18^th District Congressman Darin LaHood says he’s committing to running for re-election in his home district.

LaHood was in Springfield yesterday talking to media about recent legislation in Washington D.C. WTAX reports that when pressed about running for a different office yesterday LaHood said he was committed to running for re-election in his own district, whatever that may be.

In May, it was rumored that LaHood, a former federal prosecutor, may seek a seat as an Illinois Supreme Court justice if the path to re-election to Congress was simply too difficult or LaHood’s district was drawn out in the upcoming Congressional re-map. Republicans are slated to lose at least one seat in the re-draw. Illinois Democrats have yet to release maps on the Congressional redraw until Thursday’s first release of census data.

LaHood and 13^th District Congressman Rodney Davis are both facing questions of whether to run for re-election in their district or run for a different office if they are drawn out or simply feel like they don’t have a path to re-election to Congress.

A local State Senator is still waiting on the Governor to act on a bill that addresses the state’s teacher shortage and COVID-19 learning loss.

50^th District State Senator Steve McClure says his teacher retirement bill that will allow teachers to pay into the Teachers Retirement System if they are moving from a private to a public school is still waiting on Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk for his signature.

McClure says the bill received broad bi-partisan support, even garnering help from Speaker of the House Emmanuel “Chris” Welch: “[Governor Pritzker] has not indicated to me one way or the other, so I was would just encourage anybody that supports that bill to call the governor’s office and let them know that you support the bill. It’s a great bill. It’s a bi-partisan bill, and quite honestly, I was shocked, surprised, and happy that the Speaker of the House even signed on as a co-sponsor in the House [bill]; so there is extremely broad bi-partisan support. It doesn’t just help our schools and our kids with COVID. It also allows for a path forward. We’ve got to move beyond COVID, and this allows for teachers to have the tools to do that, and it addresses the teacher shortage that we’ve got in many of our rural schools. It’s going to help with the teacher shortage issue and it’s going to help with helping kids that to get that extra attention with teachers in summer programs for the next two years so that they can get back on track after all of this with COVID.”

McClure says the best way to implore the governor to get the bill into law is to call his office and leave a message or send an email to the administration voicing support.

A new law makes it easier for educational support staff at schools to take time off under the Family & Medical Leave Act.

Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the legislation today lowering the threshold of hours worked that must be met to be eligible for FMLA from 1,250 to 1,000 over the past year. Pritzker says it will help public education retain employees and give those employees time off to spend with their families when it’s needed: “For too long, we have asked our schools’ staff to provide exceptional care, supporting kids in school without giving them the grace and flexibility to care for themselves and their families.”

The law takes effect January 1^st and applies to staff ranging from secretaries and teacher’s aides to maintenance and cafeteria workers at Illinois K-12 schools, community colleges, and universities.

The Pike County Health Department says it continues to see a massive surge in cases in COVID-19.

It says in the month of July, Pike County tallied 211 confirmed and probable cases of the virus. In just the first week in August, the health department has been notified of 65 cases, 6 of which are hospitalized.

The average age of those testing positive for COVID-19 so far in the month of August is 43 years old. The average age of those testing positive in the month of July was 45 years old. Pike County’s 7 day positivity rate is 6.5%.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, Pike County has roughly 30% of its population fully vaccinated. The Pike County Health Department will continue to hold vaccination clinics on Thursdays throughout this month. Dates and times can be learned by calling the health department at 217-285-4407.

A local representative’s legislation intended to help homeowners detect a potentially deadly element in their home has been signed into law.

93^rd District Representative Norine Hammond’s House Bill 713 was signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on Friday, which allows the direct sale of radon detection devices that cannot be calibrated. The bill was co-sponsored by 47^th District State Senator Jil Tracy of Quincy in the senior chamber.

Previously, only devices that are calibrated could be sold in stores. The law does not change any regulations for professionals who test for radon or the instruments they use. According to the Journal Courier, the law was an initiative backed by the Illinois Manufacturer’s Association.

Hammond said in a press release on her website that technology of the devices had surpassed current law and it will now allow homeowners to purchase the potentially life-saving devices in stores.

Radon is a radioactive element that is part of the radioactive decay chain of naturally occurring uranium in soil. Exposure to radon has been linked in various studies to increases in lung cancer. The law takes effect immediately.

The City of Jacksonville is in a spot that many municipalities are in when it comes to construction and capital overlay projects.

The City had to go through an odd bidding and ordinance process because bidders for a roof replacement project could not give solid numbers due to fluctuating material prices and material availability issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reg Benton, Chief Engineer for Benton & Associates says that the city had to reject an original bid from a Springfield roofing contractor and accept a different one they had to send to the city for roof replacement on the McGee-Spaulding Pavilion in Nichols Park: “In this particular case, it was asphalt shingles that almost every residential home has that was difficult to put a price on the bid. The roofing contractors who specialize in this kind of work were having trouble acquiring the necessary materials to be able to complete the project in the original bidding documents.”

Benton says it’s not an uncommon issue for projects his firm is handling right now: “We are seeing [problems] in a variety of ways. There is certain materials that literally aren’t available at all. In this case [with the shingles], they became available but they just weren’t able to lock in the pricing the way that would normally happen in a municipal public bidding process. In this case, the materials did become available. The contractor had enough foresight to go ahead and buy some shingles kind of, as I think, as a business development effort; so we are able to move this project forward. There are projects that involve other building materials that they are literally not available and the vendors don’t seem to know the reason why.”

The city approved the new bid for the roof at a cost of $89,000.36 from the lone bidder. Benton says he thinks that due to workforce issues, many contractors may not have the time to fit in projects or put in bids for projects like this one: “I suspect that there is some [issues with smaller contractors], but I think for the most part, we have a much smaller workforce in general so those contractors, especially this time of the year, already have a fair amount of work and probably are already busy so that, too, was a factor in how many people bid out this city project.”

The roof replacement is expected to begin as soon as possible to avoid any further damage to the pavilion that has received heavy internal renovation by the city over the last two years.

Service agreements between one of Illinois’ largest insurance companies and one of West Central Illinois’ largest healthcare providers is ending next week after the two sides cannot come to an agreement.

Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Illinois and Springfield Clinic still have not reached an agreement to allow the clinic to remain as an in-network provider for its patients. The patients will have to decide whether they wish to pay out-of-network costs or switch care providers later this year.

Springfield Clinic’s ambulatory surgery center’s in-network agreement will be the first to end on August 19^th, for all of Blue Cross-Blue Shield’s commercial networks including PPO, Blue Choice, and HMO.

The remaining services will continue to have coverage until November 17^th.

Blue Cross-Blue Shield has accused Springfield Clinic of sending them an improper 30-day termination notice for its Blue Choice network, which coincided with a Springfield employer’s open enrollment period.

Both entities recommend that those who are currently undergoing treatment to explore options for continuity of care which will temporarily allow them to continue receive coverage through Springfield Clinic.

Blue Cross Blue Shield has over 100,000 patients in its network in Central Illinois. Springfield Clinic has two affiliate clinics in Jacksonville including Urgent Care on West Morton Avenue.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin has introduced a bill that would allow student loan borrowers to discharge their debt through bankruptcy.

The FRESH Start Through Bankruptcy Act of 2021, co-sponsored by Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas would create the ability for student loan borrowers o seek a bankruptcy discharge for federal student loans after a waiting period of ten years. Currently, federal student loan borrowers are only allowed to discharge their student loan debt in extremely rare, stringent circumstances.

Durbin says it’s a way to help the 45 million Americans holding $1.7 trillion in student loan debt: “The average student borrower now carries $30,000 in debt, and many, especially those who are swindled by the for-profit colleges owe well over $100,000. Americans of all ages are plagued by the debt. For some, it’s holding them back from buying their first home, starting a family or a business. For others, it means delaying retirement because of this debt. This is not an individual misfortune. The student debt crisis is a threat to our economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has warned that student loan debt may be a drag on our economy by preventing Americans from basic, fundamental consumer purchases – cars, savings accounts, retirement – otherwise the economic growth of our country.”

Durbin is also currently working with the Senate Judiciary Committee on reforming bankruptcy law to allow student loans to be discharged. Senate Bill 2598 was introduced to Congress on Wednesday and is currently awaiting action in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Your phone, television, or radio will go off tomorrow with an emergency alert tone.

Don’t be alarmed. It’s a National Emergency Alert Test by the Federal Emergency Management Agency testing the Emergency Alert System. The test is expected at 1:20 tomorrow afternoon.

FEMA is conducting the test in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission.

Phones on silent will still receive sound and vibrate and receive an alert prompt. Radios and TVs may have an alert message prompt that interrupts normal programming. The EAS message is expected to last approximately 1 minute.

A Central Illinois Republican Congressman is on board with the idea that the Senate’s infrastructure bill needs to come to the state soon.

18^th District Congressman Darin LaHood says that the currently $1 Trillion bill is inching forward in the senior chamber: “We need infrastructure. If you look at the vote – they’ve got a series of votes in the Senate – they’ve gotten upwards of 18-20 Republicans to support it. Listen, I think it’s on a good gliding path to passage in the Senate. Of course, it will come over to the House then. I look forward to seeing the bill as it comes over. We need infrastructure. Central Illinois is predicated on good infrastructure for our farmers, for our businesses, for our citizens, and this is something that’s long overdue. I don’t think anyone can drive around the state and not run into a pothole and not have anxiety about popping a tire or tearing up their car.”

The Senate voted 69-28 Sunday to support the provisions of a compromise that was the result of painstaking negotiations by a group of Republicans and Democrats over the last week. The Senate also voted 68-29 to limit debate on the overall bill, which could put it on track for a vote on passage sometime early this week, and, in turn, send it to the House.

LaHood says the main problems had with the bill in the beginning was an increase to the federal gas tax, which has been pulled. LaHood says that leftover COVID-19 response money is another way to help pay for the massive bill: “Roughly about $550 billion will come from leftover COVID funds that weren’t spent. That’s a good thing. The other half will come from some user fees – user fees from using our rail system and our airports and there will be some deficit spending, which is causing myself and others some concern on 10 years, roughly $250 billion that will be spread out. The bottom line is our country needs infrastructure.”

The Congressional Budget Office, which is nonpartisan, announced last week that the bill is expected to increase deficits by $256 billion over the next decade but the analysis did not include $57 billion in revenue that Washington could collect over the long term from the economic growth benefits of infrastructure projects or the possible $53 billion expected to be returned to the federal government by the states for unused COVID relief.