U.S. Senate Democrats have started up a largely symbolic fight on a bill to codify abortion rights into federal law today.

In the wake of a leaked Supreme Court draft decision to possibly overturn Roe v. Wade, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to call a bill codify abortion rights along with certain privacy rights to the floor of the Senate today in spite of not having enough votes to pass it. The bill is likely not going to withstand the 60-vote threshold for a filibuster.

Both Illinois Senators spoke last night on the Senate Floor on the need to protect women’s reproductive rights in the country. Junior Senator Tammy Duckworth said that the Roe v. Wade decision gave her a chance to be a mother through in-vitro fertilization. Duckworth said abortion opponents want to undermine access to contraception and that bills have been introduced in some states to criminalize in-vitro fertilization. Duckworth also spoke about an Oklahoma woman who was criminally charged for having a miscarriage.

Senior Illinois Senator Dick Durbin says that overturning Roe v. Wade goes beyond just the right for a woman to have an abortion: “Justice [Samuel] Alito’s draft opinion in the Dobbs’ case questions the very existence of the right to privacy. It argues that unenumerated rights not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution must be deeply rooted in U.S. history and tradition in order to be recognized as a Constitutional right. Who decides what is deeply rooted in history and tradition? The court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision established marriage equality only 7 years ago. Will the court’s reactionary majority put that next on the chopping block? What about the right to contraception established by Griswold vs. Connecticut 11 years before Roe? A Republican member of this body recently criticized that decision establishing the privacy right of every individual to choose the methods of contraception right for their family – he described this as ‘constitutionally unsound.’ Rather than settling the debate on abortion, the draft Dobbs opinion would further divide our fractured nation.”

Schumer said early Tuesday that he wanted to have every lawmaker go on record with their vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act.

Some pundits argue this is a way for Democrats to show progressive core supporters that they are trying to protect women’s rights in Washington D.C. and get a dig in on Republicans ahead of the upcoming mid-term elections in November.

Illinois College is bringing back an annual tradition to celebrate its graduating seniors and alumni this Saturday after a two-year hiatus.

The Osage Orange Festival returns on Saturday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Hall parking lot, located on the corner of Edgehill Road and Park Street. This community event is open to the public and admission is free for all to attend.

Entertainment is available for all ages.

Vice President of External Relations Stephanie Chipman says its a tradition that started on the campus more than a century ago: “It’s such a cool story. It started 140 years ago when the president of the college at the time knew that the hedges that surrounded campus needed to be trimmed. The president, the faculty, and the students all took a day and trimmed the hedges and had a big picnic. Quite frankly, everybody had such a so much fun that they decided to do it every year. For the last 140 years, the Osage Orange Festival has been such a huge part of the Illinois College tradition, and we love inviting alumni and the community to join us in that celebration.”

Chipman says that food trucks from Leo’s on Wheels, Foodie Machine, and Los Rancheros will be available to provide food and drinks for purchase. Face painting, inflatables, games, and the band Exit 52 will be providing entertainment throughout the evening.

Osage Orange Festival and Senior Celebration attendees are invited to RSVP online to help with planning but all are welcome to attend. You can RSVP at this website.

The event is a part of a weekend of events leading up to Illinois College’s 188^th Commencement on Sunday.

A Sacramento, California man was sentenced last week in the U.S. District Court of Central Illinois for his role in a drug operation that worked in Pike & Adams County.

28 year old Tommy V. Tran was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine and for using a communication facility to commit a drug felony.

Judge Sue Myerscough determined Tran, along with five co-defendants, between August 1, 2018 and February 11, 2019 participated in the operation. Specifically, Tran was responsible for over 1,400 grams of methamphetamine and over 2,500 grams of marijuana. The drugs were shipped from California to Missouri and eventually to Adams and Pike Counties in Illinois. Tran was also convicted of using a telephone, to facilitate the conspiracy to aid in the operation.

Myerscough further found that Tran had acted as a supervisor, organizer, or leader in the criminal activity as he had recruited individuals to send the drugs via the United States Postal Service and commercial carriers and to pay for the drugs via electronic banking transactions. The Court also concluded Tran possessed numerous dangerous weapons.

Previously, co-defendant Shawn Davis was sentenced by Judge Myerscough to 144 months’ imprisonment. Cases against other co-defendants remain pending. Tran was indicted in March 2019 and pleaded guilty in November 2021. He has remained in the custody of the United States Marshals since being arrested in California in February 2019.

The West Central Illinois Task Force; Quincy Police Department; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office; and Drug Enforcement Agency, St. Louis Division, investigated the case.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Office made 3 major arrests over the past week.

On Wednesday, May 4^th at 6:03 P.M., the Pike County Sheriff’s Department conducted a traffic stop on Illinois Route 106, west of U.S. 54 on a black Toyota Corolla.

Subsequent to an investigation, police arrested the driver, 22 year old Jessica R. Jackson of Indianapolis, Indiana for unlawful possession of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of hypodermic syringes.

She was booked into the Pike County Jail, later posted bond and was released.

On April 4^th, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department initiated a failure to register as a sex offender investigation in Barry.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department went to the sex offender’s registered address and discovered the sex offender no longer resided there. The Sheriff’s Department then was granted a warrant for the arrest of 23 year old Devon L. Wagner.

On Saturday, May 7^th the Pike County Sheriff’s Department located Wagner in the 200 block of Pleasant Vale Street in New Canton. Wagner was taken into custody without incident.

Wagner also had a second Pike County warrant for failure to appear on charges of burglary, felony theft, unlawful possession of methamphetamine, and obstructing justice.

Wagner remains lodged in the Pike County Jail.

On Monday, May 9^th, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department conducted a traffic stop on County Highway #14.

Subsequent to an investigation, a passenger in the unnamed vehicle, 44 year old William J. Higgins of Griggsville was arrested for warrants in Pike & Adams counties.

Law enforcement officials from the Pike County Sheriff’s Department then executed a court-authorized search warrant at Higgins’s residence located in the 100 block of South Bickford Street in Griggsville. Subsequent to the execution of the warrant, methamphetamine and hypodermic syringes were located.

Higgins remains lodged at the Pike County Jail.

Former 15^th District Congressman Tim Johnson has died. He was 75.

The Champaign News-Gazette reports that Johnson passed away Monday night at his Urbana home among family and friends.

Johnson served in Congress from 2001 to 2013, winning 6 terms as a Republican.

Johnson began his career in public service as an Urbana City Council member in 1971. n 1976, Johnson was elected to serve as a State Representative after besting five other Republican candidates in the 1976 Republican primary.

Johnson won election to Congress in 2000, and was known for cold calling nearly every constituent home in his district during his 6 terms in office. On April 5, 2012 Johnson announced he wouldn’t seek re-election and would retire.

Republican Party chairmen from the 14 counties in the new 13^th Congressional District selected Rodney Davis as his replacement. Davis has served in the 13^th District ever since.

Known as a moderate, Johnson never lost an election despite his voting record sometimes angering the far right wings of the Republican Party. According to the News-Gazette, he most recently won being elected to the board of Parkland College in 2014.

Funeral arrangements for Johnson are pending.

A Jacksonville business owner has departed from the Jacksonville Memorial Hospital Board of Directors after three months.

Saif Mouilish departed the Board of Directors in March, according to a statement issued by Memorial Health Administration. Further comment beyond Mouilish’s time of service was not given.

Mouilish was appointed to the Board of Directors in late January.

Mouilish operates SafeCo group in Jacksonville.

The Illinois Supreme Court has named a replacement for retiring Justice Rita B. Garman.

Brenden Moore of the Decatur Herald-Review says that District 4 Appellate Court Justice Lisa Holder White of Decatur will be appointed to fill the remainder of Garman’s term.

Holder White will become the first Black woman to serve on the Illinois State Supreme Court.

Holder White started her career as a Macon County Assistant State’s Attorney. She became associate judge in the Sixth Circuit in 2001, a circuit judge in 2008, and was appointed to the Fourth District Appellate Court in 2013.

She became the first Black woman named to the Fourth District Appellate Court. Holder White was named to the vacancy created by the death of Judge John McCullough in November 2012. The Fourth District Appellate Court is made up of 30 counties, including Cass, Greene, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Mason, Menard, Morgan, and Sangamon.

Holder White is scheduled to be sworn in on July 8th and will serve until December 2024.

The Action Brown County Business Start Up competition will come to its conclusion tomorrow evening.

The competition has been centered around a “Shark Tank” style of competition where people had to come to a committee with a business idea that they wanted to bring to Brown County. Over the course of the last several weeks, the number of competitors hoping to get $20,000 seed money to start their business have been trimmed down.

Mt. Sterling City Manager and committee member Vada Yingling said last week that the competition has really taken shape over the past few weeks leading up to the public pitch. Yingling says that the competition initially had 17 people apply, which was then trimmed down to 8 after people dropped out or they failed to qualify for not being able to get to 1 of 3 workshops that dealt with business management, promotion, and parameters for the competition.

As of yesterday Action Brown County’s Facebook page says that the number of potential businesses have now dwindled down to 5.

The remaining pitches are: Two Wheels Trading Company – a bicycle service & repair shop; The Green Flamingo Grill – a burger and beer style restaurant; The Lions Realm – a comic book store and collectible shop that will host table top gaming; Loehr’s Locker – a local meat & locker service that will have a breakfast and lunch counter; and Ice Candy – a mobile Hawaiian shaved ice stand.

The public is urged to cast their vote for their favorite business pitch ahead of the public pitch event on Action Brown County’s website or Facebook page.

The public pitch event will be held tomorrow at 6PM at the Brown County High School Auditorium in Mt. Sterling. Audience members at the pitch event will be eligible for door prizes throughout the evening.

The Illinois State Police announced on Friday that FOID Card processing is now down to less than 30 days.

ISP officials say that the fourth FOID Kiosk was recently opened in the Metro East at District 11 headquarters in Collinsville. The kiosks help residents apply for and update their FOID and Conceal Carry License if they don’t have a reliable Internet connection at home, need assistance filling out FOID paper work, or are not technologically savvy.

Kiosks are open 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Central Illinois’ kiosk is located at ISP Central Headquarters on South 7^th Street in Springfield.

Since the kiosks opened last summer, ISP officials say more than 10,000 residents have used them for help with everything from creating a web user account to completing, submitting, and paying for a FOID or CCL application.

For more information, email ISP.askFOIDandCCL@illinois.gov.