(Springfield-jm) – Amendment 1 on the November ballot in Illinois has supporters saying it gives union workers an even playing field when negotiating with their higher-ups. Opponents say the measure will lead to more tax increases. The amendment has been the subject of much debate as many Democrats say the amendment is a way to codify workers' rights in Illinois. Bryce Hill of the Illinois Policy Institute said it likely will increase property taxes. Illinois residents already pay the second highest property taxes in the nation. The Illinois Policy Institute property tax calculator indicates that if Amendment 1 is passed, Cook County residents who own a house valued at the county average will see a $3,000 increase in property taxes over the next four years. DuPage County residents meeting the same requirements would see an estimated $2,200 increase and in Madison County, property owners would see on average a $700 increase over that same time frame.  Hill said if voters approve the measure, it would also stop future tax relief legislation.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Illinois places near the top of a study that ranks states based on the amount of large monetary jury awards over the past decade. The large awards are called nuclear verdicts and are described as being worth $10 million or more.  

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform analyzed nearly 1,400 verdicts in personal injury and wrongful death cases and found that Illinois juries delivered 75 reported nuclear verdicts to the tune of more than $3 billion. That ranks as the state sixth most in the nation. The next two most frequent areas for nuclear verdicts in Illinois are product liability (17.3%) and premises liability (16%). Auto accidents made up 10.7% of nuclear verdicts in personal injury and wrongful death cases compared to 22.8% nationwide.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Governor J-B Pritzker and State Senator Darren Bailey will face off in a debate tonight sponsored by AARP of Illinois. The debate starts at 7 pm and will be televised on WCIA 3.

 

(Springfield-jm) – It’s Safe Sleep Awareness Month and this year the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is focusing on the dangers of crib bumpers. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission there were 113 infant deaths associated with crib bumpers between 1999 and 2019. DCFS Spokesperson Deborah Lopez explains why they are so dangerous…

 

 

DCFS Spokesperson Deborah Lopez. Under a new federal law, it’s now illegal to manufacture, distribute or sell padded bumpers that line the inside of a crib.

 

CHAMPAIGN - Champaign Police were dispatched just after 7 last night, to the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Olympian Drive for a report of a vehicular hijacking. Upon arrival, officers found a 67-year-old male victim from Champaign who reported that he had been rear-ended by an SUV before pulling over to exchange information. After pulling over, the SUV’s occupants exited their vehicle wearing masks to hide their features, then exposed a firearm and demanded the victim’s money. After he complied, the subjects struck him in the face with the weapon. The subjects then fled, taking the victim’s car and their SUV from the scene. They were last seen heading westbound toward Interstate 57. The stolen vehicle is described as a gray Toyota Avalon with license plate ZZ64404. The victim reported minor injuries, including a broken tooth. The hijacked vehicle was reported to area law enforcement agencies, including the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Police. No arrests have been made at this time, and the investigation is ongoing.

 

Rantoul–jc)  –  A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday morning on the west side of Rantoul near the Sports Complex, Rantoul SuperWalmart and Shields Auto Center. Officials with Core Acquisitions, State Senator Scott Bennett, Rantoul Mayor Charles Smith, Village Administrator Scott Eisenhower, several village board members and other dignitaries were in attendance. Core Acquisitions' Adam Bell officially told those about plans for a new Starbucks, Verizon store, Jersey Mikes and more…

 

 

Core Acquisitions Adam Bell

 

Rantoul Mayor Chuck Smith says it's a time to celebrate a new beginning in Rantoul…

 

 

Rantoul Mayor Chuck Smith

(Champaign-jm) – The first defendant to go to court in connection to a Lyft driver’s murder accepted a plea deal and was subsequently released from custody. 

Na’Shown Fenderson, 17 of Champaign, pleaded guilty to a single count of obstruction of justice. In exchange for this plea and testimony against one of his co-defendants, the State’s Attorney’s Office dropped four counts of first-degree murder against Fenderson. By pleading guilty, Fenderson admitted to throwing onto a house’s roof the gun that was used to kill Kristian Philpotts earlier this year. Philpotts, a 29-year-old from Chicago, was driving for Lyft to earn money to attend veterinary school at the University of Illinois.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) – Smaller supplies of corn than expected may cause continued price volatility for months. Gary Crawford reports…

 

 

(Ford County-jm) – Ford County Sheriff Mark Doran and Ford County State’s Attorney Andrew Killian are the latest to file a civil complaint over the Safe-T Act. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the law, which would end cash bail in the state starting January 1. Last week, Vermilion County State’s Attorney Jacqueline Lacy filed a complaint and several communities are also taking legal action over the bill.

 

(Buckley–jc)  Today’s WPXN Business of the Day is  NextGen Ag Service of Buckley. Co owners are Todd Shively and Brian Dippel. NextGen Ag Service offers area farmers more than just seed, says Todd Shively…

 

 

Shively says the beans that come into the rural Buckley facility are then treated and customized for  specific farm use…

 

 

NextGen Ag Service of Buckley Co-Owner Todd Shively.

 

 

(Springfield-jm) – Voters largely support policies allowing police to detain suspects charged with violent crimes, a new poll shows. That's in contrast to recent policies being enacted in Illinois. Convention of States Action, along with Trafalgar Group, released the poll, which found that the vast majority of surveyed Americans do not support policies that keep law enforcement from detaining those accused of violent crimes. The poll found that 95.6% of those surveyed “say they are less likely to vote for a candidate who supports policies which prevent police from detaining criminals charged with violent crimes, such as kidnapping and armed robbery.”

 

 

 

(Springfield-jm) – An Illinois lawmaker is calling for more accountability of Illinois group homes for those with developmental disabilities. They are called CILAs, which stands for Community Integrated Living Arrangement. State Representative Charlie Meier said a recent audit shows the Illinois Department of Human Services is failing to monitor criminal activity in group homes, and some residents are not being cared for properly.  When the Auditor General released the audit concerning oversight of CILAs back in July 2018, the audit found weaknesses in the licensing process for CILAs and the monitoring of CILAs by DHS, resulting in 26 recommendations to DHS to improve CILA oversight. In another state audit released in July 2020, DHS had not yet fully implemented 19 of the 26 recommendations from the 2018 audit. Meier and a bipartisan group of lawmakers have introduced House Resolution 265 that would direct the Auditor General to conduct a management audit concerning the oversight of the CILA program and the awarding of competitively-procured grants. According to research, Illinois spends more to operate CILAs relative to statewide personal income than nearly every state in the nation.

 

(Undated-jm) – Governor J-B Pritzker and challenger State Senator Darren Bailey will face off in a debate tonight at Illinois State University and sponsored by AARP of Illinois. The debate starts at 7 pm and will be televised locally on WCIA 3.

 

(Rantoul–jc)  The Rantoul based Community Service Center has been chosen by the Meijer Company to be a :Simply Give” charity. The fundraising started on October 2 and runs into December says Community Service Center Executive Director Cindy Crawford…

 

 

Community Service Center of Rnatoul Executive Director Cindy Crawford

 

(Springfield-jm) – The Illinois Student Assistance Commission is urging families to get college financial aid forms filled out this month. It’s time to get the FAFSA done for the 2023-2024 school year, says ISAC Spokesperson Lynne Baker. It’s the form that determines eligibility for federal, most state and some school financial aid…

 

 

ISAC Spokesperson Lynne Baker. There’s also what’s called the “Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid'' which is for undocuemnt students applying for state map grants.

 

(Undated-jm) – The Iroquois County Public Health Department offers flu vaccines, by appointment, by calling the Watseka office at 815-432-2483.  Adult flu vaccines are available Monday thru Friday 9 am - 3:30 pm.  Walk-in  vaccines are available.  The Ford County Public Health Department in Paxton offers Walk-In Flu Clinics. The CDC and the Illinois Department of Public health suggests vaccines for everyone 6 Months of age or older.

 

(Washington-jm) – A USDA economist explains why the indicator for global agricultural productivity shows a decline in its rate of growth, compared to what is needed to feed the world by the year 2050. Rod Bain reports…

 

 

(Danville-jm) – Attorney General Kwame Raoul Wednesday announced his office obtained a 40-year prison sentence in a murder prosecution in the shooting deaths of two Vermilion County teenagers. Dustin Cooper, of Danville, Illinois, is the first of four individuals to be sentenced for the murders, which resulted from a drug sale and robbery. Vermilion County Circuit Court Judge Derek Girton sentenced Cooper this week to 40 years in prison after a jury found him guilty on July 26, 2022 of first-degree murder in the deaths of Wyatt Bailey, 19, from Oakwood, Illinois and Clayvonte Sloan, 16, from Danville, Illinois.