(Chicago-jm) – The Democratic National Convention begins today in Chicago. Ahead of the convention a number of businesses in the city's downtown district have covered windows and doors with plywood to better protect the buildings in case demonstrations during this week's convention turn unruly.

(Springfield-jm) – In defending gun control laws in Illinois and other states, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul recognizes the challenges posed by recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent on the right to keep and bear arms. Raoul's office is defending the state's gun ban in federal court. Illinois is not the only place Raoul is defending gun control laws. He's filed friends of the court briefs in other federal courts supporting gun control laws in Massachusetts, Minnesota and beyond. But recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent on the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in the 2022 New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen case says gun laws must comply with the text, history and tradition of gun rights, not a balancing of interests. A bench trial in the case challenging Illinois' gun ban is set for September 16 in East St. Louis. Plaintiffs there argue Illinois' ban violates the right to keep and bear commonly owned firearms protected by the Second Amendment.

(Washington-jm) – Corn production in our country is forecasted up in August by USDA, but was it enough to increase global corn production this month? Rod Bain reports...

(Ford County-jm) – Roberts and Melvin first responders were called to a 2 vehicle accident Sunday morning. It happened on Route 54 near 800 east. There's no word on if there were any injuries.

(Urbana-jm) – Champaign County Coroner Stephen  Thuney is releasing the name of an Urbana man who has died of injuries sustained in a shooting incident in the 1500 Block of Hunter Street in Urbana on Saturday at approximately 1:32AM.

William Booker, 32 years-of-age, of Urbana was pronounced dead at 7:08 AM at Carle Foundation Hospital. Preliminary information indicated a physical altercation occurred between a group of individuals during a party that eventually lead to gunshots being fired. An autopsy will be scheduled for next week. An inquest may be held at a later date. This death is being investigated by the Champaign County Coroner's Office and the Urbana Police Department.

(Paxton–jc) – The first two days of school in the Paxton Buckley Loda School district are complete for the current year. Paxton Buckley Loda School Superintendent Travis Duley says it takes a lot of work during the summer by a great staff to get the buildings ready for school...

Paxton Buckley Loda School Superintendent Travis Duley

(Champaign-jm) – A Champaign man has been sentenced to 56 years in prison for shooting at a car with three teenagers inside, leaving a 12-year-old permanently disabled. The sentence against Jamonte R. Hill, 30, was handed down after he was convicted of attempted murder by a Champaign County Jury in December 2023. Champaign Police said that Hill shot up the vehicle, firing at least 17 times, on October 19, 2022. Hill was arrested in January 2023.

(Peoria–jc)  –  The Illinois Department of Transportation announced that as part of ongoing construction at the Interstate 4-7-4-Airport Road interchange near Peoria , traffic will switch from the old pavement to the newly constructed pavement. The switch is necessary for work on the next stage of the project.Motorists can expect delays and should allow extra time for trips through this area, starting today. More road construction work in that area also starts on today with the construction on the Queenwood Road and Broadway Road bridges over Interstate 155 in Morton.

(Chicago-jm) – A coalition of banking and credit union associations is going after the state of Illinois regarding a new law affecting interchange fees. The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act doesn't ban or restrict credit card swipe fees, but it limits banks from charging interchange fees on tax and tip revenues. The trade groups argued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that the law would "throw well-operating payment card systems into chaos." Critics said the law will require consumers to swipe their card twice for a single transaction, one for the purchase of the goods or services subject to interchange and one for the tax or gratuity not subject to interchange. The filing outlines how the new Illinois law violates multiple federal statutes including the National Bank Act and the Federal Credit Union Act and cannot be enforced against national or state-chartered banks, federal or state savings institutions, federal or state-chartered credit unions, nor their service providers. The financial industry is concerned that if Illinois' law is allowed to stand, other states could follow suit.

(Springfield-jm) – Children in Illinois are now legally protected from deep-fake nude images. Last week, the Governor signed a law clarifying Illinois' child pornography laws. Explicit images and videos of minors created by A.I. are now considered child porn. The measure was championed by the Attorney General's Office. The Attorney General's internet crimes against children task force investigates child sexual abuse material. The Attorney General says A.I. technology is advancing so quickly it can sometimes be difficult to determine if an image is real or A.I.  But he says A.I. generated child porn is being used by predators online. Under the new law prosecutors will be able to go after these criminals.

(Washington-jm) – What are some of the changes in USDA's latest report on meat production and prices, compared to the previous month? Rod Bain reports...

(Rantoul-jm) – A Rantoul woman has been sentenced to probation after a fight at a Rantoul hotel in 2022 led to the death of another woman. Khydijah J. Brazell received the sentence in Champaign County Court in the death of Shelby Rix. Brazell later pleaded guilty to second degree murder in her death.

(Champaign-jm) – Almost three years after a deadly shooting on Ivanhoe Drive in Urbana, one of the men accused of murdering the victim has been found not guilty. Brian Ferrell, 38, claimed he was acting in self-defense the morning of September 11, 2021, when he shot 33-year-old Kendall Jones dead. After a three-day bench trial, Judge Randy Rosenbaum found that prosecutors could not disprove Ferrell's claim. He found Ferrell not guilty of first-degree murder, but did find him guilty of another crime: possessing a gun as a felon.

(Springfield-jm) – Illinois Republicans are critical over several bills passed by the Democratic controlled General Assembly and signed by Governor Pritzker. One of those is 53rd District State Senator Tom Bennett of Gibson City...

53rd District State Senator Tom Bennett of Gibson City.

(Springfield–jc) Illinois Governor J B Pritzker signed into law a measure that effects landlords and tenants. WPXN's Dan Mushrush has the story...

(Urbana-jm) – University of Illinois students are making a return to the community, which means traffic in certain areas could be a problem. University Police will be out managing traffic and setting up signs to help people. They said some of the crowded areas will be Lincoln Avenue, Green Street and the central part of campus. The official move-in days for undergraduate residence halls will be this week.

(Undated–jc)-- A huge crowd adorned the streets of Gibson City on Saturday night. The crowd enjoyed the sounds of Jefferson Starship and Bret Michaels. Gibson Area Hospital officials thank all those who helped with this years Summer Bash.

In Cissna Park on Saturday night Sam McMillan of Gilman was the winner of a 2025 new car. The three day event was sponsored by the Cissna Park American Legion Post 527

WPXN News Notes...

The Harvest Moon Twin Drive in in Gibson City will hold their Rocky Horror Picture Show on Friday, August 23rd and Saturday, August 24th.

The 2024 Mahomet Music Festival will take place Friday, August 23rd and Saturday, August 24th. Friday nights headlining acts are Rearview with John and Mikayla. On Saturday night Drew Baldridge opens for Dylan Scott. All concerts are free.

Paxton IGA will hold a cookout benefiting the Loda Lutheran Ladies Aid on Saturday, August 24th from 10-2.

The 20th annual Knight for Christ benefit auction for Christ Lutheran High School in Buckley will take place on Saturday, August 24th at the Ford County fairgrounds in Melvin starting at 3:30pm. Tickets are available by calling the school at 217-394-2547.

The Gibson Area Music Foundation will hold its annual hymn festival on Sunday, August 25th from 3-4 pm at the Gibson City United Methodist Church.