(Melvin-dg)-The Ford County Fair Queen pageant was held last night in Melvin. Maci Kingren was crowned the new queen. She is a 2022 graduate of Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School. Isabelle Kinder was named 1st runner up and Miss Congeniality. She is a 2023 graduate of Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Customers of the four gas utilities with pending rate cases – Ameren Illinois, Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas – could pay between $60 and $140 more for gas per year on average if the ICC approves their requested rates. Infrastructure upgrades and maintenance are typically a major factor in rate increases, and for about a decade, gas utilities recouped their costs on those projects through a formula-based process that allowed them to collect – and routinely increase – a customer fee without having to go through an 11-month rate case.  

 

(Springfield-jm) – A credit rating agency says Illinois’ “poorly funded” pensions will continue to stress state and local government budgets. S&P Global Ratings didn’t announce a rating action, but in a report announced Monday, it said a shrinking population and weak demographic trends alongside growing health care costs will add to the funding issues. Around 1 of every 5 tax dollars the state takes in will go to fund pensions for the next fiscal year.The Illinois Auditor General pegs Illinois’ unfunded pension liability at around $140 billion. All five state funds combined are 42.4% funded.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Governor J-B Pritzker signed dozens of bills into law this month. Here’s a few you may not have heard about yet. Some of the new laws require insurance coverage for preventative liver screenings and medically necessary compression sleeves. There’s also one that requires new construction and single family homes and apartment buildings to include basic infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations. Representative Robyn Gabel of Evanston sponsored the bill in the House…

 

 

State Representative Robyn Gabel of Evanston. Other new laws will help survivors of human trafficking get any criminal records expunged and let podiatrists give basic vaccinations to adult patients.

 

(Champaign-jm) – The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District will soon purchase ten hybrid buses thanks to a federal grant program. The district was awarded $6,635,394 from the Federal Transit Administration. Champaign-Urbana transit will purchase ten 40-foot diesel-electric hybrid buses with this $6 million grant. The Low and No-Emission competitive grant program provides transit agencies support to modernize their fleet and purchase new vehicles that emit lower emissions. In May, the transit district retired the final diesel buses from its fleet. The old buses were 60 feet long and were in operation since 2001. Around 98% of Champaign-Urbana's bus fleet is comprised of low-emission diesel-electric hybrid buses. The remaining 2% consists of no-emission electric buses.

 

(Paxton–jc)  Paxton Firefighters were called to the scene of a dryer fire Monday. A fire broke out at 11-16 Roselawn Drive in the city. No word on damages to the home was provided. 

 

(Gifford-jm) – A road closure will be necessary for the replacement of the bridge over Spoon River. County Road 32, two miles south of Gifford, between 2600N and 2700N will be closed beginning today. Bridge replacement construction is expected to take up to five months. There will be no marked detour.

 

(Washington-jm) – The Agriculture Secretary provided an update on ongoing consultations to resolve a dispute over Mexico's efforts to limit genetically modified corn imports from the U.S. Rod Bain reports…

 

 

(Melvin–jc)  Numbers of projects and animals to be featured at the Ford County Fair in Melvin continue to grow this year. Ford County Fair President Steve Meenen says the participants are ready for all the judging…

 

 

Ford County Fair President Steve Meenen

 

(Springfield-jm) – The state-run All Kids Health Insurance program has been providing insurance to those over the eligible age of 18, which cost taxpayers nearly $1.2 million. An Auditor General report released last week shows issues with late filings, a misclassification of kids' immigration status and allowing over-age persons to participate.  While the report notes beginning in March 2020, enrollees that were over the allowable age were allowed to maintain coverage because of COVID-19, auditors identified duplicate enrollees during fiscal year 2019 through fiscal 2022. The report identified 1,328 enrollees over the allowable age for enrollment in the All Kids program from July 2018 through March 2020. These enrollees received 11,011 services totaling $1,192,008 after the month of their 19th birthday. For perspective, the total cost for the program in fiscal 2022 was $153 million. The report found that enrollees were potentially misclassified as undocumented during fiscal 2019 through fiscal 2022 and identified a total of 5,513 undocumented enrollees that were misclassified.

 

(Springfield-jm) – President Joe Biden will be in Chicago Wednesday to tout his economic agenda and to raise money for his reelection campaign. Some are skeptical the president will ease concerns about the economy. Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Wednesday’s visit with more details forthcoming. She said Biden will speak at a public event about what she called “a major address on Bidenomics.” The inflation rate jumped from 1.4% to 7% after Biden took office in 2021. For 2022, it remained at 6.5%. So far for 2023, the rate is 4%. Republicans have criticized the Biden Administration's economic policies.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Fireflies are emerging and a horticulture expert at the University of Illinois Extension has all sorts of facts about the blinking bugs. Fireflies, or lightning bugs, are actually beetles that spend most of their lives in the larvae stage, preying on slugs, caterpillars and insects in the soil. The Extension’s Ken Johnson says once they emerge as adults, they only live for a couple of weeks. When fireflies light up, that’s their version of speed dating…

 

 

U of I Extension Horticulturist Ken Johnson. Johnson says there are more than 20 different species of lightning bugs in Illinois, many with their own flashing pattern. The most prevalent species in the state is called The Big Dipper.

 

(Urbana-jm) – A new study has found that Illinois teens who live in ZIP codes that have medical cannabis dispensaries are less likely to use the drug. This new research comes from a study done at the University of Illinois in 2018, two years before recreational marijuana was legalized. It surveyed more than 10,000 teens in grades 8 through 12 across the state. It found that 18.3% of youths living in Illinois ZIP codes with medical dispensaries reported they used cannabis during the prior year, compared to 22.4% of those who lived in zip codes without these businesses. The University of Illinois is already gearing up for its next survey, which could show the impact of recreational dispensaries on marijuana use among adolescents. They will be starting the Illinois Youth Survey in January 2024.

 

 

(Rantoul-jm) – A Rantoul man is facing weapon and drug charges. Zamarlon Parker is charged with having a loaded gun as a felon and cannabis after a state trooper stopped Parker's car in Champaign for driving with no headlights on.

 

(Iroquois County-jm) – A young Gilman man was arrested in Watseka for Harboring a Runaway.  Mauricio Moreno was stopped by Watseka Police.  An investigation led to police learning a juvenile listed in records as a runaway.  Then, Iroquois County deputies learned the runaway had been staying with Moreno for the last month.  Sheriff's Police also arrested a Gilman woman for Violation of an Order of Protection.  23-year-old Bayleah Moore had an Order of Protection against her.  Deputies were called to the 300-block of E. 3rd Street in Gilman where a caller reported the alleged violation.  Moore was being held at the Iroquois County Jail for Violation of Order of Protection. In a separate case, Sheriff's Police arrested 56-year-old Mark James of Buckley following a disturbance in the 400-block of E. Main Street in Buckley. James was taken into custody for Aggravated Assault.

 

(Washington-jm) – The Agriculture Secretary believes the recently announced Renewable Fuel Standard for the next three years should be considered in context with other efforts to advance biofuel production. Rod Bain reports…

 

 

(Paxton–jc)  Paxton City leaders will continue to look at non-union salaries when they meet in an adjourned session tonight. Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold says the council has been looking at options…

 

 

Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold