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Illinois could enhance the penalties for impaired drivers who kill someone and injure others

(Springfield-jm) – Illinois could enhance the penalties for impaired drivers who kill someone and injure others. Senator Steve McClure of Springfield has filed the same proposal several times over the past few years, but his plan has never gained traction. McClure hopes to see "Lindsey's Law" passed this spring. McClure wants to honor the life of Lindsey Sharp, a 26-year-old woman hit by a drunk driver in a Springfield Walmart parking lot in 2015. Sharp died from her injuries the day after she was hit. Her five-year-old son was left with a broken arm and her boyfriend was also treated for minor injuries. The driver in Lindsey's case, Antione Willis, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated DUI. However, McClure said Lindsey's boyfriend and son deserved justice too, and his bill would require an additional four to 20 years in prison for anyone breaking the law. While some think this is a common sense change, McClure said his bill hasn't gained support in the past because many Democratic lawmakers are opposed to penalty enhancements.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Republicans in the Illinois House are laying out their legislative priorities for the year. The House GOP is setting up working groups to focus on several areas. That includes protecting children in the state’s care and improving the business climate in Illinois. Representative Jackie Haas (ha-ss) of Bourbonnais another goal is supporting women and families, such as increasing access to behavioral healthcare…

 

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State Representative Jackie Haas of Bourbonnais. Another item on the Republican agenda is helping students get back up to speed after the pandemic.


(Champaign-jm) – From changes in owners to changes in locations, Champaign businesses are going through transitions and even closures in early 2023. Lodgic Everyday Workplace in Champaign is publicly for sale. The restaurant portion closed in December. Another big change is coming to Champaign’s Dick’s Sporting Goods location. Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field & Stream’s next door would be closing temporarily to allow for the space to be remodeled before reopening soon as a new concept store called House of Sport. They will reopen Dick’s Sporting Goods temporarily in the former Bed, Bath and Beyond store. Tuesday Morning in Champaign is also planning to close in the near future. That store is located on E. Marketview Drive near Barnes and Noble.

 

(Gibson–jc)  –  The Gibson Area Hospital Foundation is set to host an initial fashion event in Paxton next month. The fundraising group will host a “Dose of Fashion” on Friday March 10 in Paxton says event spokesperson Dan Boyce…

 

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Gibson Area Hospital Foundation Spokesperson Dan Boyce. 200 tickets will be sold for the event. To date around 100 tickets have been sold. Find the group on line or call the hospital for ticket information. Tickets are 25 dollars each. 

 

(Danville-jm) – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a Danville, Illinois man was sentenced to 85 years in prison for first degree murder in the death of a Vermilion County man. The Attorney General’s office prosecuted Denzel Aldridge, 24, who was found guilty in October of first-degree murder in the death of 25-year-old Roosevelt Anderson. Vermilion County Circuit Court Judge Charles Hall sentenced Aldridge to 80 years in prison for first degree murder and five years in prison for the possession of a weapon by a felon.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Republican state Senator and former Gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey says he’s seeing his worst nightmare come true in the form of Governor J.B Pritzker’s proposed $49.6 billion state budget. Bailey says the governor is pushing a bridge to higher taxes for everyone in the state and using COVID and federal money to advance his own agenda. Bailey continues there will come a day when these bills are due and the only way to pay will be to raise taxes on everyone or drastically cut services. At a time when many fear a recession could be just around the corner, Pritzker's $49.6 billion spending plan is an increase of nearly $3 billion over what he asked for as part of last year’s proposal. The plan includes adding billions in spending on new programs like universal pre-K and setting aside billions more for emergencies.

 

(Springfield-jm) – The Illinois Department of Revenue is reminding eligible taxpayers to take advantage of the senior citizens tax deferral program. The program works like a loan, allowing qualified seniors to defer all or part of their property taxes, says Revenue Spokesperson Maura Kownacki (kuh-nacky)...

 

 

State Department of Revenue Spokesperson Maura Kownacki. Seniors have until March 1st to apply. They will need to get an application from their local county collector’s office.

 

(Undated-jm) – Parkland College and Danville Area Community College are reporting enrollment numbers are up. Parkland College reports full time student enrollment is up 7 percent, with 3013 full time students compared to 2,811 last year. Danville Area Community College reported a 21 percent increase in full time student enrollment.

 

(Paxton–jc)  –  Officials with the Paxton Park District have been working since last summer to continue to open and operate the local swimming pool this year. Paxton Park District Director Cody Evans says last year a large group of businesses stepped up and several projects have started already this year to prepare for a swim season in Paxton…

 

 

Paxton Park District Director Cody Evans

 

(Urbana-jm) – Champaign County Crime Stoppers is asking the public for help in solving a credit card fraud that happened last month. Officials said that on January 26, three people used stolen debit and credit cards at various businesses in both Champaign and Urbana. During the course of this spending spree, they charged over $7,000 worth of electronics, clothing and gift cards. The suspects are described as: a Hispanic male with a medium build in his 30s or 40s, a White male with a heavy build in his 20s and a Hispanic male with a thin build in his 20s.

 

With FFA week being this week, we were able to talk with several students from area FFA Chapters. Hope Watts from PBL High School’s FFA Chapter talks about what is going on today.

 

 

PBL FFA Member Hope Watts

 

We were also able to talk with Ben Slois from Iroquois West High School’s FFA Chapter. 

 

 

Iroquois West  FFA Member Ben Slois

 

Over 670,000 FFA students will be participating in FFA Week across the country. WPXN was able to talk with several students from area FFA Chapters.  Jacob Fox from Rantoul High School’s FFA Chapter talks about what is going on today.

 

 

Rantoul FFA Member Jacob Fox

 

 Lacey Murray from Fisher High School’s FFA Chapter talks about what goes on today.

 

 

Fisher FFA member Lacey Murray

 

Riley Maul from Cissna Park High School’s FFA Chapter talks about what is going on today.

 

 

Cissna Park FFA Member Riley Maul

 

Hallie Harms with the St. Joe Ogden FFA talks about today’s activities.

 

 

St. Joe Ogden FFA member Hallie Harms


 

 

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