By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – “Sustainable farming” is catching on in Illinois. The Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District has developed a scoring system to help farmers evaluate how conservation-minded their practices are. The program, now used in 43 (and counting) Illinois counties, is S.T.A.R. – Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources. “The farmer can complete a…… MORE
The union representing teachers in Blue Ridge Community Unit District 18 is taking initial steps toward calling a strike.… MORE
Two downtown buildings are a total loss from Saturday’s fire, but it could have been much worse, Pontiac’s fire chief said on Sunday.… MORE
By the time he returned with a fire extinguisher, it was already too late.
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A Democrat has emerged to challenge for the Illinois House seat held by nine-term Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington).… MORE
It’s not just a child’s home life that can lead to chronic absenteeism. Student attendance generally is higher if the school conditions are better, according to a new report on chronic absenteeism. … MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – The point person on Illinois’ recent trade visit to Japan says everybody’s in for international trade. How much of this is about downstate? “A great deal,” said Anne Caprara, Gov. JB Pritzker’s chief of staff, leading the trip while Pritzker recovers from a broken leg. “We have several companies from…… MORE
A portrait of Illinois children shows we have not come very far racially.… MORE
Respiratory illnesses all over the country have been linked to vaping. The McLean County Health Department has organized a group that will act as resource for vaping intervention.
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Illinois State University has honored an alumna after a $12 million gift to the school.… MORE
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…