A Springfield activist and one time state representative candidate has been arrested in connection to a fire at the Illinois State Fair last month.

Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 4 officials announced yesterday the arrest of 19 year old Zakary Bunt of Hot Springs, Arkansas and 33 year old John Keating II of Springfield for arson and criminal damage to property.

According to ISP reports, on August 21^st, ISP DCI Zone 4 investigators were requested to investigate an arson that occurred during the late-night hours at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. A fire was set to a vendor booth on the State Fairgrounds which resulted in a total loss to the booth and merchandise contained within. The property loss was estimated at approximately $40,000.

Last Wednesday, a Sangamon County arrest warrant was issued for Bunt for one count of Arson. Bond was set at $250,000. Bunt was arrested by the Cape Girardeau, Missouri Police Department and will be extradited to Sangamon County pending an extradition hearing.

Keating was indicted by a Sangamon County Jury for one count of Arson and one count of Criminal Damage to Property. Bond was set at $50,000, 10 percent to apply. Yesterday, CI Zone 4 Agents arrested Keating and transported him to the Sangamon County Jail. Keating has since posted bond and been released, according to the State Journal Register. Keating has maintained his innocence in Facebook posts since the arrest. A GoFundMe has also been set up to assist Keating to assist in legal defense.

Keating finished third in the 96th district state representative race in 2020 behind Democrat incumbent Sue Scherer and Republican Charlie McGorray. Keating ran as a Green Party candidate. Keating was recently mentioned as a possible candidate for the vacant Springfield Ward 5 seat last month.

Keating has visited Jacksonville at various times in the recent past for demonstrations and protests. Keating co-founded the group Education and Action Together last year, which addresses people’s civil rights and interaction with police. According to the State Journal Register, Keating was prominent in a number of rallies at the Capitol following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and as a counter protester at Reopen Illinois rallies.

According to Springfield Leaks, a video captured Keating allegedly arguing with the vendor booth owner Dan Richards. Keating and Richards have had a history of public conflict dating back to August of last year. Richards had previously been cited for aggravated battery and battery against Keating over a verbal dispute outside of the Illinois Commerce Commission.

ISP DCI Zone 4 investigated the incident with assistance from ISP District 9 troopers, ISP Division of Internal Investigations, the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, and the Cape Girardeau, Missouri Police Department.

Two area Congressman have voted against raising the nation’s debt ceiling Tuesday evening. 13^th District Congressman Rodney Davis and 18^th District Congressman Darin LaHood joined their 209 Republican colleagues in voting against a bill that would prevent a government shutdown and suspend the country’s debt limit. Democratic lawmakers say that if Republicans don’t get on board with the bill in the Senate, it could possibly cause a first-ever default on the country’s debt, leading to an economic collapse.

Davis, in a statement released yesterday morning characterizes the bill now heading to the Senate as reckless spending. Davis says: “Democrats are threatening to shut down the government unless Congress gives them a blank check suspension of the debt ceiling to pass their reckless $3.5 trillion tax-and-spending plan. That is downright irresponsible and dangerous.” Davis says that Democrats should drop the bill and create what he calls a clean government funding bill instead.

GOP lawmakers during the Trump administration voted three times to suspend the debt ceiling, causing the country’s national debt to increase by roughly $7.8 trillion according to the Washington Post. The U.S. Treasury says if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, the government won’t be able to pay its bills beginning sometime in early October. The treasury says a spending plan needs to be passed by the end of the month to avoid a government shutdown.

The Jacksonville Area Museum held a ribbon cutting and introduced a special element this evening ahead of their opening on Saturday.

After Chairman David Blanchette cut the ribbon to officially open the museum, he announced that a special east wing of the museum had been given a special designation. Long-time museum supporters Bob and Karen Sibert have been honored with the first named portion of the Jacksonville Area Museum.

The sign denoting Sibert Hall, the museum’s main exhibit gallery, was unveiled during the members-only preview.

Blanchette says that the museum would not be a reality today without the Siberts: “They have been very active in the Morgan County Historical Society, which was able to acquire this building and kept it up, and was able to raise the money to put a lot of the work into it that it needed. Not only that, but once it was turned over for use as the Jacksonville Area Museum, they’ve continued to offer their financial support and made their business available for a lot of the things that we made to fabricate the exhibits. It’s just been a constant stream of support through several decades that has made this possible, and we couldn’t be more thankful to the Siberts.”

Blanchette says he hopes when people look up at the sign denoting Sibert Hall that people remember the unwavering support of Bob and Karen Sibert and the Bound to Stay Bound Foundation for helping the museum open its doors.

Sibert Hall will act as the main exhibit hall. During the preview, members were brought in small groups to watch a video talking about a large collection of various items displayed inside the hall.

The museum will officially open to the public at 10AM on Saturday. The museum will use original artifacts, storytelling exhibits and the building itself, as well as items from the MacMurray College Foundation and Alumni Association collection, to show people of all ages and backgrounds why the Jacksonville community has been and continues to be one of a kind.

The museum will be open to the public Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday each week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be no admission fee but a donation of $5 is suggested to keep the all-volunteer museum operating.

Visit www.jacksonvilleareamuseum.org or connect with the Jacksonville Area Museum on Facebook for more information or to find out how to become a museum member or volunteer.

Governor J.B. Pritzker announced $327 million in various assistance for low-income households in the state on Monday

Pritzker says the money will fund a number of programs but specifically help those having trouble with their utility bills: “Residents qualifying for utility assistance will see a boost in payments from an average credit of $750 last year to now $1,000 this year, assistance that never needs to be paid back.”

To learn more about the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program locally, visit MCS Community Services at 345 West State Street or call them at 217-243-9404 Monday through Friday 8:30AM-Noon and 1-4:30PM. Those wishing to apply for the program must furnish a copy of their social security card for all household members, proof of all household gross income from all sources for the last 30 days, and the most recent utility bills.

For other areas, assistance can be found by contacting the Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials at 1125 Hampshire Street in Quincy. You can call them at 217-224-8171 or visit them online at www.trrcopo.org; or the Illinois Valley Economic Development Corporation located at 223 South Macoupin Street in Gillespie. You can call them at 217-839-4431 or visit them online at http://ilvalley-edc.org/.

DCEO Acting Director Sylvia Garcia says that LIHEAP and the various other low-income programs are receiving more money this year for the state: “These funds can be used to offset the cost of utilities, food, rent, and so much more. So what do families out there who may have difficulties paying their bills need to know? How do you claim these funds? For a family of 4 with a monthly income of $4,417 or less, you are automatically eligible for these programs.”

More information is available online at helpillinoisfamilies.com, and in person at one of the state’s 37 local community action centers.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Office has announced the recent successful enforcement of investigations into individuals violating the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act.

Sherriff David Greenwood said in a press release that his office has been aggressively monitoring registered sex offenders in Pike County to ensure their compliance.

Greenwood recently announced that 7 arrests, dating back to May of last year, have resulted in individuals being returned to the Illinois Department of Corrections or extended probation for violating their required registration with his office.

The following people have been charged and convicted in Pike County:

• On February 17th, Jane M. Milner, age 50, of Nebo was arrested on a charge of violation of the sex offender registration act. On August 24^th, Milner pled guilty in Pike County Circuit Court to the aforesaid offense and received 24 months conditional discharge and fines.

• On May 18th, 2020, Jason M. Rennecker, age 37, of Griggsville was arrested on a charge of failure to register as a sex offender. On June 1st, Rennecker pled guilty in Pike County Circuit Court to the aforesaid offense and received 24 months of adult probation, 90 days in jail, and fines.

• On January 27^th, Verle E. Gibson, age 42, of Pearl was arrested on a charge of failure to register as a sex offender. On August 24^th, Gibson pled guilty in Pike County Circuit Court to the aforesaid offense and was sentenced to 5 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and fines.

• On October 23^rd, 2020, Roy L. Irick, age 67, of Hull was arrested on a charge of failure to register as a sex offender. On September 14^th, Irick pled guilty in Pike County Circuit Court to the aforesaid offense and was sentenced to 2 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, followed by a period of conditional discharge, and fines.

• On December 22^nd, 2020, Walter W. Lynn, of Pittsfield was arrested on a charge of violation of the sex offender registration act. On June 1^st, Lynn pled guilty in Pike County Circuit Court to the aforesaid offense and was sentenced to 4 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and fines.

• On February 7^th, Patrick TD Cantwell, age 25, of Pleasant Hill was arrested on a charge of violation of the sex offender registration act. On September 9^th, Cantwell pled guilty in Pike County Circuit Court to the aforesaid offense and was sentenced to 5 ½ years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and fines.

• On October 28^th, 2020, Gary L. Oberdahlhoff, age 51, of Nebo was arrested on a charge of failure to register as a sex offender. On September 14^th, Oberdahlhoff pled guilty in Pike County Circuit Court to the aforesaid offense and was sentenced to 2 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and fines.

Greenwood says that the Pike County Sheriff’s Office will continue their aggressive pursuit of sex offenders who continue to fail to comply with the act in hopes of keeping the Pike County community safe.

The Illinois Housing Development Authority is helping the City of Jacksonville work on its next twenty years. IHDA Community Revitalization Planner Meghan Cuneo spoke to members of the public in two sessions yesterday at the Jacksonville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to discuss portions of the ongoing Community Needs Assessment Survey and having a complete view of the city’s needs across all of its demographics.

According to preliminary reports, 429 residents have turned in surveys to help the city create a long-term plan for its next 20 years. Cuneo told the crowd that ideally they want at least 700 responses, or 10% of Jacksonville’s population to answer the survey to get a true picture of what residents say the city needs to work on in terms of planning and housing: “Specifically, our program works with communities that are looking to expand or diversify their housing stock but don’t necessarily have the capacity, or time, or money to do long-term planning. We take on this role free of charge for communities that come to us and say: ‘Hey, look we really love to either rehabilitate our single-family housing or maybe get new developers in town, so we just need to have a plan for how that looks that aligns with what our community wants.’ We come in and partner and help do any or all of the technical assistance, whether that’s analyzing data or doing meetings like these, or conducting a housing stock survey so that the City of Jacksonville has all the resources they could possibly need to really kind of recruit and focus in on what they want their housing to look like in the coming years.”

Cuneo’s presentation can be viewed here.

Jacksonville City Planner Brian Nyberg says that the current survey information is showing that community stakeholder meetings held early on in the process have already hit on several of the key points of the results of the survey like more housing opportunities, better recreation opportunities, more industrial and commercial development, and improvements to city infrastructure.

Nyberg says the city is going to use $2.5 million that they received in American Rescue Plan funding to address some of those needs, albeit on a smaller scale: “With the money that’s coming down, I know that the city has talked about having meetings and support from the community as far as using this community needs assessment as to where they money goes. Recreation, walking and bike trails is a large [want] right now. What people don’t realize is that we have several bridges in town that need a lot of money [for repairs]. All the money coming down from the state is not going to fix all of our bridges. Those are the not-so-sexy things that we have to fix. The sidewalks and roads in town are also a need. Those would take way more money than the state is handing down to Jacksonville. Jacksonville got $2.5 million, and unfortunately, that doesn’t go very far anymore. You could spend $2.5 million going down one street just fixing the street or sidewalks.”

Cuneo’s presentation covers input on future possible improvement plans for the JDC site to what are Jacksonville’s current strengths and weaknesses. Members of the public are encouraged to go to this link and fill out the survey. Members of the public wishing to walk their neighborhoods to help complete the IHDA Housing Stock Survey can visit this link for more information. For more information, contact Nyberg at bnyberg@jacksonvilleil.gov or (217) 479-4620.

Two Illinois legislators and conservative groups are attempting to push legislation that would put a state Constitutional amendment on the ballot that would allow residents to recall their elected officials.

Politico reports that the Illinois Opportunity Project, the group that was behind opposing the state’s graduated income tax amendment last year, has joined forces with State Senator Jason Barickman and 97^th District Representative Mark Batinick of Plainfield to place a recall amendment on the ballot.

The announcement of the recall effort was allegedly planned for this week, but current focus on the Illinois clean energy bill forced the kickoff to sometime next week.

Illinois currently has what’s considered a very convoluted process to recall the governor that passed in 2010. It requires a lot voters to sign a petition, and signatories must come from at least 25 Illinois counties. It also requires the sign-off of a bipartisan group of sitting General Assembly members.

Barickman and Batinick’s measures would create provisions to simplify the process and also allow for state and local legislators to be recalled. Another measure would also create a pathway for citizen-led petitions for legislative referendums outlined in two other proposed constitutional amendments that would only apply to public acts which have been enacted for less than 90 days and cannot repeal spending bills passed by the legislature.

The GOP-led group would like to see an advisory referendum, measuring public support for the idea, placed on the November 2022 statewide ballot.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker quietly issued an executive order on Friday updating language for schools regarding quarantine and isolation amidst ongoing legal challenges.

The new order changes how schools handle close contacts and confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19. School districts are now to “exclude” students from coming to school instead of relying on an official order of quarantine or isolation.

Jacksonville School District 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek says it clarifies orders confusion after court rulings in Macoupin and Adams County on the state’s rules: “The governor and the ISBE definitely have the desire to keep all close contacts out of the physical schools, so in response to the legal challenges about the use of the term ‘quarantine,’ they have altered it with a new executive order to mandate to school districts that we must exclude students from schools who have been determined to be a close contact. We are no longer issuing a quarantine. The health department isn’t issuing a quarantine. We are excluding those individuals from the physical school, and that is mandated and it says we must follow it.”

Ptacek says this circumvents the necessity of a local health department or court order to issue a quarantine order. Ptacek says the district has received a statement from the Illinois State Board of Education that they will enforce the rule based upon further clarification in the Executive Order granting them the authority of enforcement.

Ptacek says the district is working on a “test-to-stay” program to help keep close contact students at school if they are not showing any symptoms: “We have a company that we are procuring some dates with. We have to then send permission slips out, and I want to highlight that we will only be testing students that parents grant us permission [to test]. I was asked by a parent in an email ‘What if they don’t grant permission?’ If they don’t, then the test-to-stay option is not there. Therefore, if they become a close contact, they would have to be excluded for the 14-day period or if the public health department were to decide that time should be shorter. The test-to-stay gives an option to test on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 – and if you continue to receive a negative test, you will be able to stay in school. Now that’s the only option open for close contacts. Of course, if someone is exhibiting symptoms that’s not an option. We hope to have permission slips out maybe next week or the week after in hopes of having this implemented by mid-October.”

Ptacek says the district will be providing asynchronous remote instruction for excluded students, and parents should contact their student’s building administrator for a device or assistance in remote instruction.

In a follow-up email message to parents, Ptacek says that the district will be providing the test-to-stay option in-house by hiring a part-time nurse to administer testing at various buildings in a rotation. Ptacek says this avenue will get the test-to-stay option rolling much sooner in hopes of keeping more students in school. Ptacek says the test-to-stay option will only be available to close contacts that occur at school. Ptacek says if the contact occurs with someone outside of school, test-to-stay will not be made available to that individual. Ptacek also emphasized in the email that an asymptomatic vaccinated individual does not have to be excluded from school. He says the new executive order clarifies this.

The executive order can be read here.

Passavant Area Hospital’s indoor walking program returns for another season of exercise and camaraderie beginning on Monday, Oct. 4.

The Walking for Wellness program at the JHS Bowl, 215 S. Church St., provides a safe place to get walking exercise when weather conditions make walking outside unpleasant or dangerous. The program will end its season on March 25, 2022.

The program is open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day Jacksonville School District 117 is in session. The program is closed during school holidays, including Thanksgiving and Christmas vacation, and any day school is not in session.

An average of 75 people walk at the JHS Bowl each day the program is open.

Participants in the Walking for Wellness program must observe the following guidelines:

Masks are required.

Participants will be screened upon entry to the JHS Bowl.

Members outside your household must maintain social distancing of six feet.

Bring your own water.

No shared items.

No congregating in groups.

And capacity may be limited based on state and local community positivity rates for COVID-19.

Participating in Walking for Wellness is free. Registration is not required. Walkers will be asked to check in and out.

For more information, call 217-479-5800.