(Springfield-jm) – For a 33rd month in a row, Governor J.B. Pritzker has reissued his COVID-19 disaster proclamation. According to the governor's website compiling all the proclamations and executive orders, the 37th published proclamation expired January 6. Pritzker has issued consecutive monthly COVID-19 disaster proclamations since March 2020. The proclamations give the governor the authority to issue a range of executive orders impacting the economy, education, health care and more. While the governor has relaxed many of the mandates over the span of nearly three years, he maintained last summer he keeps the disaster proclamations going to be in line with the federal disaster proclamation as a way to capture more federal funds. Of $4.4 trillion in total obligations from federal COVD-19 tax funds, Illinois has at least $107 billion of that in obligations, according to USASpending.gov. Of all neighboring states, Illinois has more per capita of obligation from COVID-19 federal tax funds.
(Springfield-jm) – Yesterday was the final day of the 112th General Assembly. It was also the final day for 53rd District State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington. Barickman spoke before the Senate for the final time Tuesday…
Retiring 53rd District State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington. State Representative Tom Bennett of Gibson City will take over when they are sworn in today. Tuesday was also House Minority Leader Jim Durkin’s last day in office and he’s offering some advice to fellow Republicans. Leader Durkin served in the Illinois House for 28 years and led GOP lawmakers since 2013. He says it’s bittersweet leaving and talks about why he made the decision…
Retiring House Minority Leader Jim Durkin. Durkin says Illinois Republicans will get lost if they lean too far right. He says the party should not be one of extremists.
(Springfield-jm) – The Discovery Partners Institute and the Illinois Department of Public Health announced a new website that tracks the levels of COVID-19 in wastewater samples in Illinois. Officials say the interactive online tool builds on the statistics posted on the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker website and provides more Illinois-specific data in easy-to-understand charts. On the new site, visitors can search by city or county for up-to-date figures and trendlines from any one of 75 wastewater treatment plants around Illinois that are voluntarily collecting samples of raw sewage to be screened for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Monitoring wastewater for the coronavirus has been proven to be an accurate and cost-effective way to measure COVID-19’s presence in a community.
(Springfield–jc) –The Illinois House Tuesday afternoon, passed the Senate’s version of the assault weapons ban. According to the bill’s sponsor, HB5471, will prevent the sale, manufacture, possession and purchase of assault-style weapons, assault weapon attachments, and .50 caliber cartridges in the state of Illinois. The bill would in addition expedite the implementation of universal background checks, but would not change the age range for Firearm Owners Identification cards. Reaction from 101st District State Representative Dan Caulkins of Decatur…
101st District State Representative Dan Caulkins of Decatur. Governor J-B Pritzker signed the law making Illinois the ninth state in the country to ban assault weapons. Lawmakers passed the bill and the Governor signed it right away, saying “we got it done”...
Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. Anyone currently owning a semi-automatic firearm will have to register it with the State Police. Governor Pritzker says he’s confident the ban will hold up in court.
(Champaign-jm) – A Champaign man has been sentenced to 2 years in prison for punching a teenage Walmart employee. George Martin pleaded guilty to aggravated battery for the incident. Martin had been on parole after serving 26 years for a 1994 murder.
(Champaign–jc) – The Champaign Fire Department responded to a fire in a single-family home at 1311 Williamsburg Dr., Tuesday, January 10, at 10:17 a.m. Fire crews quickly extinguished the fire in the home. Firefighters responded to a report of a fire in this single-story residence. Once on the scene, fire crews reported heavy smoke and fire coming from a bedroom at the rear of the home. Firefighters deployed multiple hose lines and quickly extinguished the fire. The cause of this fire is accidental and was attributed to an electrical appliance. There were no firefighter or occupant injuries reported. The occupants will be displaced because of this fire.
(Rantoul-jm) – A Rantoul man has been sentenced to 2 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm. DeShawn Buford received the sentence after pleading guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Buford admitted to tossing a gun he was not licensed to possess out the window of a car after his girlfriend received minor injuries from a bullet fired at Buford’s car. Buford took his girlfriend to the Carle Clinic in Rantoul for treatment before leaving and leading police on a short chase. He was given credit for 72 days served.
(Watseka-jc) – Iroquois County Clerks officials remind the public to make sure to register to vote. Information on the process is found by calling the County Clerk’s Office in Watseka from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. Additionally you may register to vote online. The website is: iroquois county il dot gov slash elections. In order to be eligible to vote at the polls for the April 4, 2023 consolidated elections, the last day to register in the County Clerk’s Office is Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The last day to register online is March 19.
(Washington-jm) – This week's USDA round of reports will get a lot of attention. Gary Crawford reports…
