By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – It’s safety – not money or the pandemic – keeping the holiday lights off the Capitol dome in Springfield this season. Worker safety is paramount, but Henry Haupt, a spokesman for the Illinois secretary of state’s office, says there’s more: an engineering study determined the observation deck – atop the…… MORE
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 5.1 days suitable for field work during the week ending November 21, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 40.6 degrees, 1.3 degrees below normal. Precipitation averaged 0.26 inches, 0.41 inches below normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 11 percent short, 74 percent adequate, and 15 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Doctors and public health professionals battling what they call “misinformation” say the media is a problem in at least two ways. “We haven’t had a pandemic or a real big public health problem in quite a few years, and in that time technology snuck in on us,” said Gail O’Neill,…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – As you plan your Thanksgiving Day menu, plan on spending a little more than you did last year. The American Farm Bureau Federation says the national average for dinner for ten this year is $53.31, fourteen percent more than last year. The Illinois average is $58.15. “Probably one of the…… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – The statewide unemployment rate was down and jobs were up last month in Illinois. October’s jobless rate came in at 6 percent, down from the adjusted 6.2 percent recorded in September, and significantly lower than the over 8 percent unemployment rate at this time last year. State department of employment…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – The bane of many public school teachers and students – standardized testing – could be in for an overhaul, if Illinois State Board of Education superintendent Carmen Ayala gets her way. Her solution: more tests – shorter and more frequent. “A quick assessment result three times a year allows teachers…… MORE
By WJBC Staff SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that throughout the next few months, many larger downstate and central Illinois Driver Services facilities will require appointments for behind-the-wheel road tests, REALIDs, standard driver’s licenses and ID cards. According to a news release, vehicle services, such as renewing a license plate sticker…… MORE
Soon enough, we’ll be relearning the winter driving skills.… MORE
By Dave Dahl BLOOMINGTON – A local Republican is joining a handful of Democrats in the campaign to succeed Jesse White as Illinois secretary of state. It’s State Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington). If six-term incumbent White, who is retiring, ever did a good job, Brady says he is not now. Brady says lines at driver…… MORE
To State Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington), the Rivian plant in Normal is only the beginning. He wants the success of the electric vehicle plant repeated across the state.… 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…