old Champaign man is recovering in the hospital after he was shot Friday afternoon. Officers responded to an apartment complex near White Street and Kenwood Road around 1:50 p.m. for a report of a shooting with injury. They found the victim with a gunshot wound to the leg and immediately rendered aid. The victim was taken to the hospital and is listed in stable condition. Officers determined that the shooting was the result of an argument between the victim and another person. The other person pulled out a gun and shot the victim before running away. Officers are conducting a canvass of the area, seeking witnesses and any surveillance footage.
(Vermilion County-jm) – Illinois is giving out $371 million in COVID funds to small communities around the state. WPXN’s Jason Madden looks at who is receiving funding in VermilionCounty…
(Crescent City-jm) – The voters in Crescent City’s grade school district will decide whether to deactivate the junior-high school. And – the community can learn more about the referendum question that’ll appear on the ballot. Crescent-Iroquois Community Unit School District #249 administrators have a scheduled meeting next Thursday, October 6, to talk about the deactivation process. The 6:30 pm meeting invites the public to the Community Center. School administrators, staff and parents are welcome. The ballot question asks voters if the junior-high school should deactivate. That’s grades 6-7-8. Thursday’s meeting will also present facts on the status of the Crescent-Iroquois High School, including district finances and staffing issues. Should voters decide to deactivate, the Crescent City Grade School would become a K–5 set-up. And if the deactivation vote passes, junior-high students would then have the same options as high school students, to attend one of three receiving schools. Those receiving schools are Cissna Park, Gilman and Watseka.
(Watseka–jc) – Today’s WPXN Business of the Day is the Watseka Theater. The building was renovated in 2007 into a state of the art facility to house national bands to local events.. Owners Chuck and Deborah Gomez have booked acts like Bret Michaels, Rick Springfield and coming October 14th…The Outlaws. Chuck Gomez talks about the start of their new business in 2007…
Gomez says the list of great acts to the Watseka Theater is a long one…
Watseka Theater Owner Chuck Gomez
Tickets for the Outlaws Show on October 14th are available by going online at the theater’s website or calling the Theater in Watseka.
You can learn more about the Watseka Theater over the noon hour today with a full interview with Chuck Gomez
(Washington-jm) – USDA has once again raised its food price inflation forecast. Gary Crawford reports…
(Urbana-jm) – There is no guarantee Carle Health will continue to treat retired state workers after the end of the year. Carle is not committing to see patients who enroll in the only health insurance plan the state has offered its retirees for the next at least five years — Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO — without a contract with Aetna that “Carle feels is fair and protects Carle’s interest, according to Carle.
In essence, 140,000 seniors who retired from the state, namely the roughly 10,000 in-and-around Champaign County, are poised to lose access to a network of more than 550 Carle doctors and Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana barring an agreement.
(Undated-jm) – Moultrie County State's Attorney, Tracy Weaver, has filed an injunction against the SAFE-T Act just days after Vermilion County State's Attorney, Jacqueline Lacy, did the same. Weaver expressed concern with the new pre-trial detention rules in the press release announcing her suit that was filed on behalf of the People of the State of Illinois. The lawsuit names Governor JB Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul as Defendants. Several sheriff’s around the state have expressed concerns about the law.
(Rantoul-jm) – We are a couple of months into the new school year. Rantoul Township High School Principal Todd Wilson talks about how the year is going so far…
Rantoul Township High School Principal Todd Wilson.
(Rantoul-jm) – Starting today, the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District will be resuming its C-CARTS service. C-CARTS or Champaign County Area Rural Transit System, provides public transportation to people living in rural areas of Champaign County, but is not meant to duplicate the level of service seen in Champaign-Urbana. It has two fixed routes: the Eagle Express and Rantoul Collector, operates for 12 hours every weekday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. and fares are just $2. Curb-to-curb service can also be requested.
