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.

Illinois College has announced that they are offering a unique scholarship opportunity for students who are pursuing the new Master of Science in Nursing program.

The scholarship will offer IC and MacMurray College graduates the opportunity to take their first course in the program free.

Illinois College announced the addition of the fully online master’s program earlier this month, expanding the College’s current nursing education offerings to meet the needs of a critical and continuously growing profession. IC offers two CCNE accredited undergraduate programs including a four-year nursing degree on campus and an online RN to BSN degree.

The first 30 students who are admitted and enroll in a course in one of this summer’s terms will receive a scholarship covering the cost of their first course, a $3,000 value. The scholarship is open to IC and MacMurray alumni, regardless of major. Students can enroll part- or full-time and complete the program in 12 to 18 months.

The program offers concentrations in Leadership/Administration and Education.

To learn more about the online Master of Science in Nursing program and how to apply, visit online.ic.edu.

A former Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court and current Justice is announcing her retirement.

Justice Rita B. Garman will retire from the Illinois Supreme Court effective July 7^th according to an open letter issued today to her court colleagues.

Garman, who maintains offices in Danville, has served as a judge at all levels of the state court system. She first joined the bench in 1974 as a circuit court judge in Vermillion County. She was the first woman to be named a judge in her circuit and one of eight women judges in the state at the time, according to her letter.

According to her website, she was first appointed to the appellate court in 1995 and won election to her seat in 1996. In 2001, she was appointed to fill the seat on the Supreme Court in 2001 before being elected to the high court in 2002. She is also the longest-serving judge in the state.

Garman represents the fourth judicial district on the court, which includes Sangamon County. The current fourth judicial district covers Central Illinois and stretches across the state from east to west.

Last summer, for the first time since district maps were introduced in the state in 1964, the General Assembly redrew new Supreme Court district maps. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed those maps into law last June.

The fourth district, which will have a vacancy following Garman’s departure, still includes Sangamon County, though it is now made up of West Central and Northwest Illinois.

National retailers are placing limits on baby formula.

A baby formula shortage has been steadily increasing after a recall was made on several brands and products at an Abbott Nutrition factory in Sturgis, Michigan in March. The recall came after at least 4 babies were hospitalized with bacterial infections and two died, according to the New York Times.

CVS, Walgreens, Target, Kroger, Wal-Mart, and Costco have all instituted purchasing limits while out-of-stock rates skyrocketed over the past month. It’s also caused the price of most formula to rise dramatically.

Formula maker Enfamil has urged consumers to check with local stores about their products in stock and dates of return to stock. They have also urged new families to check with their pediatrician for the availability of samples or promotions.

The FDA advises parents to not make a homemade remedy in place of certified and regulated formulas by the administration as it may cause health problems in newborns.

Arkansas Representative Tom Cotton posted on Twitter today calling the baby formula shortage a national crisis and has asked for transparency from the Biden Administration and the FDA.

The DuQuoin State Fair has announced its grandstand line up.

Cole Swindell will kick things off on the grandstand stage on Saturday, August 27th. Opening for Swindell is singer/songwriter Ashley Cooke and fellow Georgia Southern alum Dylan Marlowe.

The I Love the 90s Tour featuring Montell Jordan, Tone Loc, Young MC and Rob Base will headline the grandstand Sunday, August 28^th.

Monday, August 29^th will feature country singer/songwriter Randy Houser. Opening for Houser will be Murphy 500.

Current Billboard Award nominee and country artist Jordan Davis takes the stage Tuesday, August 30^th.

Country artist Chase Rice will perform on the grandstand stage on Wednesday, August 31st. Largest selling comedy-recording artist, Grammy Award nominee and bestselling author Jeff Foxworthy brings the laughter to the grandstand stage on Friday, September 2^nd.

Tickets will go on sale for the six acts on May 19^th at 10AM at the DuQuoin Grandstand Box Office, and through Ticketmaster at Noon.

DuQuoin Fair managers says one more grandstand act will be announced in the coming weeks.