A local banker and a well-known business owner have joined the Jacksonville Memorial Hospital board of directors.

Kim Andras, a commercial/agriculture loan officer at CNB Bank & Trust in Chapin, and Saif Mouilish, founder and CEO of SafeCo group, best known locally for its donut shop and bakery, were recently elected to serve four-year terms on the nonprofit hospital’s board.

Andras serves on the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce board and the University of Illinois Extension Council. She lives with her family on a cattle farm in Manchester.

Mouilish operates SafeCo group, which oversees the SafeCo Donuts and Bakery brand, the Old Fashioned Delights brand and the Trolley Stop brand. Mouilish lives in Jacksonville with his family.

Mouilish replaces retiring board member Nancy Spangenberg, who served 12 years on the board. Andras fills the seat vacated by Greg Lepper, who served for a decade.

The University of Illinois Springfield’s graduation requirements may be undergoing a serious change.

According to a press release on Friday from the campus General Education Review Committee, a number of faculty and administration have proposed resolutions to the UIS Senate that would cut or even all together eliminate the graduation requirements of the campus’ Engaged Citizenship Common Experience curriculum, known as ECCE.

The ECCE program has been at UIS for over a decade, and according to the campus’ website, provides students with internships and classes that include information on racial diversity, engaged citizenship, gender identity, and the history of social changes. Students must complete a minimum of 9 hours of coursework in the program to graduate.

Associate Professor of History at UIS and a member of the campus’ General Education Review Committee Kristi Barnwell says that the committee spent two years researching the campus’ general education requirements and unanimously approved continuing it with some changes and modifications. She says its an important piece to creating a well-rounded student at UIS: “Eliminating the ECCE Program at UIS would deeply undermine the value of an education that students at UIS receive. It would eliminate crucial elements of our curriculum that provide our students with the tools they need to be engaged citizens in a global world.”

Barnwell says that college curriculum needs to shift with the current demographics and the times to stay relevant and create graduates that are ready for a diverse and changing workforce and world: “The reality is that the demographics in the Springfield area and that the demographics in Illinois are changing. The demographics in the United States are changing. For our students who are coming to UIS for an education that’s going to prepare them for the future, to interact with other people, to interact with other cultures – students need to engage in serious classwork that prepares them to have those conversations and to bring their concerns to the communities that they live in.”

Professor of History, Peter Shapinsky says, “This resolution to eliminate UIS’s innovative diversity course requirements misrepresents more than a decade of hard work by faculty and dismisses the successes of our students. [The resolution] is unbecoming of an institution of higher education; it makes a mockery of our work to build a public liberal arts university that enshrines equality, social justice, and diversity as core values. It will deny our students important local and global experiences.”

Campus Senator and Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Ryan Williams, teaches the ECCE course: ‘Policing in America’ questions what kind of message the resolution will send to students: “This [past] week [was] of MLK, Jr. Remembrance. We are on the eve of Black History Month–at the height of a pandemic that has only furthered structural inequalities. An attempt to eliminate established curriculum focused on central issues of social class, race, ethnicity, and gender is not the legacy we want to leave for our students at this specific time in history.”

The UIS Senate voted to remove the resolution from the agenda on Friday morning. A first reading of a proposal to modify the ECCE requirement was heard. More discussion on the ECCE Program and its requirements are likely to be taken up at the UIS Senate at their next meeting on Friday, February 4^th.

The Village of Ashland is asking residents of the village to be aware of a rash of suspicious behavior.

The Journal Courier reports that Mayor Kitty Mau is asking residents of Ashland to lock their doors and vehicles, not just at night.

Mau said in a notice sent to residents that she suspects juveniles may be behind attempted break-ins into homes and vehicles in recent weeks.

The Journal Courier reports that many village of Ashland residents feel that the village needs more police on patrol to deter the incidents. There has been recent turnover in the village police, as Martin Fanning was recently named as the village’s new police chief. Fanning replaced Jim Birdsell who retired in December.

Residents concerned or witnessing any of the suspicious activity or may have more information should contact Cass County Dispatch or the Cass County Sheriff’s Department at 217-452-7718. Anonymous tips may also be left online at morganscottcrimestoppers.webs.com or by calling the Morgan-Scott-Cass Crime Stoppers at 217-243-7300.

The South Jacksonville Police Department and area authorities are looking for a missing teen at this hour.

Samantha Churchill of Jacksonville went missing yesterday from Virginia, Illinois. According to her parents, she was dropped off by a family member at the FS Gas Station on Illinois Route 125 to meet a friend. She’s not been seen nor heard from since.

Churchill stands 5’2” tall, 113 pounds, has black hair, and green eyes. WLDS News currently doesn’t have a description of clothing she was last seen in. 

Churchill has ties in Morgan, Scott, and Cass County. 

If you have any information about her whereabouts, contact the South Jacksonville Police Department at (217) 245-9222, the Jacksonville Police Department at 217-479-4630, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office at (217) 452-7718, or dial 9-1-1.

The White Hall and Greene County community lost two members of its law enforcement community this past week.

Claudia Fischer was a dispatcher for the White Hall Police Department, starting in 1997. She retired from the position in 2016. Fischer passed away on Thursday at the age of 74. Current Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen says that Fischer was one of the dispatchers that was serving the White Hall Police Department when he joined the force in 1990. He says her calming presence was a benefit to him and several other young officers at the time, as they were getting acquainted with their career.

Kerry Page began his career in law enforcement with the Winchester Police and then the Scott County Sheriff’s Department before landing at the White Hall Police Department in 1980. He took a job with the Carrollton Police in 1989, before he became a Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy. Page ran unsuccessfully to become Greene County Sheriff in 2010 against a long-time friend and fellow law enforcement officer at White Hall, Rob McMillen.

McMillen says that Page spent his entire professional life working to serve the citizens of Greene County: “Basically, law enforcement was his life and he pretty much lived that life to the fullest. He just recently retired, so he had a pretty lengthy run serving the people of Greene County.”

McMillen recalls the 2010 primary where he and Page faced off against each other for Sheriff on the Democratic ticket. He says that their personal and professional relationship continued even after McMillen became sheriff: “I was contemplating what to do with my career at the time and thought it would be a good move for myself. I wasn’t really particularly fond of running against a friend of mine, but it was a professional decision that I made for my family and myself. When I called him on the phone, I told him that I was going to run on the same primary ticket that he was on. I told him we would have a clean campaign. I assured him that, and basically that did hold true. There was no bickering amongst the candidates between him or I, or even the other side of the ticket. We all ran a pretty good campaign on both sides. At the end of the day, I ended up winning. The story has been written after that.”

Page returned to the White Hall PD in 2015 before retiring completely in 2020. During his time with the Sheriff’s Department, he assisted late Carrollton Police Chief Mike Kiger with the D.A.R.E. program at local schools. McMillen says that he even went out of the county and out of state on training and other advocacy for the police department during his years of service. Page passed away on Tuesday at the age of 66.

Current White Hall Police Chief Luke Coultas said in a Facebook post yesterday that the entire Greene County community has suffered the loss of two extremely important people who served the community over the last 40 years.

Services for Fischer will be held at a later date. Funeral services for Page will be 11:00 a.m. Monday at Airsman Hires Funeral Home in White Hall.

An annual event for charity is returning to downtown Jacksonville this Spring.

The Kiwanis annual .5k Walk, Skip, Run, or Roll will be held on Saturday, April 2^nd beginning at Don’s Place. The annual charity event returns, and over the past decade it has raised nearly $60,000 for local charities.

.5k Committee member Krisin Jamison says the event is currently seeking applications from local non-profits who wish to benefit from the proceeds that are raised this year: “We are looking for non-profit organizations in the area that specifically benefit children in keeping with the mission of Kiwanis. We just encourage any non-profit agency to connect with us, and let us know how the proceeds from this event could help them in their efforts. They can connect with Gary Scott at WLDS/WEAI, Lauren Dwyer at Beard Implement Company, or me Kristin Jamison at JREDC. We are happy to take that application and put it to the committee for consideration.”

Jamison says that the committee is also looking for sponsors for the event this year: “We have a group of dedicated sponsors who have donated at the $200 level for a number of years. Now, we are adding a $250 level that will include a logo that will go on the back of t-shirts. Every business or individual who is interested in sponsoring will absolutely have space on the back of our .5K t-shirts for this year, and those who bump up to that $250 level will be able to include their business logo as well.”

Jamison says the committee plans on honoring the original organizers of the event, Bruce and Dessa Surratt this year. She says a few surprises may be lined up for them at the day of the event. There are also talks about having live entertainment at the end of the race at Bahan’s where Jamison says their outdoor beer garden and patio would accommodate the crowd.

For further information about the event, you can contact Jamison at kristin@jredc.org or call 217-719-9215.

For more information about the .5K event’s history, visit THAT 1 Place’s podcast here.

The Illinois General Assembly won’t be in session again next week.

Illinois House Speaker spokesperson Jaclyn Driscoll sent an email to members of the press today that in-person session for the House next week has been cancelled, and all committee work will continue to be conducted virtually.

Driscoll went on to say in the announcement that House leadership plans to return to in-person session the week of February 1^st provided that statewide Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations sustain a downward trend.

The Illinois Senate never scheduled a session for next week, according to the General Assembly’s website.

Governor J.B. Pritzker is scheduled to give his State of the State Budget Address on February 2^nd.

The General Assembly met for one day this month, on January 5^th, but have canceled subsequent sessions since according to health concerns surrounding the latest surge of Covid cases in the state.

A renewable energy transmission line expected to stretch from Kansas to the East Coast is now attempting to get regulatory approval in Illinois.

Invenergy Transmission, LLC has begun the process to get state regulatory approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission for its proposed Grain Belt Expressway transmission line. The project has already received siting approvals in Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana. The Missouri siting approval met with some contention in Missouri last Spring as some lawmakers attempted to stop Invenergy from using eminent domain powers, but was ultimately approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission.

As a part of their Illinois siting permit, Invenergy will be required to hold meetings along the transmission’s easement which runs from Pike County through Scott County and into the northern tips of Macoupin and Greene County as it treks east to Indiana.

According to the Pike Press, the primary and alternate routes for the transmission line are similar to those presented to the ICC in 2015 when Clean Line Energy Partners previously applied for a siting permit. The Grain Belt Express project was purchased by Invenergy in 2018. Invenergy says that the project is going to be built at no cost to Illinois consumers.

Controversy in Missouri carries over to Illinois because the project allows Invenergy, a private, non-utility company has eminent domain powers over privately held ground. The Illinois General Assembly created the ability for this action to happen through a law passed last year.

Phase 1 meetings of the project are expected at various locations, beginning in Pike County on February 15^th from 5-7PM at the Pike County Senior Citizens Center in Pittsfield.

A Sangamon County court ruling on a suit against 145 schools across Central Illinois for the state’s mask mandate and Covid-19 exclusion policies likely won’t come until next week, and Jacksonville School District 117 isn’t planning on signing on if there is an appeal.

Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow took under advisement competing arguments on the lawsuit before dismissing the hearing today. The lawsuit names many school districts in the listening area, including Jacksonville School District 117.

The District 117 School Board discussed a matter related to the suit in open meeting last night. Superintendent of Schools Steve Ptacek was contacted recently by legal council asking if the District would be willing to join in on an appeal if the ruling is found in favor of the plaintiffs. Ptacek says after discussion, District 117 will continue its stance of staying in its own lane.

“We were asked- and this is no statement on whether the TRO will be issued or not, just that general preparation, that if the District were in a situation to sign on to join the appeal, would we? And I wanted to talk with the board about that, and I think we have decided that the letter that I gave out to the Governor’s Office about vaccination testing earlier was basically summed up with, we don’t feel the District should be speeding taxpayer money to facilitate lawsuits for a state mandate.

At this point in time the Governor, and the Attorney General’s Office is representing him, is included in this lawsuit. So the Board agrees with me that if the TRO is issued, and if there is an appeal, that should come through the Governor’s Office and the Attorney General. Our stance is we follow protocol, we’re not making the decision on what is proper protocol.”

Judge Grischow said in the courtroom today due to scheduling and the length of review necessary, she wouldn’t issue a ruling in the case before next Friday.

Jeremy Coumbes also contributed to this story.