(Springfield-jm) – Almost $6 million in mental health funding for Illinois that was cut by the Trump administration earlier this week was reversed. The cuts were set to take place effective immediately. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration canceled over 2,000 grants totaling roughly $2 billion in funding nationwide on Tuesday. Grants that were set to be affected included Strategic Prevention Framework – Partnerships for Success for States, Illinois Prevent Prescription Drug/Opioid Overdose-Related Deaths, Garret Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention and Intervention Grant, Project AWARE and REACH Out. The reason behind the reversal is unclear.
(The Center Square) – An Illinois legislator is raising concerns about state taxpayer funds going to an organization he says is actively working to impede federal law enforcement. Public records through the Illinois Comptroller’s website show Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, or the United Workers Center, received more than $3.6 million from the state of Illinois since 2015, most of that coming since 2023.
Illinois State Representative. Adam Niemerg, Republican from Dieterich, has a problem with the funding.
102nd District State Representative. Adam Niemerg Republican from Dieterich
(Iroquois County-jm) – The Iroquois County Board has a new Vice-Chairman. Jamie Bakken steps into the position, voted in to succeed the late-Scott Watts who passed away in December. Bakken is in her first term on the Board and has served as Chairman of the Management committee. She’s also a member of the Tri-County Rural Transportation committee, working on finding a solution to the ceased-CRIS Rural Mass Transit District operation. Jamie also follows in the footsteps of her grandmother, Harriet Mowrey, who also served the County Board, as a 2008 Vice-Chairman and on the Management committee.
(Gordyville–-dm)-The 2026 Midwest Ag Expo takes place this coming Wednesday and Thursday January 21st and 22nd at Gordyville. Director of Farm Shows Jami Applegate says the number of exhibitors has grown.
Director of Farm Shows Jami Applegate
(Rankin-jm) - A Rankin woman is facing drug charges in Livingston County. Tierra Kelly was arrested by the Vermilion County Metropolitan Enforcement Group and Livingston County Pro-Active Unit on charges of delivery and manufacturing meth. According to the Livingston County Sheriff’s office 112 ggrams of meth were seized by deputies linked to Kelly.
(Illinois–jc)-Illinois Election advocates have some concerns about Illinois’s mail-in ballot program. WPXN’s Joel Cluver has the story.
(Illinois–dm)-The Illinois Department on Aging has released a plan to address the needs of older adults and caregivers. “EngAging Illinois: A Comprehensive Plan for Living Well” was established by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order in 2024 and involved 15 state agencies and a 25-member advisory council. State officials say Illinois' over-65 population is projected to grow 40% by 2035.
(Paxton–jc) The State of Illinois County Fair Convention is this weekend in Springfield. One of the events is the state fair queen pageant at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Springfield. Current Ford County Fair Queen Charley Ulrich says she will be busy with an interview today and the pageant tomorrow…
Current Ford County Fair Queen Charley Ulrich of Paxton
(Undated-jm) – Verizon is offering to reimburse customers who were affected by the nationwide outage Wednesday. The New York-based carrier didn't specify what caused Wednesday's disruptions, but confirmed that the outage was resolved by 9:20 p.m. Verizon previously said it had deployed its engineering teams to address “an issue impacting wireless voice and data services.” The outage lasted more than ten hours. Verizon announced it will give customers a $20 account credit that can be redeemed by logging into the myVerizon app to accept.
(Springfield–jc) More reaction into the WPXN news room concerning the new Illinois Energy law signed by Illinois Governor J B Pritzker last week. 53rd District State Senator Chris Balkema, Republican from Channahon says there are concerns about additional charges for homeowners and businesses…
53rd District State Senator Chris Balkema, Republican from Channahon
(Champaign-jm) – Parkland College will be hosting a countywide celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this month. Sunday, January 18, the celebration will start at 5 pm at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana. Illinois State Representative Carol Ammons will serve as keynote speaker. Three community members will be honored with awards in recognition of their work to uphold the principles and ideals of Dr. King. The award recipients include:
• Dr. Jeffery Trask – James R. Burgess, Jr./Susan Freiburg Humanitarian Award
• Dr. Stephanie Cockrell – Doris Hoskins Prestigious Community Service Award
• Martel Miller – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Outstanding Achievement Award
Doors open at 4 pm and the community choir begins 4:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
(Paxton–jc) – The city of Paxton will see a street project move forward starting later this year. Paxton leaders have secured a 1 point 2 million dollar grant for the North Market Street road improvement project. Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold says the city is working with the Clark Dietz Engineering firm from Champaign…
Paxton Mayor Bill Ingold
(Gibson City–jc) Gibson City leaders continue to look to renovate the bathrooms at the North Park Pavilion area in the city. Council members heard from Dean Kidd from the Gibson City Theatre group this month about closures of the bathrooms during events at North Park. Gibson City leaders have been in contact with city engineers and are working out a solution for the North Park bathrooms
(Rantoul–dm)-The Rantoul Recreation Center is having signups for their co-recreational volleyball season. Recreation Specialist for the Village of Rantoul Phoenix LaComb has information to get your team signed up.
Recreation Specialist for the Village of Rantoul Phoenix LaComb. Spring Youth Soccer Leagues sign-ups are going on now thru March 3rd.
(Undated–jc) It’s time to choose an Illinois County Fair State Queen. The county fair association convention is this weekend in Springfield. WPXN’s Joel Cluver has more on area participants in the state queen pageant…
(Champaign–dm)-CHICAGO — After freezing resident undergraduate tuition rates in seven of the previous 11 years, the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois today approved a 2% tuition increase for Illinois resident undergraduate students admitted to the fall 2026 academic year. The system universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield also adjusted tuition rates for nonresident undergraduate students, as well as graduate, professional and online programs. At Urbana-Champaign, nonresident and international undergraduate tuition will increase between 7% and 14.5%. At Chicago, most nonresident and international students will see increases of 2% to 3.3%. At Springfield, nonresident tuition will rise 2%.
WPXN News notes…
The Onarga American Legion will hold their fish fry today from 4:30-7 at the Legion Hall at Durham Park. The menu includes fish, fries, baked beans, coleslaw and green beans for $12.
The Cadillac in Paxton will host Ridgeland on Friday, January 16th. The show begins at 8pm. They will also host the 1985-Totally 80’s Mixtape Live on Saturday, January 17th. Doors open at 7 with the show starting at 8.
The Tri-Point FFA will hold their alumni auction on Saturday, January 24th in the high school gym. The silent auction and lunch will begin at 11:30 am with the live auction beginning at 1pm.
The Ford County Republicans will host a meet and greet for voters on Saturday, January 24th from 1-3 pm at Pueblo Lindo in Paxton. The event is free to attend.
