You can count the U.S. job market and economy among the things the Canadian wildfires affect.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
New Amtrak high speed rail between Chicago and St. Louis
The Chicago-St Louis run is now less than five hours… MORE
Weekly USDA crop report
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 6.8 days suitable for field work during the week ending June 25, 2023. Statewide, the average temperature was 75.5 degrees, 1.7 degrees above normal. Precipitation averaged 0.49 inches, 0.49 inches below normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 39 percent very short, 50 percent short, and 11 percent adequate. Subsoil…… MORE
Republican primary shaping up for southern Illinois congressional seat
Darren Bailey, the former state lawmaker whom Republicans nominated to run for governor last year, is now considering a run for Congress in 2024 – against five-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro).… MORE
Nevada’s senior U.S. Senator visiting Springfield in two months
It’s never too early to talk about the Illinois State Fair, and we now know who will keynote the Governor’s Day brunch on Wed., Aug. 16.… MORE
Illinois Department of Public Health urging caution against West Nile Virus
By Jake Fogal ILLINOIS – West Nile Virus has been confirmed in four Illinois counties as mosquito’s begin to buzz this summer season. Fifteen mosquito batches have tested positive for the virus in 2023, and the current counties that have detected West Nile are Cook, Morgan, St. Clair, and LaSalle. Angie Crawford with the McLean…… MORE
Illinois attorney general urges the public to be alert for scam texts and emails
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is urging the public to watch out for email and text message scams.… MORE
Emancipation Proclamation on display at presidential museum in Springfield
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – What better time than Juneteenth to begin a two-week showing of a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation? The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is the place to see it. The copy was a gift to the state in 1937 and is one of about two dozen surviving copies. Library and museum…… MORE
New state law lets law enforcement use drones as a public safety tool
Law enforcement in Illinois will now be able to use drones as a public safety tool.… MORE
IDNR reminds the public that live red swamp crayfish are invasive and illegal
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is warning the public about the invasive red swamp crayfish.… MORE
Blogs
Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all
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.” …
Is federal mobilization the answer?
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…
In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans
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…
Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life
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…