(Rantoul-jm) – One person is dead and a teenager injured following a shooting in Rantoul Sunday afternoon. Police say the shooting happened around 1:30 pm in the 1100 block of Falcon Drive. When they arrived they found a 34 year old male deceased and a 15 year old male with a non life threatening wound. Anyone with information is asked to call Rantoul police.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Illinois House lawmakers are looking at an increase in school violence. At the latest hearing of the House Public Safety and Violence Prevention Task Force, legislators heard from teacher’s groups about the growing number of severe student behavioral problems. Shianne Shivley with the Illinois Education Association read testimonials from educators about being kicked, bitten, screamed at and threatened by students…

 

 

Illinois Education Association’s Shianne Shivley. Shivley says that teachers are looking for more support from school administrators, consequences for violent behavior, mental health support and social workers on staff.

 

(Springfield-jm) – The head of Illinois’s education system is stepping down. Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen Ayala has announced her plans for retirement at the end of January 2023. Ayala was the first female and first person of color to be the permanent superintendent for the state.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s Office is reminding the public that the extension on driver’s license and state ID expiration dates ends soon. Drivers were given more time to get their licenses renewed during the pandemic, but that extension is coming to an end December 1st. Secretary of State Spokesperson Henry Haupt says they have tried to alert people about their options…

 

 

Secretary of State Spokesperson Henry Haupt. For more information and to see if your local driver’s services facility takes appointments, visit the website: il sos dot gov.

 

(Champaign-jm) – A Champaign family is displaced from their home after a fire broke out inside the chimney Friday afternoon. The fire happened at 1507 Casselbury Lane just after 4 p.m. Firefighters found heavy fire coming from the rear of the structure’s second floor when they arrived. The person who was at home when the fire started managed to get out along with two cats. A third cat, however, could not be found. The cause was attributed to a separation in the fireplace flue and was ruled an accident.

 

(Gifford-jm) – Gifford firefighters were called to a field fire Sunday afternoon. Crews responded to the fire in the field next to Gordyville. No injuries were reported.

 

(Urbana-jm) – The University of Illinois Police Department reported on Friday that two students were scammed out of a collective $25,000 by unknown people who called them. University Police became aware of one scam on Wednesday. Officials said the student received a call from someone claiming to represent the Chinese Embassy and was threatened with arrest if she did not pay a fine. The student provided her passport information and wired $23,000 to the scammer. Another scam was reported to University Police the following day. The student reported that a person had called them, claimed to represent the U.S. Postal Service and said their identity had been stolen. The caller directed the student to purchase gift cards as payment for a new Social Security Number. The student complied and transferred the card information to the caller.

 

(Washington-jm) – The Agriculture Secretary provided a look at some of USDA's priorities for next year during a virtual visit with farm broadcasters. Rod Bain reports…

 

 

(Springfield-jm) – More than 13 hundred new attorneys joined the legal profession at a swearing in ceremony. The lawyers taking the oath passed the bar exam back in July. Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis (tice) spoke to the group about showing compassion, since they often start a case during a tumultuous time in their client’s lives…

 

 

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis (tice). The new admittees bring the total number of license attorneys in Illinois to about 97 thousand.

 

(Springfield-jm) – With COVID-19 cases and other respiratory viruses circulating in many areas of the state, the Illinois Department of Public Health is urging Illinoisans to take precautions and celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday safely without spreading the virus to family and friends. In addition to being fully vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19 and the flu, IDPH encourages the public to get tested before attending holiday gatherings and to stay home if they are sick.

 

(Springfield-jm) – The annual “Winter Weather, Get it Together” campaign is underway, reminding the public to prepare for bad road conditions. When the roads are covered with snow and ice, motorists are asked to stay home if possible. But if you have to go out, slow down, says Illinois State Police Captain Jody Huffman. She also urges people to be prepared…

 

 

Illinois State Police Captain Jody Huffman. The Illinois Department of Transportation has more than 18 hundred trucks to plow roads across the state. Workers ask the public to give them plenty of room to do their jobs.

 

(Urbana-jm) – Terroristic threats have impacted Urbana High School. Urbana High School has received multiple threats over the month with the most recent one last week. All of the threats are currently under joint investigation by the FBI and Urbana Police. Urbana High School has decided to go with E-learning on today and Tuesday leading into the holiday break.

 

(Gibson City-jm) – Crews from several departments battled a grain bin fire in Gibson City early Saturday morning. Crews were called to the fire in a grain bin at One Earth Energy around 3:30 Saturday morning. No word on the cause of the fire or how much damage it caused.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Voters approved Amendment 1, the Worker’s Rights Amendment,  in the midterm elections earlier this month. 106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City talks about what it means moving forward…

 

 

106th District State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City.

 

(Champaign County-jm) – The Regional Planning Commission is opening the final round of the Emergency Rent Assistance Program to eligible Champaign County residents starting today. Only 200 applications will be accepted by the RPC. This final round will address past due housing costs from June 2022 up to November 2022. The deadline is November 30.

 

(Washington-jm) – The U.S. beef cattle herd may be shrinking faster than had been expected. Gary Crawford reports…