(Springfield-jm) – State fire officials are stressing the importance of fire safety while decorating for the holiday season. According to the National Fire Protection Association, more than one-third of home decoration fires are started by candles. More than two of every five home decoration fires occur due to decorations being placed too close to a heat source. Electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in more than two in five home Christmas tree fires with nearly one in five Christmas tree fires being started by lamps or bulbs.
(Springfield-jm) – There was a statewide launch Tuesday of Illinois’ partnership with The Dollywood Foundation to provide Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Officials said the book gifting program mails free, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five, regardless of the family’s income. Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker talks about the program Parton started nearly 30 years ago…
Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker. Pritzker’s fiscal 2024 budget allocated $1.6 million to the program. The program is currently active in areas across 40 counties in Illinois with over 30,000 children currently receiving books and with the expansion, is expected to fully cover the entire state.
(Champaign County-jm) – Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup resigned from his position on December 1st. According to the Champaign County Republican Party, Northrup served for more than 22 years as coroner. The county GOP will begin accepting applications from those interested in being nominated to serve Northrup's remaining term, ending November 30 2024. Applicants must live within the boundaries of Champaign County. Applications will be due by Friday, December 15 at 6 p.m.
(Decatur-jm) – A judge has ruled the State of Illinois will have to pay over $2.5 million to the estate of Kelly Wilson in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a deadly crash involving a former Illinois State Police trooper. In March of 2021, a judge sentenced Jeffrey Denning, a retired Illinois State Police trooper, to 24 months of probation for his role in the 2016 crash that led to the death of Kelly Wilson. Trooper Denning hit Wilson's car in May 2016 as she turned onto Oakland Avenue from West Harrison Street in Decatur. The woman died from injuries sustained in the crash. Denning was responding to the shooting of an officer in Mahomet at the time of the crash. Denning pleaded guilty in January 2021, as part of a partial plea agreement, to reckless conduct in court.
(Washington-jm) – South America will be one major focus of Friday;s USDA supply and demand forecasts. Gary Crawford reports…
(Champaign County-jm) – Inmates at the Champaign County Jail will now be able to make phone calls at half the price. The current carrier, Securus, has phone calls for 12 cents per minute, and 15 cents per minute for 20-minute video calls. The new provider, Consolidated Telecom, Inc., will provide voice calls for only five cents a minute and remote video calls at 20 cents a minute. The new contract also gives people in jail two 20-minute phone calls a day at no cost to callers or the county.
(Paxton–jc) – The city of Paxton has spent the last several years cleaning up the zoning map in the city. Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold says the project is nearing completion and then a new zoning map will be published…
Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold
(Iroquois County-jm) – The retirement of State Senator Tom Bennett has attracted four Republicans with an eye on Illinois’ 53rd District. Seven candidates had been circulating petitions, but in the end, four followed through. Monday marked the end of the week-long period in which candidates could file nominating papers with the Illinois State Board of Elections. Included among the candidates are Susan Wynn Bence of Watseka, Mike Kirkton of Gridley, Jesse Faber of rural Pontiac, and Chris Balkema of Channahon.
(Paxton–jc)-- In our morning news Fantastic Local Finds for Christmas..We found a place to shop. It’s the Gibson Area Hospital Gift Shop. Gibson Area Hospital Auxiliary spokesperson Connie Reum says from holiday decorating to stocking stuffers are in the shop…
Gibson Area Hospital Auxiliary Spokesperson Connie Reum (ream)
WPXN news will feature gift shopping ideas and Fantastic Finds from the local area each weekday morning on the news this holiday season.
(Springfield-jm) – The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that automobile insurance policies must cover people against uninsured motorists and hit-and-run accidents, even if the person covered by the policy is not in a vehicle at the time of the accident. The case involved a 14-year-old Chicago boy, Cristopher Guiracocha, who was struck by a hit-and-run driver in 2020 while riding his bicycle on a public street. He suffered injuries to his right arm, shoulder and thigh that required medical attention. To pay the medical bills, Christopher’s father, Fredy Guiracocha, filed an uninsured-motorist claim with his auto insurance company, Nashville, Tennessee-based Direct Auto Insurance.But Direct Auto denied Guiracocha’s claim, arguing that Christopher was not an occupant of his father’s vehicle at the time of the accident and, therefore, was not covered by that insurance policy. Direct Auto pointed to the language in its policy that said its coverage only applies to people occupying the insured motor vehicle at the time of the accident. A trial court initially agreed with the company and dismissed the claim, but the 1st District Court of Appeals reversed that decision. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the appellate court’s ruling.
(Cissna Park-jm) – A teenager is under arrest in Iroquois County after the Sheriff’s Department said he broke into three cars and stole two of them over the weekend in Cissna Park. Officials said deputies were informed of the thefts within 10 minutes of each other early Sunday morning. One was reported at 2:20 a.m. in the area of Martin Avenue and Third Street; the other was reported at 2:30 just blocks away at Harrison Avenue and Fourth Street. Deputies arrived in the area and began looking for the stolen vehicles. The victims provided a description of a suspect and deputies later saw a 17-year-old matching the given description. The teen went into a house on Koplin Avenue. The teenager was placed under arrest and charged with multiple counts of burglary, possession of a stolen car, criminal damage and theft. He was initially taken to the Iroquois County Jail before being transferred to the county’s juvenile detention facility, pending a court appearance.
(Springfield-jm) – A national watchdog group studied how all 50 states handle the biennial process of redrawing their congressional district lines - and has given Illinois a failing grade. Mark Richardson reports…
(Urbana-jm) – A Champaign teenager is under arrest after Urbana Police said they found a gun in his possession during a traffic stop. Police officials said the teen was in a car that was pulled over Monday night for violations of the Illinois Vehicle Code. When a police dog conducted an open-air sniff, officials said it raised an alarm. A search of the car turned up marijuana and a 9mm pistol with a loaded extended magazine. An investigation identified the 17-year-old as the person in possession of the gun and he was taken into custody. The teen was taken to the Champaign County Juvenile Detention Center and was booked for unlawful possession of a firearm.
(Washington-jm) – The first days of December are recording near to above normal temperatures for much of the country. Rod Bain reports…
(Champaign-jm) – The Champaign-Urbana Reparations Coalition is hoping to be the next in the state to secure reparations for African-Americans. But they are focusing on more than just the potential monetary benefits of the move. Organizers are following Evanston’s successful footsteps with a plan to educate, acknowledge historical harms and take actual steps toward repair. The group is specifically looking at the impacts of historic red-lining in the Champaign-Urbana area, how this led to what we now see as concentrated areas of African-American people, and what the health, financial, and educational circumstances are for people living there.
(Champaign-jm) – In order to complete pavement patching, Ameren Illinois and Shaw Brothers will close one eastbound lane of Bradley Avenue between Hedge Road and Redwood Drive. The closure will begin today and will reopen on Monday, December 11th. Eastbound traffic will be reduced to one lane in the area. White Construction will close Anthony Drive in Champaign between Dobbins Drive and Dale Drive. Both eastbound and westbound Anthony Drive traffic will be detoured in the area. The closure will occur on Monday, December 11th between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.
