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.

A local Congressman is applauding the decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior to continue to provide police escorts for Honor Flight visits to Washington D.C.

The National Park Service announced on Monday last week that it had reversed its decision to stop providing the escorts. On Friday, leadership from the U.S. Park Police and the National Mall and Memorial Parks group met with the Honor Flight Network to modify and create best practices to move forward.

13^th District Congressman Rodney Davis and other members of Congress urged the Department of Interior sent a letter to facilitate the return of Honor Flights by bringing back the police escorts for those trips.

Davis called the decision the “right thing to do” and that veterans deserve the ability to share the visits with other veterans and get to see the nation’s memorials as honor for their service. Davis says by restoring access to the escorts it ensures a safe and smooth visit for veterans to the nation’s capitol.

Land of Lincoln Honor Flights are scheduled to resume on June 14^th.

Two Bluffs municipal officials are retiring.

The Journal Courier reports that long-time treasurer Sharon Evans will be retiring. Evans has served as the village treasurer for the past 46 years.

Village Clerk Terry Kunkel is also retiring. Kunkel has been with the village for the past 9 years. According to the Journal Courier, Kunkel’s replacement has already been hired. Chrissy Willis has been hired to take over the position and will begin in two weeks.

A luncheon is being planned to celebrate both on June 1^st. The event will be open to the public.

The village board of trustees also appointed Kathy Brooks to an open village board position. The seat was vacated after the passing of trustee Rita Brockway in February.

An Adams County woman was sentenced to 2 consecutive 20 year sentences in the Illinois Department of Corrections Thursday afternoon in Adams Count Court.

33 year old Karen Blackledge pleaded guilty to one count of home invasion and one count of aggravated sexual assault, both Class X felonies on April 1^st.

The charges stem from a November 9^th incident in which Blackledge and 35 year old Bradley Yohn is alleged to have kidnapped 70 year old Christine “Tina” Schmitt under knife point, stabbed her, took her car, and then forced their way into Schmitt’s home along North Bottom Road. Scmitt later died on December 12^th.

Yohn remains lodged in Adams County Jail on $15 million bond awaiting a hearing on ineffectiveness of counsel and the possibility of representing himself on May 11^th.

Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones read victim impact statements from 3 of Schmitt’s grandchildren. Seven other family members made impact statements in the courtroom.

Muddy River News reports that Blackledge looked straight ahead for most of the hearing , shielding her face with her left hand as video and still cameras recorded her. She removed her glasses at one point and wiped tears from her face.

Adams County Public Defender Chris Pratt gave a statement of allocution for Blackledge explaining she would have a hard time speaking saying she had apologized for her actions and was ashamed.

Adams County Judge Amy Lannerd concurred with the negotiated plea agreement and sentenced Blackledge to 20 years in prison for the home invasion, followed by 20 years for the aggravated criminal sexual assault, with credit for 127 days served in custody.

Illinois’ Truth in Sentencing guidelines require that Blackledge serve 50% of the home invasion sentence and 85% of the aggravated criminal sexual assault sentence.

The Illinois State Police have released more information about a single-vehicle crash in Scott County that killed a toddler yesterday.

According to preliminary investigation reports, a 2022 Jeep Compass driven by 27 year old Makayla D. Brown of Winchester was traveling southbound on Sand Road just south of Bloomfield Road in rural Scott County at approximately 2:50 yesterday afternoon.

For an unknown reason, the Jeep left the roadway to the right and struck a tree. Brown and a 2 year old male passenger were both transported to Jacksonville Memorial Hospital with major injuries. The toddler later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by the Morgan County Coroner’s Office at approximately 4PM.

According to the release from ISP, Brown has pending citations from the crash for driving under the influence and improper lane usage.

The child’s name is still currently being withheld.

State Police say no further information will be released at this time.

The Greene County Health Department is seeking the public’s assistance for annual monitoring of West Nile Virus.

Health Department Director Molly Peters says that monitoring and surveillance begins on Sunday: “Every year we put out surveillance to monitor mosquitoes to see if there are positive cases of West Nile Virus in pools of mosquitoes. Those little vector bins are located throughout the community. We set those out and we’ll collect mosquitoes from May 15th to October 15th. We report any positive cases of West Nile Virus in those pools of mosquitoes to the community and the state. If there are positive pools, it’s more likely that West Nile Virus can exist in humans. It’s an awareness throughout the community, and as we get to drier temperatures and hot days, it would be more likely that we’ll see West Nile Virus occur.”

Traditionally, as Spring moves to Summer, it becomes primary breeding season of the Culex pipiens or common house mosquito, which is the primary transmitter of West Nile Virus.

Peters says where the help from the public comes in is through the collection of dead birds. Peters says people should contact the Health Department at 217-942-6961, extension 102 if they have a fresh dead bird on their property that died by itself, has not decomposed, and did not present an obvious cause of death (i.e. crush, shot, or killed by a car): “It’s important to contact the health department within 24 hours of finding the dead bird. Then, we will instruct you on what to do with that dead bird and we will come and collect it. If there is a need to pick it up, we do put it in the freezer and maintain it, and then it gets tested for West Nile Virus to see if it’s in birds as well.”

Appearance of West Nile Virus usually occur within species of “perching birds” in addition to crows, blue jays, robins, cardinals, catbirds, mockingbirds, sparrows, finches, flycatchers, swallows, warblers, wrens, small or medium sized hawks, and owls. The birds are then sent off to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana for testing.

Peters says to reduce any possibility to catch West Nile Virus that people should eliminate all ponding or pooling of stagnant water and weekly change out water collectors like bird baths, pet water bowls, and pools.