The Greene County Health Department announced yesterday that it had received additional funding this fiscal year.

In a press release yesterday, the Greene County Health Department announced its receiving an additional $170,000 this year to expand its service due to receiving competitive grants. Greene County Health Department Administrator Molly Peters says the additional funding came from three separate entities: “One of those is an opioid awareness grant, which is focused on identifying some surveillance and data information about what locations are really experiencing high needs and are concerned troubled areas within the county so we can better prepare and provide prevention efforts to that area. The other one is a NACCHO grant, which is the National Association of County and City Health Officials, and this grant is specifically about vaccination awareness. It includes standard vaccines and helping people understand the need for vaccines and why we have been providing them for decades. We want to encourage folks to continue to get vaccinated for various things, as well.

Peters says the increased funding will help to provide two additional services from the health department: “Family planning clinics and an STD clinic is going to be opened as walk-in clinics Mondays and Thursdays from 1-3PM. These services are going to be walk-in. Individuals that would like to see a nurse practitioner, which is that person is only here one day a week…so if they are wanting to see them, they would likely schedule an appointment. In general, though, walk-in clinics would be available for family planning and we are going to attempt to broaden that scope. We know that these services are definitely needed and it’s something that the community is looking for.”

For more information about the department’s childhood immunization program, visit greenecountyhd.org.

COVID-19 vaccinations are still available every Wednesday at the North Greene office, located at 205 S. Morse Street in Roodhouse, and every Friday at the Carrollton office, located at 310 Fifth Street.

Hours for some clinics may vary. Visit the Greene County Health Department’s website or Facebook Page for more details.

A Southern Illinois attorney that has made a name for taking on Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Covid mitigations and the school mask mandate has informally announced he’s seeking a higher office.

Thomas DeVore appears poised to seek the Republican nomination for the Illinois Attorney General’s office. According to the Cook County Record, DeVore has begun distributing petitions to supporters to place his name on the ballot in June.

DeVore made the announcement in a live-stream video Monday night on his Facebook Page. DeVore said he decided to opt for the higher office after hearing stories from young children around the state after he secured a temporary restraining order against the governor’s school mask mandate earlier this month.

DeVore had initially signed on to run in the Republican primary for a spot on the 5^th Appellate Court but says the stories compelled him to aim higher to protect the people of Illinois: “I said to myself ‘I can’t sit by and do nothing,’ and these children have convinced me of that. So I’m like, ‘What can I do?’ And I made the decision that there is only one way that I can help, and that’s making myself available to the people of this state as Attorney General. I don’t know if I’m the right guy for the job. Only you guys know if I’m the right guy for the job, but I do know that we have to have somebody in that position that is going to stand up for the people. When you have a choice as an attorney, as any attorney, let alone the Attorney General of this state…when you have a choice between defending someone against the people – you always choose the people!”

DeVore said prior to his announcement that he was mostly apolitical, but that his views align with Republicans. He said he only chose to get involved in politics to help people and as a means to help people.

In announcing his candidacy for Attorney General, DeVore will oppose attorney Steve Kim, a Rockford lawyer and former candidate for Illinois Lieutenant Governor, in the Republican primary in June.

Kim is believed to have been selected for the race as part of a slate of statewide candidates, along with gubernatorial candidate Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who is financially backed by billionaire Ken Griffin, in the race against unseating Pritzker.

It is not known if DeVore would also be part of a rival slate of Republican candidates, led by State Senator Darren Bailey of Xenia, and potentially backed by billionaire Richard “Dick” Uihlein, who recently donated $1 million to Bailey’s gubernatorial campaign.

DeVore said in the video yesterday that he plans to make a formal public announcement in Springfield on Monday at a public event.

The Jacksonville Farmer’s Market is changing locations this year.

The farmer’s market has been at Lincoln Square since 1997. Michael Meyer, director of the market, says in communication today that the market is changing locations this year because the rate structure charged by Lincoln Square changed this year.

Meyer says the increase would increase vendor fees, which would likely be passed along to customers. Meyer says due to the increase, the market is moving to the Pathway Plaza lot on West Morton Avenue.

The season for the grower’s only market begins in May. Meyer says that the number of vendors varies during the season, but Saturdays traditionally remain the market’s most popular day.

Vendors sell everything from seasonal fruits and vegetables, baked goods, honey, flowers, plants, meat, homemade soaps and eggs. Arts & crafts are still not accepted at the market.

Meyer hopes the change in location will provide more space for this year’s vendors and customers, and increase visibility to drive-by traffic.

Masks continue to stand in the way of the Illinois General Assembly from doing business.

In the first half-hour of House session yesterday at the Capitol the leaders of each party made calls for civility.

House Speaker Chris Welch and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin had a message for all the members of the chamber: the public is watching and it’s time to get to work.

Tensions have been high in the chamber. Tuesday to Thursday last week, several GOP members refused to wear face coverings, accusing Democrats of hypocrisy for enforcing mask requirements on the House floor, but not at fundraising events, and faulting the majority party for not taking votes on the governor’s authority to issue statewide mask mandates. That led to a Thursday motion by Rep. Lakesia Collins, D-Chicago, to remove nine Republicans from the floor for failing to comply with House rules.

According to Capitol News Illinois, three members were removed yesterday, Reps. Dan Caulkins of Decatur, Blaine Wilhour of Beecher City, and Adam Niemerg of Dietrich. All three were allowed to participate in remote voting. Wilhour currently has an active lawsuit about the removals, suing Welch for the mask mandate. Wilhour is being represented by Attorney Thomas DeVore.

The House rules about masks and temperature checks were approved last Spring when the House convened in an abbreviated session after canceling multiple sessions due to Covid-19’s delta variant surge.

The Illinois Supreme Court it is removing requirements for masks in state courts on Monday.

The court published the amended order yesterday afternoon making masks optional for attendance in state courts. The order’s wording defers to local circuits to set their own rules requiring the wearing of masks in accordance with public health guidance at the local level.

According to the order, persons choosing to wear a mask may be directed by a judge to remove their mask if deemed necessary for court purposes such as addressing the court or testifying during proceedings.

An initiative to beautify and clean up the City of Jacksonville is expanding. The “Litter Getter” campaign with several of Jacksonville’s service organizations occurred last summer. Ward 2 Alderwoman and Chair of the City’s Parks & Lakes Committee Lori Large-Oldenettel organized the initiative.

She says this year the initiative is expanding in two different ways after a community meeting held last Wednesday brought up several ideas: “One is we are going to expand that ‘litter getter’ campaign, and the service groups that participated last year are going to pick one Saturday a month. Every month on their particular Saturday, they are going to go out and collect trash and debris from the curbs and city streets. That’s one part of it – collecting trash and debris from city streets. Families would be able to do that with those groups.”

The extended “litter getter” campaign will run from March through October.

Oldenettel says the bigger effort will concentrate on particular neighborhoods and certain properties that have debris and trash: “We are going to get permission to help property owners remove trash, debris, items from their property that maybe they didn’t know how to get rid of or where to get rid of it. We’re going to partner with Buster Sanitation and bring in dumpsters. Our volunteers will do the heavy lifting of removing items from property that we get permission to remove it from. Then, we will also have a beautification work crew that will help remove overgrown brush or do trimming, and kind of bring things back in line with what the property owner might have in mind and how we can help them get to that idea.”

Oldenettel says that Community Development Director Brian Nyberg is currently working with City Attorney Dan Beard to draft a waiver for property owners who grant permission to have trash removed from the property. Nyberg says that this is not a code enforcement opportunity for the city and no tickets will be issued. He says people who are currently before the municipal court for their property won’t be eligible to enroll in the property clean-up efforts.

Volunteers for the property clean up must be 18 years of age to participate. Oldenettel hopes that neighbors and property owners will come out and pitch in to help beautify neighborhoods around the city.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Oldenettel at 217-370-4597 or via email at llarge238@gmail.com or Nyberg at 217-479-4620 extension 3521 or via email at bnyberg@jacksonvilleil.gov.

The Morgan County Commissioners paid three major bills this morning in their lone action items.

Chairman Brad Zeller asked for approval of a traunch of American Rescue Plan Funding to be paid out to R.D. Lawrence for the latest round of renovations at the former Putnam-Springer buildings on North Clay Avenue in Jacksonville for the upcoming move of the Morgan County Health Department. The payment was for $174,605.83.

The Commissioners authorized the work in October of last year. Due to supply chain issues, the health department move isn’t expected to be completed until late May.

The second bill was for the county’s West Central Illinois Dispatch contract for $41,765; and the final bill was a payment to the Adams County Juvenile Detention Facility for $45,003 for the housing of the county’s juvenile inmates. In total, the county’s regular bills totaled $106,072.26.

The only other action item for the morning was an approval of a delinquent tax payment. Zeller says these are a normal action item that come up periodically as people pay off their back property taxes: “As we get these periodically through the year, this is a good thing because the individuals or individual has gotten caught up on all their past due taxes and the property goes back on the tax rolls. This is always a good thing.”

Zeller said after the meeting that engineering plans are currently being drafted for renovations at the Morgan County Detention Facility, with possible proposals currently delayed. He says the county is pressing to get those plans from their engineering firm as soon as possible.

A local representative has weighed in on an Appellate Court’s ruling against an appeal to lift a temporary restraining order against Governor J.B. Pritzker’s mask mandate in public schools.

Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer says that Democratic leadership in the General Assembly has abdicated its responsibility to be a check and balance against the executive’s power: “I’ve been saying all along that there needs to be checks and balances on the governor’s perception of power. It’s been proven that the Illinois General Assembly under Democrat rules is unwilling to step in and be that check on power, so it was on the courts to step in and do the right thing. I believe they’ve done the right thing, and we need to move forward and get back to regular life.”

Pritzker and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul are taking their appeal now to the Illinois Supreme Court in hopes of reinstating the rule. Raoul said in a press release on Friday that the executive order is still in force despite over 500 school districts around the state now moving to mask-optional policies.

The City of Winchester is looking to move its abilities to locate utility lines into the future. Utility Safety and Design, Inc. presented a proposal to the city to create a new master map of the city’s gas mains using the Geographic Information System technology or GIS.

GIS connects data in an electronic format by integrating location data with descriptive information through a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Winchester Utility Superintendent John Simmons says that the GIS mapping requirement by the Illinois Commerce Commission is quickly upon the city. He says it will also help the city better service its customers: “It transfers all of your cathodic protection, all your reports, and everything to comply with the ICC. It will all be downloaded into this system where if they want to see if we are doing our reports right, they can just go online and bring the information up. I won’t have to do the reports with paper anymore. I can just do it right on my phone at the job site. It’s got an annual fee and a start up fee. It’s not mandatory right now, but ICC is recommending everybody get on board with it for all of their reports and everything. From what I’ve been told, it’s probably going to become mandatory from ICC real soon.”

The data will be able to provide historical and up-to-the-minute data on leaks, valve inspections, odor intensity, new construction, and other major inspections among others. Utility Safety and Design will also be able to modify the GIS system to suit the city’s specific needs. The cost of the service is $3,750 annually plus a one-time start-up cost of $2,000. The city will also have to pay for initial training and user-based data fees up front.

The item is expected to be voted on at the March Winchester City Council meeting.