A popular rite of Spring returns this year in South Jacksonville.

Lori Hanson of the Prairieland Heritage Museum says the consignment auction is returning Saturday, March 12^th: “Gates open at 7AM. The auction starts at 9AM, and it will go until the last item is sold or we run out of daylight. The Boy Scouts will be out there serving food starting at 7AM, and they’ll go until the run out of food.”

Hanson says item drop off for the auction begins on Friday, March 4th from 8AM-6PM. People dropping off items are instructed to notify the ladies in the main office. People dropping off items or wanting an auction number should contact Rosemary Wertz at the office at 217-452-3249. For additional questions or about item placement, contact the Auction Coordinator Norman Wertz at 217-248-1038, auctioneer Brian Curless at 217-242-1665, Roger Strang at 217-370-2530, Larry Derricks at 217-370-7007, or Gary Hollock at 217-473-8223.

Hanson says the consignment auction is the museum’s largest fundraiser of the year and that the profit it brings in varies from year to year based on the number of items and the amount of bids. For more information about the museum or the auction, visit prairelandheritage.com or follow them on Facebook.

The Jacksonville Fire Department had a busy Sunday, fighting two garage fires hours apart.

Dispatch was called just before 10AM to 266 Marnico Lane of a structure on fire. According to fire department reports, personnel could see heavy black smoke from the location prior to arrival. Upon arrival, firefighters could see that fire had engulfed a garage and made its way into a residence.

An off-duty firefighter had alerted residents to get out of the home. A resident who was inside the home at the time the fire started said they had felt heat in their bedroom and witnessed the garage on fire and called 9-1-1.

Upon investigation, the fire was undetermined in origin. The residents of the home said they had a heater lamp plugged in between the house and garage for a makeshift greenhouse and/or chicken coop. No injuries were reported. Damages were reported to be approximately $50,000. The scene was cleared shortly before noon.

The Chapin Volunteer Fire Department assisted the Jacksonville Fire Department with fire suppression efforts.

Emergency dispatch received a second garage fire call at 2:28PM for a garage fire at 1153 West Lafayette Avenue. The caller told dispatch they had been working on a carburetor on a Jeep and it caught on fire, igniting a single-car garage.

According to the Journal Courier, neighbors said they heard a loud explosion and then saw flames and smoke.

The heavy flame spread into the East to a 2-car garage attached by roof overhangs. The east garage had another Jeep that was on fire along with a Chevy Impala in the far east end of the second garage. The fire was also spreading into a neighboring 1-car garage to the West.

The 2-story home to the west also received significant heat damage to the vinyl siding, but it never was able to spread into the structure, according to reports.

Damage was estimated to be approximately $55,000. Suppression efforts by Jacksonville Police and South Jacksonville Fire Departments lasted until around 3:40PM yesterday. No injuries were reported.

The Illinois State Police are preparing for possible disruptions to the state’s interstates this week due to a possible convoy protest.

Illinois State Police officials say they have become aware of a planned event along several interstate corridors scheduled to begin this weekend and run through next Saturday where truck drivers are allegedly planning to conduct a “Convoy” causing traffic delays.

Illinois State Police Division of Patrol Colonel Margaret McGreal said in a press release Saturday afternoon that the Illinois State Police respects the rights of citizens to express their opinions in a lawful manner, but her office has great concern with any event meant to impede the normal flow of traffic.

She says a planned event to impede traffic is a top cause of motor vehicle crashes that can result in property damage or injuries. She says anyone who chooses to participate in such events that intentionally endanger the public will be subject to the enforcement of applicable laws and could potentially be held liable for traffic crashes as a result of their actions.

The U.S. convoy is the counterpart to Canada’s “Freedom Convoy.”

“The People’s Convoy” is set to bring attention to COVID-19 mandates and restrictions. The group is slated to roll through Illinois tomorrow, stopping in Indianapolis, Indiana tomorrow night.

The group has raised over $1.5 million and there is no word of how long the alleged convoy will be as it makes its way across the state this week.

Jacksonville Memorial Hospital has completed its community needs assessment and has identified three priorities for outreach and education for the next two years.

The nonprofit hospital has developed an implementation plan to address mental health, obesity, and cancer over its next two fiscal years.

Mental health was also singled out as a system-wide priority for all five hospitals in the Memorial Health system.

To complete the needs assessment, Jacksonville Memorial Hospital collaborated with the Morgan County Health Department and other health and social service providers that represent vulnerable members of the community.

Completing a community health needs assessment is required of nonprofit hospitals every three years as part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

To view Jacksonville Memorial Hospital’s community health needs assessment, visit memorial.health/CHNA.

The Morgan County Fair announced their 2022 Grandstand line up in a special kickoff event on Saturday.

Country musician Cody Johnson is returning to headline the Saturday night of the fair after his concert was canceled last year due Johnson contracting a lingering, severe sinus infection. Opening act for Johnson will be fellow country singer-songwriter Drew Parker.

The Friday night headliner will be Walker Hayes. Hayes will have viral TikTok sensation Cooper Alan as the opening act. Tickets will be available starting March 18th through the Morgan County Fair website. The fair will run July 6-11, with the concerts being held on Friday, July 8th and Saturday, July 9th.

The Morgan County Fair will also be hosting “Homegrown: Farm-to-Table Entertainment” this Saturday, March 5th starting at 6PM at the 4-H Building. Proceeds of this dinner are to benefit youth programs, scholarships, and events of the Morgan County Fair.

The Illinois Senate passed a bill Wednesday to support the families of slain DCFS workers.

48th District State Senator Doris Turner of Springfield is sponsoring the measure, which treats the death of a Department of Children and Family Services case worker similar to the death of a law enforcement officer. Under current law, when a police officer is killed, their spouse and minor children are eligible to receive health insurance benefits.

Turner says that DCFS workers killed in the line of duty should also receive that benefit: “This bill will extend the Public Safety and Police Benefits Act to include DCFS workers, providing benefits to the survivors of social workers killed in the line of duty.”

The measure was inspired by last month’s stabbing death of Deidre Silas, a DCFS case worker responding to a child endangerment call in Thayer. Silas was a young mother of two at the time of her death. The measure was influenced by the death of Pamela Knight, who was beaten in Sterling while attempting to take a toddler into protective custody. Knight later died from her injuries in 2018.

Illinois lawmakers are also looking to pass a bill that would increase penalties for those who commit crimes against Illinois Department of Childhood and Family Services employees while serving in the line of duty.

Illinois Senate Republicans are offering legislation to empower the parents of school children.

One of the bills adds 5 new positions to the Illinois State Board of Education to be chosen directly by voters as opposed to being appointed by the governor. Another proposal requires districts to post all school district learning materials and curriculum that is taught in a district online for the public and parents to inspect.

47th District State Senator Jil Tracy of Quincy says another bill makes the “Invest in Kids” Scholarship program permanent to help low-income families pay for private school: “Extending the program will provide a real choice to students and their families whose future might be otherwise limited by educational resources that are not meeting their needs for whatever reasons.”

Senate Republicans say the proposals will add more transparency, equity, and accountability to the state’s education system.

Illinois Senate Democrats hosted a press conference yesterday introducing legislation aimed at helping the state’s ongoing teacher shortage crisis.

According to the Illinois State Board of Education, there are more than 4,000 unfilled positions in schools. In an attempt to address the vacancies and increase the substitute teacher pool, State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel of Shorewood introduced a plan – Senate Bill 3915 – that would waive the application fee for short-term substitute teaching licensees when the governor has declared a disaster due to a public health emergency.

Additionally, State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas of Chicago introduced legislation – Senate Bill 3988 – to lower the age requirement for teacher assistants from 19 to 18 for those who work in Pre-K to 8th grade classrooms.

48^th District State Senator Doris Turner of Springfield says she looks forward to these common sense reforms passing to address the teacher shortage: “I am hopeful that we can continue to work together on a common sense solution that ensures that children of Illinois retain their access to a high-quality education. Our educational system is incredibly resilient, and we see that each and every day. [My] bill will help give schools extra flexibility when managing teachers’ absences.”

Turner’s bill will allow substitute teachers to stay longer in lieu of a full-time teacher’s absence: “Senate Bill 3907 will extend the amount of days that a short-term sub can teach a class from 5 to 15 school days. This measure will buy schools an extra two weeks of time so that they can find a better long-term solution to their staffing issues.”

These bills are currently before the Senate Education committee hoping to draw votes on the floor before the close of Spring Session.

A local State Senator’s bill to allow DCFS Case Workers to carry pepper spray passed today.

State Senator Steve McClure drafted the bill after the slaying of DCFS worker Deidre Silas in Thayer last month while she was investigating a child endangerment call.

McClure says a bill like his may save a case worker’s life in the line of duty in the future: “I don’t know that this would have saved Deidre’s life, but it could have saved her life. I suspect if this passes that this will at some point save someone’s life. It allows for DCFS investigators only to have the option to carry mace if they pass a training that is put on by the Illinois State Police on how to use mace, when it is appropriate to use it, etc.”

McClure says DCFS investigators currently aren’t allowed to carry mace or pepper spray in the line of duty under state law. Another DCFS investigator, Pamela Knight, was brutally attacked while trying to take a child into protective custody. She died from her injuries in 2018. McClure has said he hopes that mace and pepper spray will act as a deterrent or even a life-saving measure for other investigators in the future to prevent tragedies like these two cases from happening again.

McClure’s bill now moves to the Illinois House for a vote.

Homeowners hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic will soon be able to apply for housing relief.

Illinois Housing Development Director Kristin Faust says applications will start in April for a program offering help: “This is for distressed homeowners due to Covid that are behind on at least one mortgage payment, and they can get up to $30,000. It will match the amount they are behind if they are eligible. This home ownership assistance is different because you can just come to IHDA directly. You have to take some steps ahead of time before you are going to be able to come to us.”

Those steps include either talking to your mortgage servicer or a HUD counselor. Homeowners can start the process by visiting illinoishousinghelp.org.