(Cissna Park-jm) – One person is dead after a crash in Iroquois County on Saturday evening. Cissna Park High School confirmed that Senior Colson Carley passed away in a traffic accident. According to Illinois State Police Trooper Jason Wilson, the Illinois State Police responded to Illinois Route 1 south of 1330 North, Iroquois County on Saturday around 4:40 p.m. According to the reports, a motorcycle was driving north, crossed into a ditch, struck a culvert and the driver was ejected.
(Urbana–jc) Power has been restored to the portion of the University of Illinois campus area which lost power Sunday afternoon. Officials say a downed power line was the cause of the outage.
(Chicago-jm) – A mistrial has been declared in the trial of a former AT&T Illinois President accused of bribing former House Speaker Michael Madigan. Paul La Schiazza was charged in a five-count indictment that alleged he engaged in a conspiracy to bribe Madigan in 2017 while AT&T Illinois was trying to pass legislation it believed was worth millions to its bottom line. After three days of deliberation, the jury's foreperson told the judge that she and her fellow jurors could not find a way out of a stalemate.
(Washington-jm) – There are few available clues in USDA's Cattle on Feed report as to the direction the beef industry is headed. Gary Crawford reports...
(Oakwood-jm) – A bridge near I-74 is closed due to a crash Sunday morning. According to Illinois State Police, the County Road 680 E bridge over I-74 is closed due to "unrepairable damage." The damage was caused by a truck-tractor carrying an oversized load that hit the bridge.
(Paxton–jc) – City of Paxton leaders gave their go ahead for a parking lot repair project at the Paxton Subway on the city's west side. Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold says a tile in the parking lot collapsed and caused issues...
Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold
(Undated-jm) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker has proclaimed this week, Rail Safety Week in Illinois, marking the 11th year of the statewide awareness initiative. In recognition, the Illinois Commerce Commission and Operation Lifesaver, a national rail safety non-profit, will be conducting a week-long safety blitz across the state to share rail safety facts. The vast majority of collisions in Illinois occur where active warning devices, like flashing lights, ringing bells, and/or gates are already installed. Last year, 102 collisions were reported at public highway-rail crossings in Illinois, resulting in 18 fatalities.
(Paxton–jc) – Today's WPXN business of the Day is Country Financial Agent Mary Nimon of Paxton. Mary's office is in the State Street Mall in Paxton. Nimon's Marketing coordinator Rebecca Rutledge says their office has full lines of insurance...
Rutledge says September is Life Insurance Month and Nimon's office is giving away some "games of life" and more say...
Country Financial Marketing Coordinator Rebecca Rutledge
Country Financial Agent Mary Nimon, the WPXN Business of the Day, today.
(Paxton–jc) Leah Moore, Alan Meyer, Dennis Nowman and Keri and Sam Gillespie, take a bow. They are the committee that helps put on the annual Swine and Dine in Paxton. The 12th annual event was held in downtown Paxton on Saturday and several thousand people were also in attendance for the country music concert on Saturday night. Plans for the next Swine and Dine begin today.
(East St. Louis-jm) – While the bench trial for Illinois' gun and magazine ban is over, the reverberations could impact a separate lawsuit against banning firearm silencers. Litigants in the trial that wrapped up Thursday argued over the difference and similarities of now banned semi-automatic only firearms and military rifles that go full auto or burst. Also debated during the bench trial for Barnett v. Raoul was the use of flash suppressors, which the Illinois law bans. Plaintiffs' witnesses discussed how those help the shooter maintain better eyesight when firing a gun in a self defense situation. Defending the ban, attorneys for the state argued that also makes it easier for someone to shoot while in a dark movie theater. There was also substantial discussion about other various banned attachments like pistol grips. Discussion also focused on threaded barrels banned by Illinois law. Threaded barrels can be used to attach things like suppressors to decrease the sound of a gun firing.
(Washington-jm) – It's an interesting time to be in the dairy industry. Gary Crawford reports...
(Urbana-jm) – After failing to reach an agreement with the University of Illinois on Friday, building service workers are planning to strike this morning. According to an email sent to SEIU 73 members, the strike will begin at 7:00 a.m. In that same email, the Bargaining Committee asked workers who are scheduled to come in to not come to work. For those who are already working, they ask them to clock out and head to the picket line. The next bargaining session is scheduled for this afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
(Rantoul–jc) One local fire department is celebrating 125 years of serving its communities. A fundraiser and celebration event is set for October 5th in Rantoul. Rantoul Mayor Chuck Smith talks about the local Rantoul Fire Department and the event...
Rantoul Mayor Chuck Smith
(Normal-jm) – Illinois State University is implementing a wage freeze. During his annual State of the University address, Aondover Tarhule said ISU needs to cut expenses, so staff will not see wage increases this year. The school is also canceling plans to build a new residence hall. Tarhule said raising tuition to cover rising expenses is "no longer tenable because of questions about a college degree's value and a reluctance to take on substantial debt.
WPXN News Notes...
The Eastern Illinois Foodbank will hold a foodmobile today from 10-10:30 at the Gifford State Bank in Potomac, 11-11:30 at Andi Mae's Ice Cream in Bismarck, 12-12:45 at Christman Park in Rossville and 1:45-2:15 at Centennial Park in Rankin.
