The struggles continue for local food banks with regulations to SNAP benefits combined with high prices at the grocery store.

Melissa Hall, Director of the Jacksonville Area Food Center, says another issue they’re facing is the lack of grant money. “The grants are not available that were available, USDA is not providing free food, so we are relying a lot on our community. We can always use the donations,” Hall says. “We’re not receiving the USDA grants, we’re not receiving the FEMA grants, so that has hurt us tremendously.”

Hall says they are in need of any shelf stable foods and monetary donations go a long way as well. Items needed include cereals, soups, hamburger helper, peanut butter, jelly, crackers, dry pastas, and any canned vegetables. To make a donation visit the Jacksonville Area Food Center at 311 E. Morgan St.

Hall says that they are always looking for volunteers to help out any morning, Monday thru Friday. Those interested should call 217-243-1122.

Superintendent Steve Ptacek shared good news for the Murrayville-Woodson Grade School project with the District 117 School Board at Wednesday night’s regular meeting.

Ptacek says a substantial amount of money is being saved on a water tank and pump. “We thought we were going to have to pay for a water tank and water pump to pressurize the water for the fire suppression system but it turns out the water pressure provided there is high enough that we don’t need that.”

Ptacek says the supplies would have cost $890,000 dollars, an amount that should cover any contingencies for the project. “Our regular contingencies will be coming back to us, in the Spring we’ll probably talk about another project….maybe some of the smaller things we’ve talked about, the auditorium at the high school, air conditioning in the West gym or some smaller projects like that.”

Ptacek says there is more good news with construction being ahead of schedule and the exterior work expected to be finished early. This eliminates any concern of winter weather being a factor during the completion of the new grade school.

Illinois is already setting records for most tornadoes in a year with 148 tornadoes reported so far in 2026. This breaks the previous record of 142 set in 2024. The state actually leads the nation in tornadoes this year according to preliminary data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Last week’s storms left behind nearly 400 downed power lines resulting in 9,000 residents experiencing power outages. Brian Bretsch, Public and Media Relations Manager at Ameren says several line crews from throughout the Midwest have been called in to help the utility deal with the aftermath of the storms. Bretsch says, “Poles are what usually slows down a restoration effort because setting one, on average, takes about 3 or 4 hours. I can tell you we have crews from Kansas, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri who are helping throughout our territory with these restoration efforts.”

Ameren Illinois reminds customers if they see a downed power line, they should report it immediately at 800-755-5000 and always assume a downed line is live and highly dangerous, even if it is not sparking

A tornado was reported in Jefferson County Sunday night around 5pm and resulted in more downed power lines, residences being destroyed, multiple injuries, and some deaths. The number of deaths and the names of those victims is not available at this time.

The former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy convicted in the 2024 killing of Sonya Massey is seeking his release from prison.

According to WICS News, Sean Grayson is scheduled to appear before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board on July 31. Details regarding the nature of the hearing were not immediately available. Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser confirmed the hearing after his office was notified that Grayson had filed an application with the board and promptly notified members of the Massey family. Family members of Sonya Massey responded stating that the news has “reopened painful wounds.”

Grayson was convicted of second-degree murder in October in connection with the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey inside her home in an unincorporated area of Sangamon County.

Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott & Cass Counties is requesting information to assist the Jacksonville Police Department in their investigation of a recent hit-and-run accident.

At approximately 4 pm on Friday June 12, an unoccupied parked car was struck in the parking lot of a business located in the 200 block of West Walnut. The alleged vehicle that left the scene was described as a White Chevrolet pickup truck, driven by a white male driver

Police are asking anyone with information to contact crime stoppers at Morgan Scott Crimestoppers.com or you can submit a tip on the Morgan Scott Cass County Crime stoppers Facebook page. Remember Crime Stoppers wants your information, not your name. If your tip leads to an arrest, you may be eligible for a cash reward.

The Pike County Clerk says she will not be seeking re-election. Natalie Roseberry says she has made the decision to withdraw her candidacy for re-election, a decision she says was not made lightly. Roseberry says a primary factor in her decision was her commitment to completing law school and pursuing a career in the legal profession. She was first elected as Pike County Clerk in 2018.

Roseberry said “My hope is that Pike County continues to foster a culture where facts matter, respectful disagreement is welcomed, and decisions are made based upon evidence rather than assumptions.”

Earlier this month, Pike County Democrats selected Brenda DeSpain to run for county clerk against Roseberry in November. DeSpain currently works part-time as a legal assistant at Lowry and Hoskin LLC and is treasurer for Valley City Drainage and Levee District as well as the the McGee Creek Levee and Drainage District.

On Wednesday, Gov. JB Pritzker officially signed into law his nearly 56 billion dollar budget, the largest in the state’s history.

Republican lawmakers have not been shy about reiterating their thoughts on the spending plan, echoing much of what was said when the bill was first introduced. House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savannah) said by signing this budget the governor chose more spending and more pressure on Illinois families instead of pursuing property tax relief, energy affordability, and economic growth. “Illinois families deserve real solutions to the rising cost of living,” McCombie said,” The Governor is fully accountable for a budget that puts government growth ahead of affordability and leaves Illinois families paying the price.”

Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Murrayville) says that this budget ensures the majority party the ability to use tax payer dollars on projects in their own districts while ignoring more important issues like funding service providers for the developmentally disabled. “Its the largest budget in state history and they still can’t find the dollars to fund real priorities like those caring for those who can’t care for themselves.”

Davidsmeyer added that the budget shows the governor’s list of priorities and that small businesses and the customers that keep their doors open are not on that list. “When they raise taxes and fees on businesses, who ends up paying that? The customer. Each and everyone of us.” the Murrayville Republican said. “Its ridiculous that they can keep going on this way, and keep throwing the people of the state of Illinois under the tax bus”

A 76-39 House vote during the spring session in Springfield on June 1st sent the more than 3,700-page spending plan to the governor’s desk and included 800 million dollars in new tax hikes and fees.