An area community college remains closed after a ransomware attack shut down their computer network last week.

Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey said on its Facebook page yesterday evening that all of its campuses, which have satellite campuses in Macoupin and Greene County, will remain closed all week due to the attack.

All classes, campus events, program events, and athletic events are canceled and all campus offices will be closed. Students and staff are asked to remain off campus until further notice. Only staff instructed by their supervisor will be asked to return to campus during the week.

Students have been told this will have no penalties to their academics during the shut down.

The college’s leadership and IT personnel have not revealed the cause or the extent of the damages caused by the attack, as an investigation continues.

The school said it will communicate timelines for reopening as progress is made.

Two Illinois House Republicans have put forth a tax credit proposal to help the state’s families to deal with rising inflation.

Dixon Representative Tom Demmer and 95^th District Representative Avery Bourne introduced an “inflation relief” tax credit would provide payments ranging from $200 to $400, depending on income and tax filing status for Illinois families.

Demmer says the credit on next year’s taxes could be used from everything from groceries to gas: “$400 won’t make all the problems go away, but it could have a positive impact. It could be an extra week or two of groceries. It could be an extra few [dollars toward] utility bills. It could be the difference between being able to buy new shoes or a new winter coat for your kids.”

Bourne says Illinois families are especially feeling the record-high inflation: “Kiplinger has rated Illinois as the least tax friendly state for middle class families. While inflation is definitely impacting families across the country, it’s acutely impacting families here in Illinois that are already burdened with higher taxes. We hear a lot of stories at this time of year with inflation about how much the cost of Thanksgiving meals are going to go up, or how much Christmas gifts are going to go up, but it’s so much more than that. It’s groceries every single day and the cost of being able to heat your home.”

The plan wants single-filers making up to $75,000 to get a $200 tax credit. Joint filers making up to $150,000 would get $400 under the plan, and heads of households bringing in up to $112,500 would get $200.

Bourne and Demmer estimate this proposal to cost roughly $1.4 billion. Demmer says the state can afford the tax credit with one of two options: “We have a few options today. The first is to consider the Covid relief dollars the State of Illinois received from the federal government. We received over $8 billion in federal Covid relief funds over which the state has significant control over and authority. During this year’s budget, the Democrats in the legislature thought it was wise to include a billion dollars of member-initiative capital projects in Democrat-only districts using some of those limited Covid relief dollars we received from the federal government. We think it’s fair to question the wisdom of using that, especially considering that 2 years ago, Illinois enacted its own capital bill. We could repurpose those dollars away from capital projects that are not related to Covid and instead direct [them] to taxpayer relief for families in every district in every part of Illinois.”

Demmer says the second option is to use the extra money the state is reporting in overall revenue to help Illinois families. The proposed legislation is expected to be filed prior to lawmakers’ return to the Capitol on January 4^th. Bourne went on to argue that the bill should be a bipartisan priority for both chambers of the General Assembly. Bourne and Demmer said they would be reaching across the aisle to work on the proposal within the next few weeks.

A local Congressman is critical of a proposal of the Biden Administration to roll back to a policy from the Obama Administration that would directly impact farmers.

13^th District Congressman Rodney Davis says that the Biden Administration’s decision to go back to the Obama-era definition of the Waters of the United States, known as WOTUS will create uncertainty for farmers and rural communities on how the Clean Water Act is enforced. Davis says the Navigable Waters Protection Rule established in 2020 under the Trump Administration, known as NWPR, gives parity and certainty to farmers when it comes to being stewards of their own land.

The Obama Administration regulations of WOTUS expanded the EPA’s regulatory jurisdiction to cover ditches, retention ponds, land that is traditionally dry, and other areas. The Trump Administration’s NWPR rolled back the EPA’s jurisdiction after outcry from farmers about some of the definitions in the law. Critics of the Trump rule said that some federally protected waters would become unprotected and be more subject to pollutants. The Trump NWPR was jettisoned by a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for Arizona back in August for being equally onerous. The federal court ruling allowed the Biden Administration to reintroduce the Obama-era definitions in WOTUS.

On April 14^th, Davis co-sponsored legislation to make the NWPR from the Trump Administration to remain. The Davis-led bill had support from 114 members of Congress.

An education center for future farmers appears to be ready to open on schedule next year.

The Orr Education Complex outside of Perry, a brand new 24,000 square foot facility that broke ground on August 24^th, has been almost entirely funded through private donations from the Orr Corporation. The objective of the building is to give support to research and education conducted at the Orr research farm from John Wood Community College’s Ag Education Center and the University of Illinois Research Farm.

John Wood Community College Ag Department Chair Mike Tenhouse told the Pike Press that framing of the structure is almost complete with concrete for footings and floors having been poured throughout most of the late Fall.

The facility will address agricultural education and development issues in rural communities and enhance research, teaching and activities throughout the region. It will also support initiatives of the FFA, 4-H chapters from more than 20 area high schools and youth organizations.

Other planned purposes include use for competitive events like livestock judging contests and events for environmental and wildlife associations.

The center is slated to benefit farmers and ag students of Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Morgan, Pike, Schuyler, and Scott counties.

The complex is expected to be online and ready for classes in Fall 2022.

Jacksonville Police are investigating a shots fired incident from late Saturday night.

Police received reports of shots being fired in the 1000 block of East Morton Avenue in the Rolling Acres Trailer Court at 11:09PM Saturday.

The caller told police he had heard one shot fired from a street behind their residence along with a scream. He said he then could hear a vehicle speed away after the shot.

Upon arrival, police determined that the shot was fired on the southwest side of the trailer court by unknown individuals. No injuries were reported and no damages were located.

If you have any information into this incident, you may call the Jacksonville Police Department at 217-479-4630 or leave a tip anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 217-243-7300. Tips may also be submitted online at www.morganscottcrimestoppers.webs.com and click the “leave a tip” button on the home page. Tips may also be submitted by texting 274637 (CRIMES). The first word of the text tip must be “payout.”

The Jacksonville Salvation Army says its doing much better than last year when it comes to it’s annual red kettle campaign goal.

Captain Chris Clarke says that the current total is about 15% of its goal for the year as of Tuesday: “The campaign is going well. We are actually slightly above last year. We are at about $10,000 raised. The Red Kettle Campaign has a goal of $80,000. We have an overall Christmas goal of $138,000. That includes donations that people are dropping off or sending in the mail. We are at 20% of that overall Christmas goal.”

Clarke says there are still plenty of options to sign up to ring for the campaign: “We still need bell ringers. People can sign up at registertoring.com to put in quick information and sign up to ring bells for whatever location, date, and time that they want. We have both indoor and outdoor locations that people can ring the bell in, whatever they are comfortable with. We would love to have individuals or even groups of people out there ringing the bells. People can simply give us a call at 217-245-7124 and we can find them a time and put them on the schedule.”

The Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Only two sign up days remain for the Christmas programs for the needy. They are on Monday and Tuesday from 9AM to Noon, and 1-3PM at 331 West Douglas Avenue. Income eligible families are welcome to sign up for the food and gifts.

Jacksonville is gearing up for a big weekend for small businesses.

Small Business Saturday will feature several local retail locations in the downtown area according to Jacksonville Main Street’s Judy Tighe: “Small Business Saturday is so great every year, and this year we are doing our fourth annual Santa Stroll. There are some Santa Hats still available, and the great things is a lot of these hundreds of dollars worth of coupons are actually good beyond Small Business Saturday. You can only get the coupons in the Santa Hat. A lot of wonderful local businesses are involved in that activity. It’s a win-win for supporting local business and people are getting great deals on Christmas gifts for their families.”

The Santa Hats are still available at the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce Office, Jacksonville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jacksonville Main Street Office, and County Market. Cost is $10. The hats include coupons from over 30 businesses.

Things will kick off in the holiday spirit this evening with a parade.

Tighe says Heart of Jacksonville is hosting Santa Clause for the holiday parade on the square tonight: “Santa is coming. He will be in the parade, and then, Santa might make appearances elsewhere throughout the Christmas season. You just never know. He’s going to be around, even though he won’t be in his house this year. He’s going to be watching, but he’s just not going to be making any formal appearances in taking requests. I would suggest everyone write him a letter this year.”

Heart of Jacksonville will also host Santa for a breakfast on Saturday, December 11^th from 9:30-12:30 at the Elks Club. The parade steps off tonight at 6PM.

The White Hall Lions will keep the holiday spirit going on Saturday.

The club will be hosting their first Christmas Parade on Saturday at 5:30. The parade is being held in conjunction with Christmas in the Park, at Whiteside Park in downtown White Hall.

According to the Greene Prairie Press, the parade is hoping to become an annual staple of the Lions. They currently have 15 entries and are hoping to have several more before Saturday.

The parade will line up at the former White Hall Elementary school at 5PM, with Santa Claus as the parade marshal.

The parade is a culmination of a day’s worth of events that begin at noon on Saturday. Lions Club President Danny Powell told the Prairie Press that Santa is expected to arrive at noon on the firetruck and will be available for free pictures and treats to give away to children.

Approximately 25 vendors will be on hand for Christmas in the Park. Farmer’s State Bank & Trust Company is also sponsoring free horse and carriage rides from 3-6PM.

Live entertainment will include a Live Nativity scene and music from Peyton Tucker. The Lions Club will also be selling raffle tickets as a fundraiser to create a drive-around light display at the park during the holiday season each year. They are also seeking light donations from the community. The light donations will be accepted during the entire season. To donate lights, contact Powell or the White Hall Lions.

The oldest food pantry in Jacksonville just received a new makeover and a new operating style.

Jacksonville Salvation Army Captain Chris Clarke says clients can now serve themselves in a grocery-store style setting: “The Salvation Army has been helping people in need for 131 years, and we just opened our new pantry. We’ve been doing a food pantry for a long time, but we wanted to have a way for people to have more dignity when they come to our food pantry. Also, we want them to be able to pick out foods that go along with their dietary needs. When people come through our food pantry now, they will be able to get a grocery store-style cart. They will be able to walk down aisles of shelves filled with food and pick whatever items they need. They will also be able to receive lots of other things like meat. We always have meat, and most families walk away from our pantry with about 20 pounds of meat. We are usually giving them milk, cheese, butter, and all of those dairy items as well as an array of produce and bakery items.”

Clients can still get to the food pantry at 331 West Douglas Avenue. Clarke says those interested in donating to the food pantry can still do so at the same location: “We always accept donations of food and goods. People can drop them off at the Salvation Army. Of course, we would also accept financial donations, as well. People can mail those to us. We also could use volunteers. People who want to come in whenever they have free time throughout the week and want to stock and organize shelves are welcome to come see us.”

Clarke says the pantry is also looking to get sliding glass door refrigeration and freezer units for clients to shop from for their perishable food items.

The Salvation Army food pantry is funded through grants and donations from United Way, DOT Foods, area Churches, businesses and individuals. On average 10,000 lbs of donated foods are received monthly from area businesses, individuals, and through the Central Illinois Food Bank. The Salvation Army distributes foods allocated through two government programs. The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF).

The Pantry, which is completely volunteer ran, is open Wednesdays from 1:15-3:15. Those who regularly work during those hours or who have an emergency food need can make an appointment by calling 217-245-7124.