(Springfield-jm) – The Illinois Department of Public Health is reminding the public that along with fall, October brings the start of the traditional respiratory virus season. The department is urging Illinoisans to use the proven tools that can safeguard them from illnesses that typically surge during the fall and winter, including COVID-19, flu and RSV. This includes getting vaccinated to protect yourself and your family for those viral diseases if you are eligible.

(Chicago-jm) – Today is Day One of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's and co-defendant Michael McClain's trial on racketeering and bribery charges. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch announced a federal jury's indictment of Madigan on March 2, 2022. The trial is expected to last about 10 weeks.

(Washington-jm) – A federal agency has joined the growing number of banks and credit unions opposing an Illinois law banning swipe fees. WPXN's Dan Mushrush has the story...

Your favorite coffee shop or boutique only receives a portion of the money each time you swipe at a register due to interchange fees. Illinois is set to ban swipe fees on July 1, but bank leaders claim it could cause chaos. Oral arguments for the federal court case are scheduled to begin October 30.

(Springfield-jm) – New data out is raising concerns about the number of migrants getting arrested in the United States. Among those raising concerns are Illinois Senate Republicans including 51st District State Senator Chapin Rose of Mahomet...

51st District State Senator Chapin Rose of Mahomet.

(Penfield-jm) – Firefighters from multiple departments battled a house fire in Penfield Monday. It happened near Franklin and South Streets. No one was home at the time of the fire.

(Paxton–dm)-Jaxon Peacock, a Paxton Buckley Loda Junior High School Student, recently had to have a double lung transplant. On October 29th at the Paxton Buckley Loda Jr. High girls basketball game, there will be a Raffle for Baskets to help raise funds to help defray the cost of the surgery.  PBL Junior High School Guidance Counselor Stacey Johnson has information if you would like to donate...

Paxton Buckley Loda  Junior High Guidance Counselor Stacey Johnson

(Iroquois County-jm) – The Eastern Illinois Mutual Aid/MABAS 37 fire chiefs have enacted a burn ban for all of Iroquois County effective immediately. The extremely dry conditions coupled with high winds have created a possibility for large scale and possible deadly field fires. Please refrain from any form of burning until further notice. They also strongly encourage all farmers to have tools hooked to tractors immediately available in whatever field they are working.

(Washington-jm) – Most USDA crop progress categories for corn appear to be above average for this time of year, per the Agriculture Department's latest report. Rod Bain reports...

(Undated-jm) – Average gasoline prices in Illinois have fallen 7.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.40/g today, according to GasBuddy. Prices in Illinois are 13.1 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 26.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel is unchanged from a week ago and stands at $3.54 per gallon.

(CHAMPAIGN —dm)-In order to complete a pole installation near 301 E. University Avenue, AT&T will close one eastbound lane of University Avenue in Champaign between Third Street and Fourth Street.  The closure will occur on Thursday,, and will reopen on Friday,. During the closure, eastbound traffic will be reduced to one lane.

(Gibson CIty–jc) – Today's WPXN Business of the Day is the Gibson Area Hospital Foundation. They are the fundraising arm of the hospital. The group has a special event coming up in Paxton and Gibson City this month. It's "Glo Bingo."

Gibson Area Hospital Director of Employee and Community Events Bill Kirby says the foundation continues to be a big part of expansion projects at the hospital...

 Kirby says Glo Bingo is a fun way to raise funds...

Gibson Area Hospital Director of Employee and Community Events Bill Kirby. Glo Bingo tickets and tables are available for both the Cadillac in Paxton on October 25th and the Kruse Center in Gibson City on the 26th. Tickets are available on line or by contacting the hospital.  The Gibson Area Hospital Foundation is the WPXN Business of the Day, today

(Springfield-jm) – Governor JB Pritzker has proclaimed this week as Fire Prevention Week in Illinois. According to the National Fire Protection Association, working smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by more than half, 54% to be exact. Meanwhile, roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. Sadly in 2023 there were 89 residential fire deaths in Illinois with the majority of these deaths occurring in homes without working smoke alarms.

(Decatur-jm) – Following another leak at the Archer Daniels Midland carbon injection facility in Decatur some are looking for more protections for water supplies. In September, the U.S. EPA announced a proposed enforcement against ADM for alleged violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act after a fluid leak. At that time, state Senator Chapin Rose of Mahomet urged for his measure protecting aquifers from carbon dioxide injections be passed. The Protect the Mahomet Aquifer Coalition said another leak at ADM revealed weeks later shows the importance of bills to prohibit carbon sequestration activity around aquifers. The group is advocating for action from the statehouse after the November election with bills from state Representative Carol Ammons of Urbana, and state Senator Paul Farci of Champaign, "to prohibit carbon sequestration activity over, under, or through a sole-source aquifer" to be discussed during veto session.

(Undated-jm) – October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 53rd District State Senator Tom Bennett of Gibson City has some stats and these tips...

53rd District State Senator Tom Bennett of Gibson City.

(Urbana-jm) – The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois invites the community to Celebrate Food and Ag Day on Saturday before the Illinois vs. Purdue football game. Enjoy family-friendly activities that honor the vital contributions of the food and agriculture industry. The events will last from noon to 2 p.m. at Grange Grove.

(Champaign County-jm) – County Road 1400N will be closed between 600E (Barker Rd) and 700E (Rising Rd) Wednesday, October 9, and Thursday, October 10, for constructing the bridge approach pavement. No marked detour will be signed. Local landowners within the construction area will have access to their property but should drive with extreme caution while near the work zone.

(Paxton–jc)  A new scoreboard at Nelson Field in Paxton is expected very soon. Paxton Park District Director Jordan Chapman says the Johnson family made the donation for the scoreboard in honor of their father, Wendell Johnson...

Paxton Park District Director Jordan Chapman.

(Buckley-jm) – The Illinois Department of Transportation announced that, weather permitting, Interstate 57 at the Buckley interchange will be closed for four consecutive nights starting tonight. The closure is necessary to demolish the north half of the Iroquois County Highway 9 bridge over I-57. The closures will begin at 9 p.m. each night and end at 5 a.m. the following morning. Traffic will be detoured off and onto I-57 using the exit and entrance ramps at CH 9. CH 9 will be open to one lane in each direction on the south half of the bridge and traffic at the intersections will be controlled by flaggers.

(Washington-jm) – Leave dropping and harvest rates continue to grow week over week as this year's soybean crop reaches maturity. Rod Bain reports...

(Paxton-jm) – The Loda American Legion, received a check for $3808 from Paxton IGA for the Wreaths Across America project through the Round Up program. The Round Up program provides opportunities for customers to give back to the community and helps non-profits and charities earn money. Customers are asked if they'd like to "round up" their bill to the next dollar and donate the difference to the designated charity. The IGA also picks one week during the month-long drive to match all customer donations. The IGA Round Up promotion is for local "non-profits" or "community minded" organizations or projects that benefit larger parts of the whole community that don't have the greatest fundraising abilities. Since the inception of round up the total amount customers contributed, plus store match is $112,639