Champaign County is moving three of its primary election polling places out of long-term care facilities to other locations, out of concern about the coronavirus. Angie Patton, chief deputy with the Champaign County Clerk’s office, says her office made the decision after conferring with officials at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. But she emphasized that…
CHAMPAIGN – As early voting continues for the March 17 Illinois Primary, Champaign County is opening seven additional early voting locations on Monday, March 8, in Champaign, Rantoul, Tolono, Mahomet and St. Joseph. Two other early voting locations opened a week earlier on the University of Illinois campus. Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons says he…
URBANA – As the Champaign County Board considers closing the older of its two county jails, progressive Democrats running for board seats argue for making any new jail facility a smaller one. It’s generally agreed that the Champaign County Jail in downtown Urbana is dangerously run down. County Board Chairman Giraldo Rosales, a Champaign Democrat…
The Champaign County Board Facilities Committee reviewed the latest version of a jail consolidation plan Wednesday night. The revised proposal from the Champaign architectural firm Reifsteck Reid & Co. made a few changes from the version viewed by county board members last fall. It would reduce total inmate capacity by about 20 beds and…
Last weekend, lawmakers elected Don Harmon to be president of the Illinois Senate. It’s been described as a bitter fight, but it has nothing on some of…
Television stations around the country are moving to different broadcast frequencies including multiple stations throughout Illinois. An important note: even though stations are changing how they send out broadcasts, the channels viewers use to reach them on their TVs will still be the same. For example, WCIA-TV, the CBS affiliate based in Champaign will remain…
The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for parts of Central Illinois. One round of snow fell Sunday night closing many schools on Monday morning. And another round came through the area on Monday evening. The warning expires Tuesday at 12:00 a.m. SCHOOLS CLOSED on TUESDAY CHAMPAIGN COUNTY COLES COUNTY Charleston…
The National Weather Service in Lincoln issued a Winter Storm Warning and Winter Weather Advisory for many counties in Central Illinois. Several inches of snow fell Sunday night forcing many schools to close or delay opening on Monday morning. Another round is in the forecast for Monday night. SCHOOL DELAYS/SERVICE ISSUES Champaign Unit 4 School…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has paid out a record $4.24 billion in claims for acres farmers couldn’t plant this year. The “prevented planting”…
While local 4-H groups are known for summer programming, educator Julie Kreikemeier works with hundreds of students year-round across Colfax and Cuming…
It’s a difficult year for many farmers in the United States. A wet spring flooded crops and delayed planting across the Midwest, while trade conflicts…
Reporting any story means having to learn more about myself, what I care about and what I want to do next. For example, I once talked with John Gruidl of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs. He said a lot of younger folks now choose a place to live before they choose a job, and…
Every summer, thousands of Midwestern kids as young as 13 load onto school buses early in the morning to do one of the hottest, dirtiest temporary jobs…
There’s millions of dollars to be made from growing hemp, which for years was lumped in and vilified with its sister plant, marijuana. With the…
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is cosponsoring legislation that would rollback one of the provisions of the 1994 crime bill. It’s called the Restoring…