The Village of South Jacksonville has canceled the Board of Trustee’s scheduled committee of the whole for tomorrow.
According to communication, Village President Dick Samples has canceled the meeting out of an abundance of caution due to incoming inclement weather.
A tentative make up date will be announced at a later date.
Two Illinois Congressmen are asking President Joe Biden to end the federal public health emergency declaration. 13th District Congressman Rodney Davis and 18th District Congressman Darin LaHood signed on to a letter on Thursday to President Biden and and the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra immediately begin the process to unwind the Public Health Emergency in the country.
The letter calls COVID-19 “endemic” and that current government interventions surrounding the virus are “heavy-handed” and “are doing more harm than good.”
The letter recognizes that the public health emergency will need time to wind down and asks for President Biden to let Congress intervene to make certain policies like maintaining access to telehealth services get extended, especially for seniors and those with underlying health conditions.
The letter also says that pro-lockdown policies have been harmful, have proven to be a failure, and has caused mental and in some cases, physical harm to children.
Democrats in Washington D.C. Are also calling for the president to begin to chart a course in the next stage of battling the virus. Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations nationwide have begun to plummet in recent weeks.
House GOP members asked that Biden submit a plan to Congress by no later than March 15th. Secretary Becerra last renewed the public health emergency designation a month ago. The GOP letter notes that the designation is set to expire on April 15th.
Low-to-moderate income families and senior citizens needing assistance filing their 2021 income taxes can receive free help through several trusted programs across the State of Illinois. The Internal Revenue Service, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Program, and Ladder Up Tax Assistance Program are providing free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals in select locations statewide.
How taxpayer assistance is provided and when services are available varies by region, based upon several variables including COVID-19 conditions and volunteer capacity.
The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs offer free tax help for individuals making $58,000 a year or less, people 60 years of age or older, individuals with disabilities, and taxpayers with limited English-speaking skills.
The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Program provides free tax assistance, with a special focus on taxpayers over the age of 50 or who have low-to-moderate income.
Availability is determined at the local or community level. AARP membership is not required to receive assistance.
Taxpayers can search for a free tax assistance provider closest to them by visiting IDOR’s website tax.illinois.gov. Individuals with questions should contact IDOR’s Taxpayer Assistance Division at 800-732-8866.
Taxpayers may also visit IDOR’s office in Springfield to receive assistance. Staff can help with any Illinois state income tax filing inquiries and are available weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Jacksonville Police are investigating a residential burglary that occurred on Monday around mid-day. Police were called to a residence in the 700 block of Serenity Lane around 12:17AM yesterday after a resident reported coming home to find their front door kicked in.
Upon investigation, police found that between 11AM and 3PM on Monday someone broke into the home and stole approximately $900 worth of various merchandise.
If you have any information about the incident, call the Jacksonville Police Department at 217-479-4630 or the Morgan Scott Cass Crime Stoppers at 217-243-7300.
Illinois lawmakers appear to be breaking from Governor J.B. Pritzker’s mask mandate for public schools.
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules or JCAR, made up of a bi-partisan group of General Assembly members voted to object to the Illinois Department of Public Health filing a repeat emergency rule last night to extend the school mask mandate regardless of the ongoing litigation in Sangamon County Court brought against over 140 school districts in the state.
The refiled rule would have forced every school district not named in the suit to enforce masks.
According to Mark Maxwell of WCIA, approximately 1 hour ago, JCAR voted to object to the IDPH emergency rule.
Democrats Mike Halpin, Fran Hurley, and Curtis Tarver joined Republicans on JCAR in opposition to the filing. According to Maxwell, the ruling by JCAR now effects 350 school districts in the state who have not made a local decision on a mask policy since Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow issued a temporary restraining order on the mask mandate for the 140 school districts named in the Sangamon County suit last month.
The FBI is seeking the public’s help in locating a missing Illinois teen.
14 year old Addison Windbigler of Nauvoo traveled to Keokuk, Iowa on December 13th and was last seen in that city on the following day.
She is a white female with a tan complexion who stands approximately 5’4” tall and weighs approximately 125 pounds. She has long brown hair and brown eyes. She has a pierced septum and a pierced left nostril along with pierced ears.
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the FBI’s Omaha, Nebraska Field Office at (402) 493-8688. You may also contact the Springfield, Illinois FBI Field Office at (217) 522-9675.
Information may also be given to Lee County, Iowa Crime Stoppers at 319-795-3154 or through the Morgan-Scott-Cass Crime Stoppers at 217-243-7300. Tips directed through Crime Stoppers leading to Addison’s location may be eligible for a cash reward. Tips may also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov.
The first of a series of required public meetings for the Grain Belt Express transmission line will be held tonight in Pittsfield.
Invenergy plans to run the transmission line of clean energy from the Great Plains to the East by passing through portions of Pike, Scott, Greene, and Macoupin counties on its way east to the Indiana border.
Current Pike-Scott Farm Bureau Director Blake Roderick told Quincy’s WGEM that he’s concerned the transmission line will disrupt the general flow of farming in the area. The company promises $1.2 billion in economic activity for Illinois, 2,200 construction jobs and $33 million in payments to local governments, all at no cost to Illinois residents.
Roderick encourages any farmers along the proposed easement of the line to attend the public meetings that are required by the permitting process by the Illinois Commerce Commission.
The first meeting will be held tonight from 5-7PM at the Pike County Senior Citizen Center located at 220 West Adams Street in Pittsfield.
An Illinois Senator is calling on aggressive diplomacy with Russia in the wake that the country may invade Ukraine in the coming days.
Tammy Duckworth says the US and NATO are watching the continued aggression of Vladimir Putin with the build up of troops along Ukraine’s border. She says trying to avoid conflict in the region is the best policy: “I still think that diplomacy is the best way forward. Sanctions is the best way forward. Let’s prevent Russian from invading. If Russia does invade, this is a real significant move on their part and NATO is united. That’s one of the good pieces I think is coming out of this is that NATO has reasserted – all member nations of NATO has reasserted that mutual defense pact.”
Ukraine is not a member of the NATO alliance but borders four NATO countries. According to the Associated Press, the Kremlin signaled yesterday it is ready to keep talking with the West about security grievances that led to the current situation in Ukraine. Washington D.C. says they have intelligence that Russia could invade the country by as early as Wednesday.
Routt Catholic High School is looking to grow its numbers for the 2022-2023 school year. Development and Enrollment Director Colleen Doyle says this coming week is the best time to come and check out Routt if you have questions about the school: “The first and foremost thing that I would want anyone to know is that Routt wants to grow. We want to see our building busting at the seams. We want to talk to the people that have never came to Routt. We wouldn’t have been able to be around for 120 years if not for those families that came first. We’re looking for new families, new students at any time. Now would be the perfect time to think about that if you, or you know a family member, friend, or neighbor who is currently an 8th Grader. I have the firm belief that if someone gives me 45 minutes of their time, I can make a pretty solid argument why Routt is the place to be beginning this Fall.”
Doyle says starting on Friday, February 18th, Routt will be looking for incoming freshman with a day of introductions and a placement exam that begins at 8:15 in the morning: “We do offer a placement exam. It’s going to be taking place [this] Friday. The cost of the test is $15. We will be offering lunch. Other than [the test], it’s going to be a fun day to get on campus. We’ll be offering some other giveaways. Several 8th Graders in the area will be there. It’ll be a good opportunity to meet other 8th Graders considering a future at Routt. It will lead right into our registration that begins on February 23rd.”
The student who receives the highest composite score on the placement exam will receive a $1,000 scholarship towards their tuition at Routt. Placement exam results will be posted on March 2nd.
For more information about attending Routt, contact Doyle at cdoyle@routtcatholic.com.
Illinois Republicans have been criticized over the last few weeks about their response to the Republican National Committee’s censure of Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger and Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney. The RNC, in their censure, described the January 6th riot as “ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”
Kinzinger, who is not seeking re-election to Congress this year, said recently that the US could enter another civil war while discussing the country’s partisan division and his censure by the Republican National Committee for taking part in the House January 6 commission.
Illinois’ five Republican gubernatorial candidates have yet to address the impact of former president Donald Trump’s clout over the party and January 6th directly.
Two Illinois Congressman say that the questions need to be posed to the RNC.
18th District Congressman Darin LaHood says that the January 6th participants need to be prosecuted. LaHood says that Cheney and Kinzinger no longer stand for the Republican Party: “I see it as not being loyal Republicans over the last year and trying to undermine our party. Again, I believe there are some that believe that’s what they have done over the last year here. I will say this. There was a statement made that the insurrection was legitimate political discourse. I don’t believe that is accurate. I disagree with that statement. I think what happened at the Capitol, as I said a long time ago after it occurred, I said it was an embarrassing day for our country and our democracy, and every one of those insurrectionists need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
13th District Congressman Rodney Davis says the questions surrounding the censure of Cheney and Kinzinger doesn’t belong with current elected Republican officials: “In the end, the question of the RNC censure lies with the RNC national committeemen and committeewoman here in Illinois. [Members of Congress] don’t have anything to do with that. Unfortunately, what we are seeing is not enough focus on what we should focus in on.” Davis went on to discuss problems with the Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats. Davis says he’ll use his position on the House Administration committee to get to the bottom of the security failures that allowed the January 6th riot to breach the Capitol.
The Chicago Tribune claims that the gubernatorial candidates and currently elected Republican officials have all done their best to dance around Trump and thread the needle of alienating neither Trump supporters nor anti-Trump moderates and independents leading up to the primary season this June.
